Basel vs Stuttgart game had a great choreographed display during the match. A photo from this article, which is in German. I heard that there were fines for the display because it included some unannounced, unapproved fireworks.

Have a look for yourselves!



For good measure, have another video of a cute kitten attacking a plush cockatrice from Good Mythical Morning. Attacking his butt, I should add.


A mug from Urban Dictionary Store featuring the entry for cockatrice. Either total fantasy, or some micro-dinosaur leftover that was still around during recorded history... Still alive and kicking, we are.


Lastly, something you might try if you're in Baton Rouge during October: Basilisk Bites at Rock-n-Sake. It's made with salmon, snow crab, tempura shrimp, Thai basil, green apple and pickled Fresno peppers, topped with miso-yuzu sauce and green onion. Tasty, or not? I'm not an expert on sushi rolls.

A beautiful signet ring by jeweler June Cream, resident of New Mexico, up for sale: The Death Darting Eye of the Cockatrice. This ring was hand carved in sterling silver and set with a border of black spinel. Wear this cockatrice as a reminder that even our most evil enemies can be defeated. Yes they can: bring me along with you and after I've glared at them long enough, your only trouble will be deciding what to do with them. Lawn ornament? Flag pole? Doorstop? Novelty gym equipment? The possibilities are endless.


Still hearing a lot about Roblox: Grow a Garden, and the cockatrice available there. They are still valued, trading at about 5 million sheckles. They're ranked at about 7/10 on the desirability scale. Not too shabby!


I think I've mentioned J. Robbins before, since he came out with an album titled Basilisk. Those in Massachusetts had a chance to see him on Sept. 18 at Wood's Hole.

A model named Rocco Basilico models "smart glasses"--coincidence? For those not in the know, Roko's Basilisk is a thought experiment deathtrap about AI. Included for the basilisk mention as well as the cool image included with the article (probably created with AI).

There's lots and lots of chatter about Grow a Garden, a Roblox independent game, the past few weeks. It seems they're having a "Fairy Event" and an update, and if you go to some wishing fountain you can get an Enchanted Egg. Amongst other things like a ladybug, a pixie, an imp, or a glimmering sprite, this egg might give you a cockatrice. They all transform stuff in the garden into gold or silver, but also have other effects and for once, the cockatrice assumes its natural position as the best.

The effects it has on the garden are a bit odd, however: best chances for getting the gold transformation (gold isn't a stone, it's a metal), speeding up hatching of other eggs you have on hand (that one I can understand!) and "Venom Spit". Venom Spit (every 625–1800 seconds) targets 5–10 different fruits, eggs, or pets. This gives fruits a Toxic mutation, speeds up eggs by 80–150 seconds, and grants pets 800–1500 XP. It sounds...helpful? Well anything can happen in video games, I suppose.


And some more basilisk news:

New old mounts released in WoW! Among them is the Aquamarine Basilisk, the Felslate Basilisk, the Leystone Basilisk, and the Slag Basilisk. Recoloring an old model seems like a cheap move; getting all of them would be expensive according to the article describing the mounts as "discontinued": each costs a whopping 10,000 bronze per basilisk. You can just ride me around for much cheaper than that!


Finally, there's a rugby team in Blackwater, Queensland with an awesome mascot that had a winning streak putting it in the news: the Blackwater Basilisks. It may have just been a blip on the radar as far as the team rallying and having a winning season. But again...I'm a fan of the mascot!

Lately I've felt that cockatrices were overrepresented in these reports, but the last few weeks brought out a few good items!


If you're near Basel, Switzerland (I really need to go there sometime) in September, check out the a show organized by the 10 year old club, Basilisk Destroyers. They're committed to supporting and promoting metal bands in the area and have been doing so for 10 years. September 13th is apparently an anniversary show for the group.


