Last night, I was approached at work by a very charming young woman, with perhaps a bit of the naïf about her, who had a somewhat unusual question:
"Do you know anything about the red-eyed people who come out after dark and scare other people? Are they vampires?"
Being a Yonkers guy, I had an immediate response: "No, those are drunks."
I think she was referring to the urban legend about black eyed children, so not being a total dick, after my typical disclaimer that I watched quite a bit of classic Scooby Doo as a kid, so I didn't believe in monsters, I referred her to the Creepypasta website so she could read up on urban legends.
Then I pulled a Lafcadio Hearn on her and revealed my red, sleep-deprived eyes.
The extent to which people will believe narratives outside their lived experience, whether spooky stories or religious mythology, is a source of great fascination to me.
ReplyDeleteSo. Have you ever seen a burning bush that talked? How about a snake that tried to make you eat fruit? Or maybe a flying horse?
No? Well, maybe the stories don't have as much to tell us as we might have thought...
Well I saw a melting floor once. It was trying to talk, also, but I couldn't understand.
ReplyDelete~
the red-eyed people who come out after dark and scare other people
ReplyDeleteSee, I am considerate, I wear dark glasses.
The extent to which people will believe narratives outside their lived experience, whether spooky stories or religious mythology, is a source of great fascination to me.
ReplyDeleteIt's particularly fascinating when the narratives are clearly fictional, and documented as such... for instance, the "Slenderman" stories on Creepypasta. There are some "paranormal" believers who actually aver that this fictional character now manifests itself as a Tulpa.
Well I saw a melting floor once. It was trying to talk, also, but I couldn't understand.
Chilling in the icehouse?
See, I am considerate, I wear dark glasses.
I wear my Smut glasses at night...