Originally I thought that I would merely put a link to the first in a series that began this time last year - a small gesture to the upcoming upHeavelloween. I'm going away this weekend & therefore my mind said there would be no time for writing.
But that was before reading through the latest at Ellis Taylor's site & being blown away by his dedication to bringing forth as much info as possible, prior to that Hallowed Fest. He has already pointed out astounding time correlations between it & the late symbology twins Apollo & Artemis aka Michael Jackson & Princess Diana.
Last year, on November 1st, I posted the Ist in a series based upon the death of actor, director & screen writer Adrienne Shelly. There were many reasons why I felt her death was so much more than the media generated 'tragic-death-slash-murder' by 'evil-monster-slash-illegal-immigrant'.
For me the date was a very significant factor.
Up until today I'd thought I'd delayed finishing this series because interest was waning, I had perhaps gone on too long! Now, however it seems that it was just a waiting game, waiting for the right time - the 3rd anniversary of a stolen life.
If Ellis Taylor is right about this coming Halloween, then it seems a good time to check under previous Halloween rocks.
The naming of the series Fair Phantom came from the name of the main character Jenna Hunterson (played by Keri Russell) in Adrienne Shelly's last movie, Waitress.
"The meaning of the name Jenna is Fair Phantom"
Somehow this felt exactly the right description for the woman whose ending, for me, echoed down the corridors of myth to Jocasta. There was also the thread that led to Rusalkas, & thus it seemed even more fitting.
Another reason I looked into Adrienne's murder was because of a line in an excellent article from the now quiet, Atlantean Times on the death & times of Heath Ledger - "Ker is never far away either is it Keri."
Gavin was speaking of Keri Russell. The Ker he spoke of was the 40ft owl that hangs out at Bohemian grove & has things sacrificed to it.
Skipping through the fertile meadows of internet-land we may also come across another death sprite;
"Ker (PL. KERES, CER) In Greek belief, a destructive or malevolent female spirit of the dead. Although some sources seem to refer to a single Ker, the more common belief was in a host of Keres. They were said to be the daughters of Nyx and Erebos."
"It is possible that a connection exists between Keres and the Valkyries of Norse myth...
...Both deities are war spirits that fly over battlefields during conflicts and choose those to be slain."
In one of the sections of this series I linked three deaths - Adrienne Shelly, Heath Ledger & Ruslana Korshunova - all died within a neat triangular area of Manhattan, within the spacing of 18 months.
Keri Russell's starring role in Waitress had her acting with Adrienne Shelly. Here are two lines from the movie that was awaiting acceptance at the Sundance Film festival, when it's writer was murdered.
Dawn (Adrienne Shelly): "I've finally found someone who loves me to death"
Jenna (Keri Russell) "Well hopefully not to death."
Keri Russell also links to Heath Ledger. She was there in the beginning for him - "Ledger kicked off his career by playing the warrior hero Conor in the Dark Ages TV series Roar (1997). The series lasted only one season, but established Ledger as an up-and-coming heartthrob."
Russell played the love interest who laid down her life for him, stepping in front of her father's sword. She dies sacrificially in his arms, but not before marking his face with her blood. In fox hunting it's called blooding, a "sort of gruesome parody of the rite of baptism."
"Captain Elwe’s two children being present at the death of a fox on their father’s preserves, the old hunting custom of ‘blooding’ was duly performed by Charlie Beacham, who, after dipping the brush of the fox in his own [sic] blood, sprinkled the foreheads of both children, hoping they would be aspirants to the ‘sport of kings.’ "
Russell also fairytale-links with Ruslana Korshunova, the Russian Rapunzel who leapt from the ninth storytower of her apartment last year. She died in Water Street. Her crowning glory was her extremely flowing locks. In the fairytale Rapunzel, the ever present wicked witch trims her locks before evicting the maiden from her Tower-home.
Keri Russell gained much fame through her hair & much infamy through the snipping of it when something wicked her way came.