Europe continues kicking ass with the publication of Professor S and the Basilisk of Vilnius, loosely based on legends of Vilnius, Lithuania and prominent philosopher from the same country, Vosylius Sezemanas. It's aimed as a children's book as a means to get kids thinking about Philosophy. I'm down with that.


Could your RPG use some more chicks? Sure it could! Cute little hatchling cockatrice figurines for bringing babes into the action. Literally! They have adorable large wide eyes to take in the world and inflict negative status effects. 3D printing...will wonders never cease? I remember it wasn't too long ago that getting a little horde of cockatrice chicks together took quite a bit of hard work.


If you just need a few of the adult kind, Alejozeugirdor made a new 3d printable model. Wide open beak, nice comb and wattles, nice whiplike tail, he's ready to go it alone or to get a group ready to overrun any position.

There are several other figures that may be of interest to those running not fully human campaigns. I noticed this monk...hubba hubba! Did he take a vow of chastity? Well, I like a challenge!


The monkish type can be a tough shell to poke through. Maybe I could interest him in some scripture readings. We can consider different versions of Isaiah 11:8.

Thanks to the helpful Sermon Index which must be around this area in their lectionary:

Noah Webster Bible
And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the den of the basilisk.
This is why I don't like kids playing around my front yard: it's a sign of the end of the world. You should be grateful that I chase them off and petrify them!

Geneva Bible 1599
And the sucking childe shall play vpon the hole of the aspe, and the wained childe shall put his hand vpon the cockatrice hole.
Excuse me...putting your hands WHERE?? Scandalous.

Pretty slim pickings for the first part of this month. Aside from endless recommendations to buy the Basilisk Razor gaming mouse and various garbage AI-made videos all that came up was a 3d printable cockatrice from MZ4250, also downloadable here. It looks like the feathers on the head and neck end a little abruptly before the body and wings start but...maybe he's just let his grooming routine get off course. Preventing that is why I always recommend Dr. Goodquill's grooming products! They're inexpensive, effective and their at-home delivery is so convenient.

I wouldn't have included this if the month had a bit more going on, but the eSports organization Basilisk has recruited Justin Wong to run their fighting game division. I'd heard of him before, mostly through YouTube.

"Math is super important to fighting games," said Wong in a statement. Math is important for all kinds of stuff, yes. I agree! But I'm still a little confused on how this group is going to boost science and technology education. Time will tell.


At the start of another school year, I wonder: why does it sometimes seem easier to carve out time to write stuff when my job picks up and I have other obligations, places to be, and tasks to finish? Summer break is over and I think I wrote like two things, each of them not even 2000 words.

New figurine, an owl-faced cockatrice from Grenadier RPG Miniatures. Needs to be painted, released back in 1989. I think I may know where an owl faced cockatrice might have come from...


Several businesses came up for one reason or another:

Photo Basilisk, in business since 1891 in Basel, captures photos from drones and helicopters, and takes portraits of both government officials and typical citzens, continuing a tradition of at least four generations. Interesting to think of a single studio having been in the same place for so long, through so many innovations!

Basilisk is a company founded with the somewhat confusing mission of using eSports to support Science and Science Education. They had some involvement with the eSports World Cup 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia so I guess they're honestly out there making deals and pulling in money and interest. Save Science, eSports fans!

A mysterious company I've run across before but it's worth mentioning again: Cockatrice Ltd based in the UK, been around since 2017. I'd invest in 'em if I knew a little more about what they actually do! (It may just be one guy!)


And a slightly late addition: Basilisk by Lil Zoo, a Croatian(?) rapper (also known as Karlo Zurovac). It was released on June 30 but I only found out about it recently. The lyrics refer quite a bit to Hogwarts, Slytherins, and the Chamber of Secrets.

I'm doing tricks like Malfoy
White hair like every f*ckboy
Behind in the line — it's a traffic jam
Slytherin gang — snakes are at my tail

Sounds like the party never stops down there.

Anyone in Duluth, MN? Last weekend we were introduced by WDIO.com to Basilisk the black cat!


