Friday, November 28, 2014


À̩̄̄́š̘̼̘͎̆ͨ̓ ̠͙̣̰̜̹̾̇̏a̤̜͍͙̭̠ͨb̘̳̪̻ͯ͐̉ͅő̝̠͙̘͈̚v̙͈̳͖͊ͣͯͫ͛ͦ̍e̘̺̘̰ͣ͋̂̍̂
̳͙̜͈̃ͤ̂ͪ̓
̟̣͚͈̯̿̐ͬ͌̈ͯs̭͎͉͉̓̅ó̰͓͔̬̩͎̑̅ ̱̹ͥ́b̠͙͛̆e͖̫̪̦̫͒ͯl͓̳͈̬͎̟͙͒ͥ̏̾ͦo̜̳̹̻͇̺w̥͎̜̫̳̱͖̋̎̈̽͌







Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Hi. It's Emma again. A strange thing happened to me today. First off, I heard from Bri. Or at least I think I did. I got a video from her. But it doesn't make any sense. It's not even a video of her. It looks like part of her research, maybe, but it's even more incoherent than the e-mail that she sent me. It might be something that she's working on and hasn't finished yet, because it's stored on the internet, but I don't know why she would have sent it to me then if it's not done. The e-mail that it came in even looks corrupted in some way.

 
See, look at the subject line. It's all glitchy.

I don't want to be this person, but I'm starting to worry that maybe all this research that she's doing is stirring up some forces which shouldn't be messed with. If she were reading this she'd probably "pshhh" me and laugh--she's the scientist. (Bri, if you're reading this, PLEASE DO. Just so I know you're okay.) But I believe in things, forces, energy, stories. That's probably another story too, but maybe not. If Bri's technology is glitching and contacting me for help, then maybe there's a reason for that.

I don't know. I don't know what's going on right now. But here's the video, in case anybody else can figure something out.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Hi, um . . . This is Emma. Or I guess Bri has been referring to me as M. Anyway.

I just, I sent her an e-mail several days ago asking how she was, and she sent me this very strange response:

"Hey Em,

It's Bri. I just wanted to keppp back in touch with you an d say hi, I'm really sorry i didnt get in touch after ou skype thing but i just

rememner hw I said I felt like I was hetting pparanoid.? It's not just that it's not just that, i'm really sorry, something it wrong something is wrong there is someone outside

something is happening and something is wrong

i've gotta close the blind because there's a man"

And that was it. Bri does stuff sometimes--she gets wrapped up in her work and I don't hear from her. But I've never seen anything like this. There's never been this level of, well, paranoia, for lack of a better word. And the e-mail doesn't even really make sense. It's not like Bri to be this incoherent. And since this e-mail I haven't heard from her. I've tried calling her and texting her, but either her phone is dead or she's in a place with really shitty service.

I'd try and find her, but I really can't right now. I live too far away and I have too much to deal with, with work and taking care of my sister's kid. I'm kind of Sydney's surrogate mom. But I guess that's another story.

Anyway, Bri gave me an invite to contribute to her blog a while back. For "just in case". I had no idea what that meant. But I suppose now would be the time to say something. So I just thought I'd put this out here, in case anyone maybe knows something or has heard from her or maybe SHE sees this post. She might turn up some time soon--that's what I'm hoping anyway. But for now I have no way of contacting her.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Research log 11(?), archives box thoughts

That last little packet of material is still bothering me. Just something about it is planted in my head. It seems off, less like an academic collection and more of a horde or something.

Also, a still of the paper with the code on it. I'm honestly not sure what to do with it, or what technology I need to figure it out. Since it seems that there's more than a few viewers here, do let me know if you find anything out.

Something's not right. I'm going to try to work past it, but if this is anything like from before, I might not have any choice.


Thursday, November 20, 2014

(A personal note)

Well my life just got weird.





Regardless, I'll still be working my way through the box. There's still some pretty interesting stuff regarding local folk stories, and there's still a chance I might be able to find this Braunmuller's corpora.

... Still, I'm worried. If I didn't get this box from the local library, where did I get it? To be entirely honest, I don't actually recall being in the local library, nor does that lady's voice on the phone sound familiar. I've been pretty stressed and tired, and it's not like memory lapses are uncommon for me.

But where the hell did I get this box?

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Research log 10

Going over the incomplete manuscript again, and I found an interesting tidbit that wasn't very much elaborated upon. It's definitely something to look into, ask about with my next round of local interviews.


This is alluding to forced servitude by a supernatural figure, either for protection of community, or as a kind of debt repayed in kind for wealth rendered. This is pretty standard behavior for these types of malignant or semi-malignant creatures; if you look at the fairytale Water Nixie recorded by the Brothers' Grimm, you can see a prime example of many existing stories.

They also have an example of abduction in exchange for prosperity and good fortune in The Nixie in the Millpond. The story indicates that even while a child's life may be forfeit, they might not be collected by the water demon until well into adulthood-- another interesting parallel to The Man in the Woods, where he appears to people of all ages are said to be taken by him. But given the vulnerability of youths, this is where the bulk of the abductions tend to be.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Addendum to research log #7

There's a few particularly potent themes and motifs that I wanted to address separately from the video logs that I found in the research article and field notes.

