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The Skeleton Key
''The Skeleton Key'' is a 2005 American supernatural folk horror film directed by Iain Softley and starring Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt, Peter Sarsgaard, and Joy Bryant. The screenplay by Ehren Kruger follows a New Orleans hospice nurse who begins a job at a Terrebonne Parish plantation home, and becomes entangled in a mystery involving the house, its former inhabitants, and Hoodoo rites that took place there. Plot Caroline Ellis, a hospice aide, quits her position at a nursing home and is hired as the caretaker of an isolated plantation house in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. The aging matron of the house, Violet Devereaux, needs help looking after her husband Benjamin, who was mostly paralyzed by an apparent stroke. At the insistence of the family's estate lawyer, Luke Marshall, Caroline accepts the position. After Ben attempts to escape his room during a storm, Caroline investigates the house's attic, where Violet said Ben suffered his stroke; she uses a skele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iain Softley
Iain Declan Softley (born 30 November 1956) is an English film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films include Backbeat (film), ''Backbeat,'' ''Hackers (film), Hackers, The Wings of the Dove (1997 film), The Wings of the Dove'', ''K-PAX (film), K-PAX'', ''The Skeleton Key'', ''Inkheart (film), Inkheart'' and the BBC adaptation of Sadie Jones's novel The Outcast (TV adaptation), ''The Outcast''. Career Softley was educated at St Benedict's School, Ealing, St Benedict's School, Ealing, London, and Queens' College, Cambridge, where he directed a number of highly-praised theatrical productions. He worked for Granada TV and the BBC in the 1980s before moving on to music videos and film. Softley's first film, the Stuart Sutcliffe biopic, ''Backbeat (film), Backbeat'', which he wrote and directed, was released in 1994. It opened the Sundance Film Festival and went on to receive a BAFTA Award nomination for Best British Film. For his work on the film, Softley received Best Newco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hospice
Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by reducing pain and suffering. Hospice care provides an alternative to therapies focused on life-prolonging measures that may be arduous, likely to cause more symptoms, or are not aligned with a person's goals. Hospice care in the United States is largely defined by the practices of the Medicare system and other health insurance providers, which cover inpatient or at-home hospice care for patients with terminal diseases who are estimated to live six months or less. Hospice care under the Medicare Hospice Benefit requires documentation from two physicians estimating a person has less than six months to live if the disease follows its usual course. Hospice benefits include access to a multidisciplinary treatment team specialized in end-of-l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular culture. The print magazine debuted on February 16, 1990, in New York City, and ceased publication in 2022. Different from celebrity-focused publications such as ''Us Weekly'', ''People (magazine), People'' (a sister magazine to ''EW''), and ''In Touch Weekly'', ''EW'' primarily concentrates on entertainment media news and critical reviews; unlike ''Variety (magazine), Variety'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter'', which were primarily established as trade magazines aimed at industry insiders, ''EW'' targets a more general audience. History Formed as a sister magazine to ''People'', the first issue of ''Entertainment Weekly'' was published on February 16, 1990. Created by Jeff Jarvis and founded by Michael Klingensmith, who serve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeryl Prescott
Jeryl Prescott Gallien (also known as Jeryl Prescott Sales) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Jacqui in '' The Walking Dead'' (2010-2012; 2016), Madame Xanadu in '' Swamp Thing'' (2019), and Aktropaw in '' Ahsoka'' (2023). Life and career Jeryl Prescott was born Hartsville, South Carolina. At a young age, Prescott and her mother worked for a local group called Willing Workers, a local community organization. Prior to 2010, Prescott earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Management, and worked as a trucker. She later achieved her PhD in American Literature, and has a Master's Degree in African American Literature. She worked as a professor at Wake Forest University in 1998, and the North Carolina School of the Arts. Prescott portrayed Jacqui in Season 1 of the television series '' The Walking Dead'', which premiered on AMC in 2010. Prescott, a resident of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, divides her time between that city and Los Angeles. Prescott was o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Body Swap
A body swap (also named mind swap, soul swap or brain swap) is a storytelling device seen in a variety of science fiction and supernatural fiction, in which two people (or beings) exchange minds and end up in each other's bodies. '' The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' calls the trope Identity Exchange a version of "Identity Transfer". Description There are different types of body swapping. For non-technology swapping, switches can be caused by magic items such as amulets, heartfelt wishes, or just strange quirks of the universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s .... The switches typically reverse after the subjects have expanded their world views, gained a new appreciation for each other's troubles by literally "walking in another's shoes" and/or caused sufficient ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Full-length Mirror