Did you know the Roblox game had a Basilisk Boss? (Did you know there was a Roblox game?)

It's listed without pictures at this Guide to Boss Drops where we can find:
A venomous shovel and one to two Basilisk fans (I'm not sure what the shovel would be for...and I think basilisks should travel with lots of fans!)
Basilisk Scales
Basilisk Sticker
Lots of currency and experience points.

There's an item that can be used after defeating any boss the first time to summon them to do it all over again. Sounds like a bad deal for Boss Basilisk. Boss Basilisk Farming already shows up as the #2 best way to make money quickly in a Pro Game Guide.

If you're doing it in a group of 5-10 players, you'll all be spending $25K per spawn and earning ~50k-100k $ per kill, making more than $150k per hour. And to add insult to injury: Plus, the boss is easy to kill. Hmmph.




For sale from the Mythical Society, a small plush of their mascot, Belvedere the Cockatrice. He has that usual "Good Mythical Morning" tail, and is about 13.5 inches from talons to comb.

More clothing that looks like it might fit in with this group are at Teleteeshirt.com, in their Always Curious Cockatrice shirts and hoodies. It has a nice "at the beach" feeling. Also seen at Wilfredmur.com, Pinkrubytee.com, Adeliastanch, and many others.

A June exclusive that you may have missed from Twisty Prints: Articulated Cockatrice 3d print. They make a gryphon, dragon, and various others (including dinosaurs) if you wanted to browse.

Starting right at the end of June and going to July 17, local basilisks (youngsters from Basel and the surrounding area) will perform at the Basilisk Youth Circus. This year's theme is Snapshots, or Moäntufnahm. They'll be doing a lot of gymnastics from the sound of it...just like last year.

I didn't pick up on much else this month other than AI-generated videos and even more reviews about the Razer Basilisk gaming mouse. But! There was mention of a review in the NRA journal of a book I'd mentioned all the way back in November of 2022: Clockwork Basilisk. It's about pistols developed by Misters Wheeler and Collier before the much more well-known Colt revolver was developed.

From the review:

Clockwork refers to the manner in which the cylinder was rotated and Basilisk – noun; bas·​i·​lisk : a legendary reptile with fatal breath and glance. The mythical beast found its way into the decoration of many a Collier lockplate.

The book is said to have photos of every known Collier revolver that still exists (there are not that many left) which makes me curious to see the mentioned lockplate designs, but I couldn't spot any evidence of that in the articles, reviews, and places the book is for sale. Someone else might have more luck.

A model for a Twisted Crystal Cockatrice presented by iBrawnFDM at Makerworld. It looks like they specialize in dragons, and have made a generic chess set. It requires some finishing touches: ...this is a fun model to colour for yourself using the “fill-in” too in Bambu Studio. Most of the crystals are their own separate shell to make it easy to customize.

An ad for an old, old book showed up in the searches since someone is trying to auction off their used copy on eBay: Cockatrice by Wolf Mankowitz (not the ad for the auction since that will likely expire soon). I much prefer this cover but upon reading about the book, it's sadly not very mythological at all.

The title was chosen by the author since it was "a mythical monstrous serpent; its 'breath was deadly, its glare fatal to human beings'... It has been chosen here as an 'appropriate heraldic beast' for the film industry".

Contrast with a very new industry: erotic scene chatbots and LLM's. Of course, one is named cockatrice. I had nothing to do with it, honest! Haven't even taken it out on a test run.


The only references to basilisks the past few weeks have all been crummy AI created content or ads for the new smaller, sleeker Razor Basilisk gaming mouse. Literally everyone across the whole world is talking about them. I'd go out and get one if I wasn't already sufficiently pleased with my own older model.

Downloadable content for Kingdom Come Deliverance 2; Brushes with Death, Chiaroscuro quest sent on a mission to secure a Basilisk Egg for the painter Voyta in Trosky Castle.. The linked article has a walkthrough for how to do it, and I admire their adherence to the legend.