The article mentioned Beowulf, Grendel, and Grendel's mother. Now, this introduces an interesting angle to the nature of these folk figures I hadn't considered before. Grendel and Grendel;s mother were thought of as types of water demons, considering they actually lived below a waterfall.

But more than that, both Grendel and his mother were cannibals. They didn't just target humankind for access to favors or labor, but literally to consume them. But then, when considering all the myths talking about sacrifices for water demons, what else would those sacrifices be for, if not for consumption?

This man in the woods, who I've heard mentioned in my interviews as being seen near bodies of water, sounds pretty close in terms of behavior and physical attributes. The interviews I've had so far haven't mentioned "whip-like appendages", but the man in the woods is said to have abnormally long arms.

These are actually very characteristic of water demons, especially the nicors, necks, etc mentioned in the article. Jenny Greenteeth is another example of a neck that evolved into a sort of boogeyman, and as the story goes, she has those long, skinny arms used to drag in victims.

Otherwise, I'm going to be looking into Smith's Mills and Dr. Frederick Braumuller. This might give me more of a lead as to how I can find more of the project's research, and hopefully be able to compare regional folk figures and their purpose in times of stress and disaster.

Research log 9: Special Collections Archive #2

Second go through of the special collections archive box. The researchers seem to have found a similar figure to the man in the woods. They call him the Millpond Man.

Mention is made of a "Smith's Mill", so I'll have to see if this is a name code for a town, or if there is a real town by that name. It would bear worth looking into, I'll bet.


research log 8

Here's the 1st video log. Will be combing through more of it today.


So basically this is the first opportunity I've had to be able to look through the box. I've managed to identify the underlying motif with this particular project: myths, folklore, and legends surrounding water monsters and demons.


Monday, November 17, 2014

research progress

Alright, so my initial assumption that these tales about the man in the woods were entirely oral was untrue, to an extent.

I found a record in the library, in the special archives collection about old, local folk stories. I mean, other than it being included in the library collection, it's almost worthless, because there's no way I can source this. The box doesn't come with any sort of authors or identifiers.

I went to go talk to the front desk about it, but they had almost no information about it either, other than it joined their collection in 1999.

I made a video log of it tonight, and I'll upload it tomorrow. A storm is coming, and the internet is spotty at best. That being said, at least a photo of the box.



(In other news, things have been weird. I keep waking up with injuries I didn't go to sleep with. This worries me. I really cannot be breaking down like this, I don't have the time for another hospital debacle.)

Sunday, November 16, 2014


 Sciences Occultes. This was a pretty great brace of volumes I found, looking at the socio-cultural foundation for the cthonic figures in my research. Demons in ancient religions were very starkly not the demons that are widely agreed upon today under a Judeo-Christian mindset.

Closer to 'bad spirits' than demons, really, but often with a good deal more power and agency.


Saturday, November 15, 2014

Research log 7

Wow it's been a few days. I've really got to catch up on my progress reports, because a lot has been going on.

"There's a man in the woods."

I know that something's really stuck in my mind when I dream about it. For the past few days, I've been dreaming about being in the woods, at home. It's so quiet, like the air has been infused with the fabric of silence. I know there's something out in the distance, and I should be afraid. But I'm not.

It's those interviews. Listening to those people telling their stories about the man in the woods. Speaking of which, I've had about 3 more interviews with people, with a smattering of different stories, which I'll have to write up the transcripts for.

But here's the thing: they all talk about the man in the woods.With that phraseology. I'm getting goosebumps, and I'm not sure if it's the stories, or the monthly mayhem come back to mess with me.


In other news: local library was a go! Unsurprisingly, not as well equipped as the campus library re: folklore and ethnographic texts recovering local superstitions and folk stories.

But there was a surprising and unexpected part of this excursion. The library also has an archive section not open to the general public, and has records and collections available pretty much only to scholars, researchers, teachers, and people with a valid request and reason.

Since I'm a graduate researcher with a student ID, I managed to get in. In the section concerning local folklore and legends, I found a pretty fantastic collection of manuscripts done a few decades ago by a local college professor who had been studying regional folktales.

What's better is that the librarian actually agreed to let me borrow the collection. It's got its own sealed box and everything. I'll be going through it very soon, and I'll log it through notes and video.

Regarding that floppy disk I found in the tunnels: it's gone missing. I could kick myself in the teeth. I am so angry at myself. I thought I had it in my research journal, but sometime in the past few days it's wandered off somewhere. If anything else, I had wanted to see if it was related to the tunnel creep. Now it's doubtful I'll ever know.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Research log #6: interview log

Well, it appears that the recordings I've done re: the interviews have gotten corrupted somehow. So the video is completely shot, but the audio seems to be okay.

That having been said, I'm putting it up here anyway. God only knows if it'll disappear entirely like the skype call I had with M, so I want to make a record, even if it is remarkably shitty. 



By now I just kind of want to punch everything in the face. 