The cheval glass (also cheval mirror, psyche mirror, horse dressing glass, swing glass) is a free-standing large mirror, usually with a tilt mechanism, that provided a complete reflection from head to foot (thus also the full-length mirror name). This furniture piece was created in the late 18th century for a dressing room and went out of fashion after being replaced by the mirrored doors of wardrobes in the first half of the 20th century. Construction The mirror hangs between two vertical columns frequently connected by two horizontal planks in a frame-like arrangement. Each column rests on two splayed feet. The mirror features a tilt mechanism so that it can be used at different angles, and sometimes also has a height adjustment pulley with lead counterweights. In 1803, Thomas Sheraton produced a design combined with a desk that included drawers on one side and writing surface on another. Etymology The ''cheval'' comes from the , "horse". Different explanations are given fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
9-1-1
911, sometimes written , is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency numbers, dialing 911 for purposes other than reporting an emergency is a crime in most jurisdictions. Penalties for abuse or misuse of 911 can range from probation or community service to fines and jail time. Offenders can also be ordered to undergo counseling and have their use of telephones restricted or suspended for a period of time as a condition of probation. In over 98 percent of locations in Argentina, Sint Maarten, Panama, Belize, Anguilla, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jordan, Ethiopia, Liberia, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Uruguay, the United States, Iraq, Palau, Mexico, Tonga and Canada, dialing ''911'' from any telephone will link the caller to an em ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nocebo
A nocebo effect is said to occur when a patient's expectations for a treatment cause the treatment to have a worse effect than it otherwise would have. For example, when a patient anticipates a side effect of a medication, they can experience that effect even if the "medication" is actually an inert substance. The complementary concept, the ''placebo'' effect, is said to occur when expectations improve an outcome. More generally, the nocebo effect is falling ill simply by consciously or subconsciously anticipating a harmful event. This definition includes anticipated events ''other'' than medical treatment. It has been applied to Havana syndrome, where purported victims were anticipating attacks by foreign adversaries."Nocebo: the placebo effect’s evil twin" ''The Pharmaceutical Journal'', PJ, March 2018, Vol 300, No 7911;300(7911):DOI:10.1211/PJ.2018.20204524 https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/feature/nocebo-the-placebo-effects-evil-twin This definition also applies t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of informal group social control, and it is often conducted with the display of a public spectacle (often in the form of a hanging) for maximum intimidation. Instances of lynchings and similar mob violence can be found in all societies. In the United States, where the word ''lynching'' likely originated, lynchings of African Americans became frequent in the South during the period after the Reconstruction era, especially during the nadir of American race relations. Etymology The origins of the word ''lynch'' are obscure, but it likely originated during the American Revolution. The verb comes from the phrase ''Lynch Law'', a term for a punishment without trial. Two Americans during this era are generally credited for coining the phrase: C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Americans
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. African Americans constitute the second largest ethno-racial group in the U.S. after White Americans. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of Africans enslaved in the United States. In 2023, an estimated 48.3 million people self-identified as Black, making up 14.4% of the country’s population. This marks a 33% increase since 2000, when there were 36.2 million Black people living in the U.S. African-American history began in the 16th century, with Africans being sold to European slave traders and transported across the Atlantic to the Western Hemisphere. They were sold as slaves to European colonists and put to work on plantations, particularly in the southern colonies. A few were able to achieve freedom th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paraphernalia
Paraphernalia refers to a collection of items or equipment associated with a particular activity, hobby, or lifestyle. The term is often used to describe the tools, accessories, or objects that are used in various fields, such as sports, arts and crafts, or specialized professions. Historical legal term In legal language, "paraphernalia" is a term of art from older family law. The word "paraphernalia" is plural, meaning "things beyond the dowry". Paraphernalia were the separate property of a married woman, such as clothing and jewellery "appropriate to her station", but excluding the assets that may have been included in her dowry. The term originated in Roman law, but ultimately comes from Greek (''parápherna''), "beyond (''para'') the dowry (''phernē'')". These sorts of property were considered the separate property of a married woman under coverture. A husband could not sell, appropriate, or convey good title to his wife's assets considered paraphernalia without her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skeleton Key
A skeleton key (also known as a passkey) is a type of master keying, master key in which the serrated edge has been removed in such a way that it can open numerous Lock and key, locks, most commonly the warded lock. The term derives from the fact that the key has been reduced to its essential parts. Master keys A skeleton key is a key that has been filed or cut to create one that can be used to unlock a variety of warded locks each with a different configuration of wards. This can usually be done by removing most of the center of the key, allowing it to pass by the wards without interference, operating the lock. To counteract the illicit creation of such keys, locksmiths can put wards not just in the center but on the outside as well, making the creation of a skeleton key more difficult. Lever tumbler lock, Lever lock skeleton keys are used in a lock with usually three or 5 lever lock, five levers and a set of wards that come into contact with the Bit key, bit of the key ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