You've got to find a black cockerel (who sadly we find was put to death after its unnatural, sinful habit of laying eggs), take the egg to a toad nest, wait...and voilà!

According to this more detailed walkthrough your reward is a "Gemstone Silver Ring" but why would you want that? Keep the egg!


Readers of these notices who are near Detroit will have the opportunity to visit the Dragon Forest Trail between May 24 and September 7. Various dragons make an appearance, of course, but there are a few photos of a phoenix, Cerberus, and a basilisk in this collection of photos from The Detroit News.


Hammer, a Scottish metal band, has released a single from their new album: Basilisk. Lots of European groups seem to be picking up this theme, this year...maybe a theme? Read more about their new album, Trapped, and a bit more about the band members here.

Raise your kingdom, Fill Your belly
Swallow
Them all
Heathens who ignore your call
To stone

Nice picture from a Russian language site listing various mythological creatures. From their gallery, a wood carving in the monastery chruch of St. Ursus in Aosta, Italy. Mmmm, worshipful!


This has probably been shared before, but here it is again: Basilisk vs Cockatrice 3d printable figure from FoxCraft Creations. I always view this as more of a lovers' spat than an existential, life-or-death confrontation. :>


Also shared the band Demeted before due to their single Basilisk; another review came up. "Basilisk brings the myth of a giant basilisk that lives within the catacombs of Warsaw to life, through the view of the basilisk itself...Musically it’s the most complex. Layered guitars twirl around the blast beats from Godlewski as the crippling bass from Dominik Gajewski rumbles your ear canals." Later the music is referred to as a must-hear EP for"those who like to soak up culture via blasts of face-melting mayhem." Uh....rock on, I guess!


I've been using a Razer Basilisk mouse for work-related activities ever since 2020. The company shows up in my searches from time to time because of sales, or because that mouse has made another top 5 gaming devices list, but now there's apparently a new product: Basilisk Mobile Mouse and Keyboard. Instead of a scroll wheel, it supposedly senses which direction you're tilting this new mini-sized mouse and scrolls the screen that way. It has a quick access buttom that brings up a window for ChatGPT questions, and several reviewers pointed out that having a big window pop up in the middle of a game because your thumb happened to move a centimeter to the left sounds more annoying that useful. There's stuff in the articles about the keyboard as well but that was of lesser interest to me. The portability isn't a selling point for me either: why would I WANT to do work anywhere and everywhere?


Did everyone phone up their mothers for (American) Mother's Day? I called mine but he hung up on me. :>

Finally a little joke that I'd like to illustrate sometime.

Hauke: Finished grading, another semester done. Interestingly the student who did the best and the student who did the worst are alphabetically right next to each other.

Bruce: What are the odds of that?

Hauke: Probably not all that hard to figure out...

Bruce: You could put a question about it on a test next time. Only one of them would get it right.

This is one of those things that I found more amusing than is probably normal.

I know I've posted this before but...look at that face! Awwwww...such a little poofy scalybutt fluffball from Moss and Moonshine.

Hoodies and other apparel with a colorful cockatrice design seemingly inspired by "pride" month...coming right up. A more traditional coloration is also on sale. They make mention of Eberron which from what I could read is a newer take on original D&D stories...never had much experience with it, myself.

I've been reading a lot about how hard it is to get a feather in "Dark and Darker", some game that redditors seem to be working through. And it turns out there's a quest that requires it: you can get a cockatrice companion. Seriously, it's not as hard to get one as they're making it out to be in this game...just ask  BruceBadger

From Toronto, Apple of Basilisk has a review about a newly released album, His Crowned Skull Raised to the Sun. It's available on Bandcamp for those into a band that has "built a foundation atop black metal and sludge metal, albeit far removed from the former’s naturalism and the latter’s southern bend.". I think I've referred to this band before, since this is their second album (their first was Crowned Sloth).

