Fear and Folklore
31 Days of Halloween is in full swing and it really shouldn't be a surprise that I am
indulging in it like I would a plate full of well-cooked, barbeque ribs. Despite my enjoyment of all these scary stories about mythical creatures, I found myself thinking that something is missing. I couldn't put my finger on what the real problem was for a while until I stumbled across a show about fear and that's when it hit me. What I was missing in this drone of horror and lore was fear.
So I started asking myself, what about these tales makes us so fearful? Despite the majority, if asked, would say that the possibility of these creatures actually existing is pretty low, why do we still scream or cower in fear when we watch these shows and hear the stories? It just goes to show that an idea having the slightest possibility to be reality can make anyone, even those who have never seen it for themselves, believe in its existence. Add that to our natural fear of the unknown and the unexplained in life, then it all starts to make a little more sense.
Now I am quite aware that there are those who do not fear these things but rather enjoy them and pursue them as well. When it comes to folklore, I can't say whether or not I believe in these creatures but while reading and learning more about these characters I've noticed something. For every folklore story there are those who without a doubt believe in them and others who claimed to have seen these events unfold with their own eyes. On the flipside, others have decided on a more logical perspective, believing that the characters of our stories are simply exaggerated explanation for unfortunate events that have happened in the past. Stories created for entertainment as well as a way to explain what they could not fully understand.
Now, I can't tell you if you should or shouldn't believe in these stories. To be honest I haven't had any personal experiences to share...and I don't really want to. However, these stories in a sense are a connection to our past and quite entertaining. So grab your loved ones, tell a few tales around a camp fire (or if you're like me, simple candle light) and enjoy the many reasons behind the things that go bump in the night.
Stay spooky!
