A new month means a new theme for our recommendations! Of course, October means this month will be focused on all things spooky and paranormal. Join us as we highlight titles that deal with Hell, monsters, horror, and alterity. Let's kick it off with "Monsters in Society" by Rebecca Merkelbach!

From studying Business to researching Scandinavian literature, cassidycroci.bsky.social took an unconventional path to follow her passion for Vikings and medieval texts. Today, she is on a research stay at unituebingen.bsky.social, supported by the Humboldt Research Fellowship. bit.ly/4qEJgiI

My piece on Landnámabók has been posted on the World Epics website. You can check it out at this link: edblogs.columbia.edu/worldepics/p...

Scenes from Würzburg. We drank wine (Silvaner) on the bridge after our final dinner. During the day we visited the Residenz Würzburg, I also visited the Dom and got a Playmobil set with St Killian. @humboldt-foundation.de

Some views of Berlin from @humboldt-foundation.de study tour

Some views from the amazing Wadden Sea National Park (Nationalpark Wattenmeer) in Cuxhaven-Sahlenburg. We walked barefoot on the mudflats and were greeted by views of rainbows 🌈 and horses 🐎 @humboldt-foundation.de

First stop @humboldt-foundation.de tour today was the Deutsches Auswandererhaus in Bremerhaven. It was an excellent interactive experience as you travelled through the stations of emigration and immigration as a third class passenger. Only gives me more appreciation for my ancestors!

Waking tour in #bremen on the @humboldt-foundation.de study tour! This Hanseatic city might now be one of my favorites!

Pictures from last night‘s stroll around the beautiful city of Münster with @iandudum and Curtis. We went to see the three original 16th-century iron cages on St. Lambert’s church, which displayed the bodies of Anabaptists, we also went to the St Paulus Dom and had westfälische cuisine!

Next stop on today‘s @humboldt-foundation.de tour is Zollverein Coal Mine in Essen! Out tour guide Hans was excellent; he trained at fifteen and went down in the mine at sixteen, so shared some of his stories of working 1000 meters underground

First stop @humboldt-foundation.de tour today was at Museum Folkwang where j went to the Gustav Courbet exhibition. It was fascinating to explore the rise of realism through his works including his self portraits, seascapes, and “L’Origine du Monde.” The rest of the collection was also a joy!

Had an excellent reception and luncheon @humboldt-foundation.de in Bonn! So grateful to meet some of the individuals who make my fellowship and this study tour possible! Also was fun to run into another Study Tour group coming down from the north!

Guided tour in the Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 🇩🇪 we covered 80 years of history from post-war Germany to present in 80 minutes. Interesting to learn more about the Marshall plan, divided Germany, and the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall. #bonn @humboldt-foundation.de

Second stop of the @humboldt-foundation.de study tour today was Grube Messel a fossil preservation site mainly comprised of oil shale. We saw some paleontologists working the out as well as got to view some replica and real fossils which are around 47 million years old! #grubemessel #messel

First stop of @humboldt-foundation.de study tour today was in #Heidelberg. We went on a walking tour and learned about the history of the city. Afterwards, a few of us explored the churches, university library, and when up to the castle to get a Birds Eye view of the city!

First stop on the @humboldt-foundation.de tour was Brauerei zum Klosterhof in Heidelberg! We learned about the beer brewing process in Germany and sampled some of their offerings! #heidelburg

Getting ready to embark on the @humboldt-foundation.de Study Tour! We will be travelling all around German stopping at many historical sites, museums, businesses and research institutes! Looking forward to meeting other Humboldt scholars and learning more about Germany 🇩🇪!

Had an amazing time at the 20th Viking Congress in Oslo! It was great to reconnect with old friends and make new ones, and receive feedback on my new project! Hopefully, I can see many of you before the next Viking Congress!

open.substack.com/pub/jasminhi...

Great first day at the Viking Congress! Boarded the Drakkar the ship used in the Odyssey movie before the sessions. Then enjoyed some wonderful papers in the Aula which features Edvard Munch’s works in their original context. Looking forward to the excursion today!

My poster and I made it to Oslo! Looking forward to the Viking Congress tomorrow!

For anyone who is nearby, I am giving a talk about researching place-names on Monday, 23rd March 2026 at the North Lincolnshire Museum Society (Local History and Archaeology Section) at 7.15pm. The talk is called 'Digging for Lincolnshire - Axholme's place-names, a journey of interpretation'.

Vielen Dank @humboldt-foundation.de for the wonderful care package 📦! Feeling welcomed to the family! Looking forward to making more memories!

Looking forward to presenting at the Epic Geographies Symposium (online)! Wish I could attend in person but happy I can share some ideas for my upcoming postdoc project!

Excited to announce that I have started my Humboldt Research Fellowship! After four months in Freiburg at the Goethe-Institut,I will return to Tübingen for two years to work on my project “Routes of Narration: Domestic travel in the Íslendingasögur.” Looking forward to this project!

Hirsau Monastery

The Society has today launched a new funding grant in honour of Dr Ryan Foster, supporting those who have come or returned to academia later in life.

SSNS launches Ryan Foster Memorial Grant - Scottish Society for Northern Studies

The Society has launched a new funding grant to support those who have come or returned to academia later in life.

ssns.org.uk

Second Saga Con in the books! Had a wonderful week in Katowice and Krakow 🇵🇱! Thanks to the committee and all their assistants for facilitating a collegial atmosphere! It was great to reconnect with friends from all over the world and meet many new scholars who share the same passion for ON lit!

Some scenes from #Birka 🇸🇪

I think all airports should have a Varangian Runestone. This Arlanda example is a commemoration of one of the many lost on the infamous Ingvar expedition to 'the east' (probably the Caspian Sea) in c. 1041-2. My 📷