"La Maison ensorcelée" released 1906

La Maison ensorcelee (The House of Ghosts or The Witch House), released February 9, 1906 in Denmark, is one of the first haunted house movies.  Directed by Segundo de Chomon, it uses stop-motion animation and superimposition photography to ramp up the spooky activity.

Two men and a woman take refuge in a small house in the woods and experience paranormal activity such as disappearing furniture, a knife cuts food by itself, and a ghost.

Celebrating Pride Month: Lili Elbe, earliest recipient of sex reassignment surgery

Lili Elbe, born Einar Wegener December 28, 1882 in Vejle, Denmark, was a transgender woman, who is the first person to receive a uterus transplant.  She began painting under her birth name and married Gerda Gottlieb in 1904. Gottlieb was also a painter and she and Lili moved to Paris in 1912, where Elbe cold live more openly as a woman, passing herself off as Gottlieb's sister-in-law.  

Elbe considered suicide before learning about  sex reassignment surgery, which was highly experimental at the time. In 1930, she traveled to the Hirschfeld Institute for Sexual Science in Germany, and went through four surgeries.  The first was a removal of the testicles, and the second implanted an ovary into her abdomen.  The third operation removed the penis and the scrotum.  

The fourth surgery which took place in 1931 was for Elbe to receive a transplant uterus and construct a vaginal canal, making her one of the first transgender woman to under go a vaginoplasty surgery.  Her immune system rejected the transplanted uterus, causing an infection.  She died in September 1931 three months after the surgery.

The LGBTQ+ film festival MIX Copenhagen gives out four Lili Awards each year, named for Elbe. She painted many successful images before stopping after the transition.

"Reptilicus" released 1961

Reptilicus, Denmark's only foray into the giant monster arena, was released February 20, 1961.  Copper miners discover a frozen piece of a prehistoric monster.  Of course, scientists studying it inadvertently bringing it back to life.  It grows into a giant reptile and wreaks havoc across the Danish countryside, including the Tivoli Gardens!  Oh, no!

It was featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 2017.

"Invisible Curtain" by Alex Morgan re-released on Amazon!

My third Corey Shaw novel, Invisible Curtain, has been re-released and is available on Amazon!

Here is the link to Amazon.

Blurb:
Paranormal sleuth Corey Shaw is enjoying vacation with his family in the Baltic Sea when terrorists bomb restaurants hosting World Cup parties in London and Copenhagen. On each occasion the explosion coincides with the cruise ship leaving port. Although the United States isn’t attacked directly, Corey and his colleagues are unavoidably drawn into the investigation with or without the blessing of international intelligence agencies. When a third bomb goes off in St. Petersburg, Russia, Corey is convinced the answer lies aboard his ship. 

He must use all his psionic abilities to protect his family, and his friends, and keep the world safe from this worrying upsurge in international terrorism

Happy birthday, Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen!

Andreas Mogensen, born November 2, 1976 in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the first Danish astronaut, from the European Space Agency.  He spent almost ten days in space aboard the International Space Station.  His mission started aboard Soyuz TMA-18M as flight engineer in September 2016.  He returned to Earth on Soyuz TMA-16M.

In 2014, he participated in NASA's Aquarius Underwater Laboratory as part of expedition NEEMO 19, which lasted 7 days.

Victor Borge, the Clown Prince of Denmark, born in 1909

Victor Borge, one of the funniest men ever was born January 3, 1909 in Copenhagen, Denmark.  I loved his antics on the piano but his phonetic punctuation was my favorite!

He passed away in December 2000.

Cuties in Copenhagen

Of course, the beautiful scenery wasn't just limited to castles and flowers.

The pilot who helped guide us into the port of Copenhagen.

Chris, the hunky bartender at Hard Rock Cafe.

Outside Rosenborg Castle.

At a restaurant in Tivoli Gardens.

In Tivoli Gardens.

Guarding the Crown Jewels at Rosenborg Castle.

Tivoli Gardens.

Tivoli Gardens.

Playing a bari sax solo.

Serving drinks in Tivoli Gardens.

Day 6 (cont.) - Rosenborg Castle

Our next stop was the Rosenborg Castle built in 1606 by Christian IV.

A goblet fit for a Corsair!

The Danish Crown Jewels were on display in Rosenborg Castle. All in Mom's favorite color: shiny. At least Queen Maggie let us take pictures of her jewelry. Queen Liz wasn't so generous.

The castle is surrounded by beautiful gardens.