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By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

“And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” — Friedrich NietzscheI have never liked ghost stories. But when I heard about Half-Hanged Mary of Hadley, I was spellbound. Not that long ago, right around here, a woman, thought...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

As the sun sets over the Hidden Temple in Florence, 14 adults in their comfiest pajamas sprawl on a generous bed of quilts. Outside on a crisp October Saturday, the foliage is just starting to turn, its pops of color complementing the painted columns...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

The founder of the Body Liberation Outdoor Club saw “The Fat Babe Pool Party” in “Shrill,” the Hulu series about a heavy woman’s journey to embracing her body, and felt like she was in a dream. In the fourth episode of Season 1, the main character has...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

As snow mingles with rain on a Tuesday evening, the door to Spare Time Northampton is cool to the touch. But inside the bowling alley’s City Sports Grille, the cracks of falling pins fade into the warm pulse of swing music.The Lindy League of Western...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

When it was time for the hip hop tribute at this year’s Grammys, Black Thought took center stage to introduce his girl:“Fifty years ago, a street princess was born to be an icon. The art form took the entire world by storm. How’d she do it? Her...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

“How you know it’s a real stoop is not so much what it looks like, but rather what happens on it. A stoop is a place to socialize. People hanging out, reading the paper, playing dominos or cards, talking and gossiping, smoking, eating a hero with the...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

Dean Dinning believes in the power of music. The longtime bassist of Toad the Wet Sprocket was once a teen in a crowd of 90,000 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It was 1987, and U2 was on its international Joshua Tree Tour. The show was over and...