In other frustrating tech news, I've been having problems reading that floppy disk I found. Still an uncracked mystery. I'll try again tonight. If I keep having sleep troubles like I've been having, I'll have all night to do it.

Research log 5

Didn't have the chance to actually sit down and do a write up of the interviews last night, so instead I did a video log of my general impressions. Will probably end up putting it here later just so that I have all my research and notes collated in one place.

On another note, I've been feeling kind of... weird and uneasy. Unusually paranoid. I can't really seem to place why. M has been pestering me about laying off the caffeine and the usual, which granted may have something to do with it.

Also have not had the chance to look into the floppy disk as of yet. It's still sitting in my bag along with my research notebook.



To do today:

-Post video about interview impressions
-Interview write up.
-Local library trawling.

I'm actually kind of excited about checking out the local library. You can find some of the weirdest shit there.

Also, anybody who's interested in contributing a story they heard in their community about scary type of figures who pop up around times of disaster or loss, please do drop me an email or a comment.

I'm particularly interested if you have a "man in the woods" figure story. For some reason, this is simultaneously intriguing and unsettling for me.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Research log #4: interview session 1

Interviews.

I've had two interviews with local community members so far. One of them a housewife in her 50s, the other a blue collar guy in his late 30s. As this is a public log, I won't be quoting them directly or putting anything up here that could identify them, or reproducing their voices or likenesses.

Otherwise, I'll post something a bit more substantial tomorrow, but for now I just want to really get down what I felt about the interviews today. I still have a lot of work to get through, coding and analyzing these things.

But I'm feeling pretty encouraged, if a little disturbed. These, combined with the tunnel findings, and I'm unnerved at how pervasive these stories are, locally.

Pretty much right off I've identified a local... kind of boogeyman figure. I can't say an urban legend, because urban legends are almost strictly modern, and I hesitate to call him a folktale, because even though he seems to have a pre-modern origin, his story motif has persisted into modernity almost completely unaltered.

Both of the interviewees mentioned this figure, and both of them told stories that had similar themes and motifs.

There's a man in the woods.

That's what they say. That's what they all say. That's how the story starts off, how it always starts off.

"There's a man in the woods."

Research log #3

Alright so....

Man it has been an incredibly long day. I had the opportunity to speak with a few more students about the tunnel creep. So far, there doesn't seem to be any kind of prevailing area he's predominantly spotted in, which that's fine, it's possible it just isn't included in its mythology. Just in general, it's spotted mostly at night, and seems to be a man. Closer to the humanities side of campus is generally where the most stories take place.

No one could say for sure what its apparent threat was. Just that after someone has seen it, the students tend to go missing for a while, or disappear.

I did have a brief walk around in the tunnels tonight, close by to where my class was, incidentally beneath the humanities building. Weirdly enough, I did find something: a floppy disk. Not sure what to do with it just yet. I took it to see if maybe I could find out whose it was and return it to them.

It's a regular floppy disk, though I haven't seen one of these used for actual storage since high school. There's a handwritten label on it, saying "Expedition A".



I'll make a separate post for the interviews a little bit later.

Also to note! For those of you reading and are interested in the focus of my research and possibly have stories passed along in your own communities, I'd love to hear them! You can drop me a line either through email (bridean0 on gmail) or as a comment.

Research log #2

Decided to move my research log over here. The Soup was a little like shouting into the void. 

Gonna jot a few things down before I get going with the rest of my day:


  • Had the video chat with M on Friday, so good to see her. Got some good perspective on work and stuff.
  • Need to check out local library for possible records of local mythologies.
  • Interviews (finally, finally) scheduled. Have two coming along today, will post initial results tonight.
    • (Of course, in interest of keeping IRB the fuck off my back, I will not be posting the audio logs of the interview on this blog. Maybe a transcript or a retelling or sthng.)
Other than that, things are. Things are. They just are. My computer ended up corrupting (and then eating entirely, wtf) most of the recording I had of the video chat with M. Whatever, I think I still might have the audio log...

Also to note: I've been talking with some of the students on campus, and it sounds like the tunnels beneath the university are... kind of sketchy. Aside for the natural sketchiness of maintenance tunnels, there's this hushed rumoring about there being some kind of weird creeper down there. Not sure if this creeper just roams the tunnels or if it has a favored spot. 

At any rate, this type of story is very interesting to me. We basically have late adolescents and young adults, in generally their first bid for freedom and independence from strict authority figures, who are being confronted with the unknown of the rest of their lives. It' possible the tunnel creeper is a kind of collective story that has been agreed upon and manufactured to deal with the stressors of being young, quite vulnerable, rather alone, and heaped with heretofore massive amounts of responsibility.

Of course, young things getting et or absconded by underground ogres is quite a common theme in traditional folk lore, so it's really very fascinating to see it emerge in modern story telling context, independently from a larger network of older storytellers. Almost as if the new found independence is also part of being able to create stories of loss and fear apart from authority figures' interpretation of the risky events.

I'll check back in tonight. 

Side note: I've got another researcher helping me out. Jack's a good guy, he's a historian, and he's got infinite patience in sifting through ENDLESS BULLSHIT.