"Never has a haircut caused such a stir. After Keri Russell's Felicity character chopped off her long ringlets, fans angrily petitioned the WB network and one top exec was quoted saying, "Nobody is cutting their hair again on our network."
"It's been nearly 10 years since Keri Russell famously lopped off her lusted-after locks -- yet ask any girl who started mailing tape recorded messages to friends, and they'll remember it like yesterday... "No one could have predicted just how unfavorably Hollywood would react."
.... & a little pisstake to highlight the cutting impact;
"(A black TV screen. Suddenly, the image of a globe appears, over which is superimposed the ABC logo, along with the words "America In Crisis: Keri Russell's Hair Held Hostage - Day Two", while overly dramatic music blares. Then a familiar face appears...)
Ted Koppel: Good evening, this is Ted Koppel, reporting to you live from Leon's House of Follicles on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. Tonight we bring you Day Two of our continuous coverage of the story that has gripped all of America, and indeed the world. I speak, of course, of the recent, tragic shearing of the famous - some might say infamous - hair from the head of TV's Felicity, Keri Russell."
Keri Russell-ka perhaps?
"Her [Rusalakas] hair is sometimes depicted as green, and often perpetually wet. According to some legends, should the rusalka's hair dry out, she will die"
"She {Rusalkas] may also appear naked, wrapped in her wet hair"
Ruslana (lion- think 'mane') Korshunova (K + Horus + Nova (new) - Horus of course can be twisted & plaited into 'hours' of fun!
It interested me greatly that the actress whose name echoes the Keres should have such intimate connections with this trio of death.
But that's not all folks, for she links mightily with a fourth 'ending'. The one that came during the Great Halloween ritual of 1993, when the Phoenix was killed by the snake.
After looking into Rusalkas & the Serpentine River in London, I was much interested to learn from my African friend that in African Traditional Religion snakes are very much associated with water & water goddesses.
"Snakes were a common feature of many creation myths, for example many peoples in Africa and Australia had myths about a Rainbow Snake, which was either Mother Earth herself giving birth to all animals or a water-god whose writhings created rivers, creeks and oceans"
"Snakes were also commonly associated with water especially myths about the primordial ocean being formed of a huge coiled snake as in Ahi/Vritra in early Indian myth and Jormungand in Nordic Myth."
The unforgetably named River Phoenix had his name usurped (or was reincarnated) a couple of years ago by Miss Russell-ka. River is the name she gave to the son she bore in June 2007.
As Gavin from Atlantean Times pointed out last year, Ms Russell got her start in the Mickey Mouse Club - not widely viewed in certain circles as indicative of a healthy past.
"In 2005, several reports claimed that Russell was set to adopt Scientology, after working with actor Tom Cruise, who is a Scientologist, on Mission: Impossible III. Russell's representative subsequently threatened to sue the reporter who first made the claim. Stories about the incident had noted that Russell is of Jewish heritage; older reports, which had originally suggested her conversion to Scientology, had mentioned that she was once a member of the Mormon church."
The actor named for both fire & water, himself had an unsavoury past attached to a cult called the Children of God. The fire-water that was River Phoenix was born on a fire sacred day;
"Vulcanalia was a festival in ancient Rome held on August 23 each year in honor of the Roman god Vulcan. During the festival small animals were burned alive in homage to the god."
Here is a link to Ellis Taylor's site - he's burning rubber & midnight oil to make as much relevant info as possible to the eyes & ears of all questing pixies.
Additional: I just nabbed this from Ellis' "A Year of Tears & Tears"
As mentioned in a one of the Fair Phantom series - 24th June was Adrienne Shelly's date of birth. The lady of the So(u)lstice was hung on the Day of the Dead - the day that follows Halloween, in 2006. That was also the date & year that that Alexander Litvinenko was so famously poisoned. And Halloween was the date that the Viper claimed the life of the Phoenix.