While this isn't a new song, someone pointed out to me a track from a group named Orgone, just titled Basilisk. It has one of the...less flattering heraldic versions right by the letter K of the album cover but it's the thought that counts. Thanks,  Obonic

I've posted miniatures from this set before, but they're nicely arranged and painted by haveanupvotegif just in time for Easter! Don't Steal Cockatrice Eggs Diorama.

They write: The halfling thief, cockatrices, and egg nest are all from the Reaper Miniatures Bones 5 Fan Favorites Expansion. The terrain is from the Dungeons & Lasers Woodhaven set. All painted by me :)

Honestly, if someone asked nicely...and promised to sit on it conscientiously...I'd let them become a foster parent.

Aside from someone's Metal cover of the Cockatrice Boss from Super Ghouls'n'Ghosts on YouTube, I thought I had found a few interesting Jazzy songs but it turned out they were just AI-generated "Jazzy" sounding compositions (if you want to call something made by AI a composition). So I won't share them here. If you want to find them regardless, look for Release-Topic, Sally-Topic, or presumably WhatWhatChickenButt-Topic from World Music Office.

Those in Richmond, VA had a chance on March 23 to swing by Night of the Cockatrice: a collaboration between Nightcrawler, a cocktail outfit; and Cobra Burger, which sells...well, you can guess from the name. This seems to happen every month, if you live in the area and didn't know. Pour one out for me! (Another article with more about the participating businesses.)

Neat tattoo design described as "kick ass" by the artist, onewiththeneedle. This was apparently inspired by the person who then received it. Never liked the bat wings but I'll agree the design kicks ass.

That's about it for the wrap-up of March. I'll throw in that I tried getting a short story into a magazine, Plott Hound but after sitting on the story for about 15 days they finally sent a rejection notice. I've read of two other people from FA who had also been rejected; advice from better writers than I has been "Get used to it". :>

A dealer in Sydney has six Minton Cockatrice cups with saucers for sale. They also list various plates, jugs, and other tablewear. My favorite may be this... uh... "Octaconal" dish with only six sides. Lovely!

A 3d printable cockatrice from @NovMinis. I may have shared this before but it looked a little unfamiliar. And very nice!

More artwork: a Lego-made basilisk mural at the Toy Worlds Museum. From the article (translated from German): This was made by René Hofmeister, the only certified Lego builder in the German-speaking region.

Update from Basel (they're hitting the news so much I feel like I have to go there at some point): A train customized with basilisk artwork. "Inside, the advantages of Salt Home are presented to passengers in more detail using window stickers and tram hangers, and are supplemented with a special 'Basel offer'," says the agency, whose Salt tram will be running in Basel until November. I'm not sure what the "Salt style" is, searches didn't avail me. But I'm really curious!

Wrapping it up for the first half of March: Polish band Demeted, is planning to release an album, Rituals on May 9 of this year. The first single is Basilisk!



Alive, but so alone
I’m turning all my loved ones into stone
Despised, but never gone
Your body will stay here, but not your soul

Spring Break is finished, starting the slide down to the end of the spring semester...I can't wait for summer.

More bling! Not sure why this showed up in a recent search since the auction ended in June of 2023, but this silver ring with cockatrice as well as a scorpion (supposedly) that dates back to possibly the 1200's.

Another piece from HippyChickns with crocheted cockatrices. This one may be from a different pattern book than the one I found last month. It's nice to see the small upward trend in popularity!

ESC, the Eurovision Song Contest, had a contest for their mascot for 2025. Art students from Basel competed to submit the winning design, and they came up with a dopey looking heart with big eyes, hair, and lips. You can read more about Lumo at this article but why would you want to?

Instead check out what they could have had!. This comes from an internal editorial contest run by the board of Baseler Zeitung. Seriously, if you lived in Basel and you have an awesome heraldic mascot that is a natural choice, why go with anything else? Lumo reminds me of the beginning of this Samwell video--he must have picked up the eyes and hair later.

