“An unmistakably dark aura emanates from the American wood. Something heavy and sinister. Tales of ghosts, cryptids, missing people, and occult phenomena arise from every corner of the country. Paranoia over just what kind of threats might exist out there in Nature persists deep into the subconscious of the insulated American mind.”
I get where you are going with this and I will subscribe, but —
It’s not as if, say, European forests have never been considered dark/sinister/haunted. On the contrary, the archetypal European fairy tale presents “entering the forest” as supremely dangerous; it is there that the innocent, the Fool, or the adventurer encounters supernatural evil.
Nature is chthonic. We don’t fear forests because we are Americans. We fear them because they are thin places, no matter where they are on the planet or what our respective national cultures make of them…
As Americans turns their back on Christ the pagan corn gods return for blood.
A unifying theory of America
“Our national character is aversion— to the unfamiliar, the exotic, the uncivilized.“
What would this imply in regards to counter-cultural movements?
Well done.
Excellent.
Always liked that photo.
Fantastic.
“An unmistakably dark aura emanates from the American wood. Something heavy and sinister. Tales of ghosts, cryptids, missing people, and occult phenomena arise from every corner of the country. Paranoia over just what kind of threats might exist out there in Nature persists deep into the subconscious of the insulated American mind.”
I get where you are going with this and I will subscribe, but —
It’s not as if, say, European forests have never been considered dark/sinister/haunted. On the contrary, the archetypal European fairy tale presents “entering the forest” as supremely dangerous; it is there that the innocent, the Fool, or the adventurer encounters supernatural evil.
Nature is chthonic. We don’t fear forests because we are Americans. We fear them because they are thin places, no matter where they are on the planet or what our respective national cultures make of them…
Okay maybe I was too quick to comment - just read your 50 truths post & it is very good. ❤️
https://youtu.be/K2tgZCabTzs?si=ts7ISXRe1TyzDLpN
(Ugh since Substack doesn’t show previews - link to appropriate commentary on subject from Naked Lunch)