We might think of grubs hidden under a rock when we hear the word "larva" today. The word comes from Latin, but at least originally, it doesn't mean "insect"—rather, it means "ghost." Today we consider the strange development of biological terms while also revisiting a famous ghost story in a comedic and somewhat bizarre novel from the Roman world, Petronius's Satyricon.

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Music: Adapted from Sonatine by Maurice Ravel, performed by Irene Posviatovska (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

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