Historical Periods of Interest

There have always been parts of history that have always drawn me in. The ones I read about- for no reason other than I can. The one that if I find a movie, or a novel based around that topic, I usually end up reading it or watching it.

I'm not sure why these draw me in, but I thought it would be nice to make a list of them and compare with everyone else. So, in no particular order, here they are:

1. The Holocaust: I know that this isn't uncommon. Who isn't interested in the biggest crime against humanity in history? And honestly, I can't think of how I came to know of The Holocaust. It's just one of those things you just know about. But I think what really made it real for me was reading The Diary of Anne Frank. I read it (after reading about it in another book, no less) when I was 13- the same age Anne was when they went into hiding. And it's weird, because I will read books and watch movies about and set in that time, but at the same time I don't want to. Because it's so awful it just depresses the hell out of me. This does extend to all of World War II and the Nazi era, but the Holocaust especially.
2. The Salem Witch Trials: Maybe its because when I was 10 and started reading Harry Potter, I also began reading everything I could find about the history of witchcraft- I was sort of taking my own History of Magic class, haha. And reading about the Salem Witch Trials... I was hooked. I've done 2 papers on it at uni, read so many novels about it, studied The Crucible twice and seen the movie like 5 times. I think what it is about this is that there was this huge hysteria about it, so many people killed and jailed, all based off the accusations of a few young girls. 
3. Henry VIII: This could be the whole six wives thing. Or maybe the accusation that Anne Boleyn was a witch- I think I found this the same time as the Salem Witch Trials. Whatever the reason, I've always been hooked on the stories of Henry the Eighth, his six wives and his kids. Which reminds me... I keep meaning to watch The Tudors but I haven't got around to it yet... 
4. Ancient Egypt: I guess this isn't a surprise. Pyramids, Pharaohs, what's not to love? Of course, the specific thing that got me hooked was the whole Tutankhamen's tomb and the curse. Who doesn't love the idea of a curse? Not that I'd want a curse on me, but the idea is fascinating. 
5. Greek Mythology: It may or not surprise you that I prefer Greek mythology over Egyptian mythology, despite my love and fascination of Ancient Egypt. And don't get me wrong, I love all mythology. But Greek mythology is just so much fun. There's love and drama and the stories are just really fun to read. I do love a good story. 
6. Joan of Arc: A young girl gets visions from God, leads an army to victory and is burned at the stake as a witch at 19. Enough said, really. There's so much about her story that draws me in.
7. The Sinking of the Titanic: Maybe this was because of the movie. I don't know. I saw it when I was like 8, and honestly I haven't watched it since. (It freaks me out. I couldn't go on a boat for months afterwards. Any movie with a big disaster or lots of deaths tend to do that). On a similar note, the sinking of the Lusitania in 1914 also gets me. Mostly because I can't understand why this happened 2 years after the Titanic sank, yet they hadn't fixed the problem which caused so many deaths the first time- lack of lifeboats. Plus, the Lusitania also has the thing of being sunk by the German U-boats, and only in 19 minutes and getting the USA into WWI and... well, it's a really interesting story. Look it up.
8. The Underground Railroad: The whole slavery thing really. We don't really have that in Australia. I mean, we had the Aborigines working as servants and having their children taken away and all kinds of awful stuff; but we didn't have the slave trade like is in the US history. But I like the story of the Underground Railroad and how it all worked. I've even taught it, and I had my best lesson when I taught the Underground Railroad. Plus, I first came to know about it through reading the Baby-sitters Club. That series taught me a lot.
9. Pocahontas: Thank you Disney. And yeah, I know the movie isn't historically accurate, but it got me interested enough to look up the real story. And isn't that the important thing? Plus, the music was written by Stephen Schwartz and gave us Colours of the Wind, so what's not to like?