Avery Samuels

Cincinnati processes more than one billion gallons of wastewater every day through more than 10 thousand miles of pipeline. These pipes are woven together like tree roots just beneath our feet. Sewers are essential to our daily lives, yet seldom seen and rarely discussed. This “ignorant dependence” is what inspired Jay B. Kalagayan to create the comic book series MeSseD, whose third installment dropped December 9.

It should come as no surprise that folklore and urban legends are alive and thriving in Cincinnati. The tri-state has been settled by humans for more than 10,000 years, and over time, many scary stories—both real and paranormal—of monsters, murder, and mayhem have taken permanent root within these hills. This city has its very own history of local cryptids, ghosts, serial killers, and other horrors. Here are a few you ought to know.

On October 4, a new bar and disco lounge opened adjacent to Findlay Market and across from Rhinegeist Brewery in Over-the-Rhine. Founded by Richard Cooke and his husband, Martin Wagner, e|19 Lounge Bar & Discothèque seeks to provide the underserved LGBTQ+ community with an inclusive, fun, and diverse entertainment space.

Christina Matthews has always had an eye for beauty. Before she became one of Over-the-Rhine’s go-to florists/farmers and owner of The Flower Lady, Matthews worked in the beauty industry as the admissions leader of Paul Mitchell’s The School Cincinnati. Her background in the aesthetics industry compelled her to become a first-generation farmer and champion of sustainability.

In times of crisis—times of boredom, fear, loneliness and, of course, hope—humanity reaches for the arts. Literary and visual art is a way to move between worlds; it is a way to digest emotions, a way to spotlight beauty and remind people of what is good. It is balm to treat emotional wounds caused by panic and sudden change. For instance: scholars have hypothesized that the Black Plague, which initially broke out in Florence in 1347, began the artistic shift that led to the Italian Renaissance.

There are very few children in Shakespeare’s work. Excluding the occasional infant, and capping the age at tween—thereby excusing Romeo and Juliet and their teenage peers—there are only a handful of actual children. And even when children are included, their roles are often cut for the sake of conciseness. So what is the point of including them in the first place? Jennifer Higginbotham, an associate professor who specializes in Renaissance and early modern women’s literature within the English d

Those of us who are bibliophiles have likely encountered a book about a protagonist who, like us, loves, loves, loves to read. It’s only natural to read about readers, and to write books about bibliophiles. We often write what we know and who we know, as well as who we are—we readers can understand and relate to Elizabeth Bennet, Hermione Granger, Matilda, Anne Shirley, Jo March. Our story begins like this: A child goes to visit family in a faraway land. Her grandfather is a writer, and one day

All games have rules, whether they are explicit or implicit. In Monopoly, for example, when one lands on GO, one collects $200. Conversely, if one lands on another’s property, they must, as rules go, pay the stipulated rent. What one does not do, is take the next few turns of the board to develop a flamboyant plan to replenish their stores by robbing the bank in a wild, Dillinger-esque style. Does the player’s manual specifically discourage this? Well, no. But, you know. Inappropriate. And so i

The United Kingdom experienced unusually warm weather this summer. Throughout the months of May, June, July and August, the countryside browned beneath the burning, unyielding sun. Metropolitan areas—where interiors traditionally lack air conditioning—became dens of sweat and unholy moisture, such as in London, where the Tube transformed into a massive subterranean steam room. Flying over the ancient island of Britain, one can clearly see how large swaths of land were carved up and divided by c

Human knowledge is rooted in storytelling. Early humans developed the cognitive machinery necessary to make sense of their lives through narrative, and then began to write these stories down to be passed on to future generations. Our ancestors first told stories orally, then began to paint on cave walls. They tattooed their skin, they carved into tree trunks, they traced lines in the sand, and their tales began to take on lives of their own. Some stories explained natural phenomena, like the wea