Admittedly the editors didn't come up with too many other great ideas. A big piece of swiss cheese with a choir seated in the holes? A set of stairs famous for having people trip down them? Stick with the basilisks, folks.

A tattoo that can only be done once? That's what Bruna Bianculli says. This hand-drawn tattoo design is one of a kind and is only available to be tattooed once. Once claimed, it is ready to be booked without a scheduled consultation appointment. I'm lucky I saved the image to my desktop in the meantime!

A fabulous jeweled brooch dated to the 19th century from thevintagejeweller, for sale at $20,941 US from their store. The cockatrice's face, body, neck, wings and tail have been adorned with a multitude of rose cut diamonds, creating a shimmering effect. A vibrant red ruby serves as the eye with the centralised sceptre featuring two additional identical rubies, adding a touch of colour and intrigue. Intriguing!

I haven't ever been one for tattoos or jewelry, but these shorts are definitely my style. Plenty of other unique items of apparel at Hellzen Art's shop!

If you're going to be around the Netherlands, the city zoo in Arnhem has an attraction until March 9 where you can view basilisks! Along with 19 other less important mythological creatures. Check it out here in Dutch!

Hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day!

Spotted on Reddit: what type of stone do petrified subjects become? Concretrice. (The_Shyrobot)

Band in Toronto named Apple of Basilisk released an EP named His Crowned Skull Raised to the Sun which you can listen to at the referenced article; it's one of five singles they have ready for a release of an album later this year. According to the band, "it deals with greed, selfishness, class warfare, death acceptance, and revolution." So they've got that going for 'em!

A wild remix has emerged: Temple Music/Rendeece, which I stumbled across back in March of 2022, has released remixes of With a Golden sickle including tracks like The Cockatrice and The Storm-Cock which at least has a title that just sounds awesome. I may just want it for the Album Cover.

And finally on the cuter side of things, a crochet cockatrice chick by tashabee.creations. The pattern is apparently going to be included in an upcoming book, Fantasy Crochet Creatures. I can knit but never got the knack for crochet. I should give it another go.

Keeping up with the slight increase in frequency of updates, so long as I have material to draw from: first BasilCockWatch of the year!

Lego build designed by Ids de Jong, the Lego cockatrice. Skinny whiplike tail, but massive size; it's a whole diorama with a puny knight to finish off.

A fidget spinner that I couldn't get to display correctly without clicking on the big blank field where a preview picture should be. Looks like it spins around and has a moveable tail. A 3D model free for download. They claim it's "AI free" which may be more and more of a thing in the coming years.


See a list of different appearances of cockatrices in heraldry at wikimedia. I think I've seen some of them before but the one with the chain leash was new to me.


A company I've mentioned before, UKPosters, has a new design for a cockatrice basilisk medieval dragon mythology monster. All right marketing team, way to use those tags! It can be ordered as a simple print you hang on a wall, to a huge wall mural. And they're cheap! (Cheep Cheep, Hatchday coming right up!)

Get a game from Steam, Siralim, and find out which cockatrice is the best. From the Cave Cockatrice, with its Weird Dance trait that gains 2 random traits that belong to the same race as the first creature in your party, to the Contagious Cockatrice, where at the start of battles your cockatrice creatures gain a random cockatrice trait, and ultimately their capstone skill, Sigil of the Cockatrice. If all creatures in your party are cockatrices, enemies are always Confused, with a 50% chance of attacking or casting harmful spells on their allies. I know I could have used something like that all those times gangs armed with mirrors came looking for me!

January 14 was "Little Christmas", also known as the Serbian New Year. It's a holiday for the Orthodox Church and it came up in my searches due to references to a certain Father Basilisk, written about by Father Zosima, one of his students. He had good advice, I think: "...we should regulate our life in such a way that we are in harmony with the conditions and place in which we live." Next year I'll try to remember to light a candle at a crossroads in honor of Father Basilisk!

Spotted on Bluesky:

The number 2025 is a little interesting since it's both

(1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9)²

and

1³ + 2³ + 3³ + 4³ + 5³ + 6³ + 7³ + 8³ + 9³

Christmas is just past half done (I think we're on the 7th day now) so it's probably time to forget late Christmas presents and start thinking about Valentine's Day or even perhaps certain hatchdays that might be coming up soon on the 28th, hint hint.


A figure from the D&D module Quest from the Infinite Staircase, a cockatrice from CoolStuffInc.com. It's on a small transparent stand.


And antiques of the personal effects types from PickClick's UK or AU shops:

Silver Hairbrush with Cockatrice on the handle (though for some reason "Swamp creature" is included in the description?) and Purse frame, also silver, tagged as possibly also a dragon. I'll admit it's a little confusing.



If you're still on break and looking for ways to burn up some time, check out an old game made by an acquaintance of mine, CockBlock Hero!

Special mid-month edition for those who may have not finished all their shopping.

HMS Cockatrice Insulated Bodywarmer for sale at The Military Store. Embroidered with the logo of the ship's mascot, it's a polyamide sleeveless vest you can wear to brave cold weather.

Heraldic Basilisk wall hanging from a Dutch outfit, Europosters. They guarantee delivery for Christmas if you order by midnight tonight!

And for relaxing fun activities, the Lego Cockatrice for TheLegoDM's Advent Calendar series over on YouTube.

A card from a game called Battle Spirits, the HighEvo Cockatrice. "When your Life would be reduced by an opposing effect, if you control any "Contractor Uranus", by summoning this Mirage without paying the cost, during this turn, your Life would only be reduced by one by opposing effects."

That...doesn't sound quite as cool as I was hoping. This came to my attention due to an auction for the card, which has since closed. Golden wattles are an interesting choice! The mechanical spirit of Popla lives on.


I wish I could have checked out this special but apparently you can only watch Legends from Austria if you're actually in Austria. Sad bawwwwwwk. Kind of looks like a puppet in the ad, I might have to snoop around for more footage.

From TV Today:

“The Basilisk”

In medieval Vienna, the bakery fountain is haunted by a basilisk. The baker's family is at a loss until a brave apprentice is prepared to defeat the monster - on the condition that he can marry the baker's daughter. With the cunning of a mirror, he defeats the basilisk and wins the heart of his lover.


First of all, "haunting"? Well...all right. The mirror part is just disappointing. I get it: we're never going to live that down. Maybe we should try to set up a cottage industry geared towards defeating us to win someone's hand in marriage?

Looks like they're also showing the Pied Piper; there are a few other legends I hadn't heard of before.



A new novel in Lindsay Straube's "Split or Swallow" series: Kiss of the Basilisk ships out in February of 2025 but is available for pre-order now.

Twenty-year-old Temperance Verus has never been kissed. But that's what the basilisk is for. Spicy!

In late breaking news, an outfit named Quercus has picked up the publishing rights to the story which is great news for Ms. Straube!



In Basel, a collectable jersey patterned after their football (soccer) club was the prize in a scavenger hunt for Eier des Basilisken! (Basilisk eggs!)

At selected locations in the city, you can now find the hidden golden eggs of the basilisk and thus secure the new jersey!” writes the FCB on its own website. Don’t waste too much time and start looking. Follow the various clues and be one of the first to get access to the limited jersey.

Golden, huh? Must be some branch of the family I'm not too familiar with.

Pictures of the jersey are here at an article on SoccerBible.com.

Over the next few weeks, FC Basel, in conjunction with the Basel Tourism, will organize a special treasure hunt, with four gold footballs (symbolizing four golden eggs) hidden around the city. A series of clues for finding them will then be given on the social media profiles of FC Basel and Basel Tourismus.

There's a video about the legend (an old rooster laying an egg incubated by a snake), close-up photos of the patterning on the shirt, and a claim that the jersey is for sale at Macron.com (though I couldn't find it--maybe they're waiting for the scavenger hunt to be over?).



Jam out to a remix of Cockatrice by Centripidity (older version featured in a prior update). Does it count as a "remix" if you just toss in a few more synthesized guitar sounds?

Pretty slim pickings this month for whatever reason.


More "cockatrices as food" propaganda here at the Kobold Press. Kobold Press? They can read and write?


A mention in a game, Metaphor: ReFantazio: Kokamordos, the Terror of the Skies. Looks pretty flashy but as usual, his whole deal is to get killed after a long battle so your party is even better equipped and prepared to go kill someone more important.


I'd said that I would get away from miniatures for a while but they fill in slow stretches like this nicely.

This one might be new to the report (but I could be wrong): Cockatrice from Miniset.net. We're warned there's "some assembly required" so the parts that arrive may not look quite like this. But he's a friendly fellow, looks like he's got horns and some nice scute-like tail spikes. (Pssst, here's a great view of his behind. Almost looks like you'd get a privacy curtain if you wanted to bury your face up...somewhere.)

Several views (including a rotating one at YouTube) of another model of the expertly rendered model here. He's got some impressive spurs. Done by Владимир Юдин (which I believe is "Vlad").


And finally, a picture of a friendly confrontation. Friendship is magic, everybody!. Artist is Baron Engel.

Writing

The collection of short stories by Doug Skinner, The Potato Farm, has been out for almost a year. But he recently posted something about one of the stories in a blog:

...The creature stared out at me, its baleful eye, meticulously rendered in Cadmium yellow, contrasting boldly with the scarlet comb and wattles. Its neck led down to a squat body and thrashing tail, their scales a mottled green. Its plumed legs ended in muscular feet, the left one raised, its sharp talons menacing the viewer. The anatomy was persuasive, the modeling effective, the brushwork, frankly, rather deft. But when I looked the animal in the eye, I didn’t die. I had failed.

I turned away from the easel and sank my head into my hands.

A couple of years ago I bought an anthology just for one story and was a little disappointed; I have a story of my own in an anthology. I get that it's a grab bag. But I may look into putting this on a wish list or something, just in case it's good.


Videos and Music
For some reason quite a few songs came out around this time. A few were really late in August and probably belong in that report, but I'll include them here as that is when I found them.

A Cockatrice Hast thou Hatch'd to the World, Whose Unavoided Eye is Murderous by ixzo. Not sure if that's a channel, a band, or both. They seem to like mythological themes though!

And I can usually count on Poland for good basilisk stuff. Likho released their single, "Basilisk", and it's in English. Very heavy speed metal sound to it.

I child of cock overseen by the toad is something I might have to steal for a signature.




Statues! Well...miniatures.

A minature I haven't seen before: Enraged Cockatrice from Tim Prow, at Diehard Miniatures. Looks like he's falling out of that tree...I could see being a bit put off, but enraged? Get a grip, kiddo. Heh, literally!

Adorable little cockatrice (and "Quail-trice") chicks for sale at Moss and Moonshine. They seem to make them and turn around and find homes for them fast, so you may have to browse the site (scroll down and look for "Creature Guide" and you'll probably spot a few).

Spotted by clairvoyantchocobo: while I was happy Dungeon Meshi raised basilisk and cockatrice awareness, I have mixed feelings about these action figures. Why do they have to make us look delicious!? I know it's in the title of the show but...bawk it.


Extras?

I've run across basilisk firearms, ships, gamer mice, and sports teams. Now, there's Wirehead Instruments Basilisk, a hybrid generative bassline synthesizer. Available for $310; what will you see? On the hardware side, it has a mono input and output, sync in/out (0-5V rising-edge and compatible with Korg Volca, Eurorack…), ten potentiometers, and six buttons. Six buttons?
(Counts limbs in his feral form) One, two, three...six! It's like it's meant to be.