Phenomena Terms
Aug. 3rd, 2011 10:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
potato_headWe just had a fire inspection. Sooo after all the fire alarms being set off several times in a row (TOO LOUD FOR LIFE) and reassuring Tripper after he became convinced that he didn't get to meet the fire inspector because everybody hates him, I am now quite awake.
Also, I discovered this show, Pucca. SO CUTE. Also, Netflix says it's a kid's show but I'm pretty sure the main character is being raised by three gay fathers, and someone just literally shat a brick. NOT SURE WHAT THINK
Anyways, I decided to go ahead and define those terms I referenced yesterday in my post, plus a few others.
Keep in mind that I use them to describe phenomena I've found in research, that I've seen frequently enough to find notable; not things I have seen myself (for the most part) nor that I can verify is a pattern for any reason other than coincidence, cultural inspiration (in the case of folklore), or possible collaboration/inspiration between people making up paranormal experiences.
I'll start with the ones I mentioned yesterday :P
Chickenfeet
The name for this I got primarily from how it shows up in Slavic folklore, but I've observed identical or very similar phenomena in others as well. Basically, this is the case of human-like creatures of folklore that I have some reason to believe are inspired by or are direct descriptions of faeries, having some sort of monstrously unusual quality about their feet.
In Slavic folklore, literal chicken feet are the most common motif, but you also hear of goat feet, or simply ugly claws. Occasionally, you hear of no feet at all. This is usually ascribed to creatures like vampires or demons, as well as witches/hags. In the case of Baba Yaga, her house is the one that has chicken feet; I'm not sure if I would classify it under this, especially since some versions of the tale fall more towards mythology than folklore.
I've heard a few encounters recounted that sounded very similar to the Slavic versions. First, one of the less well-known Black-Eyed Kids experiences, said to be a retelling of an older relative's (grandfather, I think?) encounter with a black-eyed kid, which after tricking the man into interacting with it, was revealed to have chicken feet. Second was in a Personal Experience post in ontdcreepy; I'll hunt it down late for those of you guys who didn't see it, rather than summarize it.
In traditional American folklore, you see something very similar - although more often limited to goat hooves. This trait usually belongs to a witch, or the devil or a demon in disguise, and sometimes more specifically 'wood devils' (i.e. demons that apparently live in the woods, especially in New England), which I've already discussed in the past. We all remember my conclusion, right?
(I wanted to put a macro of Mr. Crocker from Fairly Odd Parents here, but there seem to be none of him shouting 'FAIRIES' despite what you would expect...I might have to make my own later :P)
If we also look at modern American cryptozoology and urban legend, we see the Jersey Devil. One of his defining traits is his goat hooves. In fact, this is one of his most defining traits, as many encounters with him concern primarily the sound of hooves on the roof, or the prints found outside after.
In Eastern folklore, especially Chinese and Japanese (the two I am most familiar with), many supernatural creatures are said to simply have no feet at all. Also, one of the biggest ways to spot a fox in disguise in Japanese tales is to look at her feet, which she usually cannot disguise.
One big thing to note across all of the above legends - spread around the world - is that in all cases, you will either not notice the feet, or they will appear normal to you (ESPECIALLY to be wearing practical, travel-worn boots), until you look directly at them, looking for something suspicious. (This does not apply to wise old women, either, in all cases; or maybe the implication is that they are wise enough to check the feet of a stranger). However, if we want to look at it from a sociological perspective, it should also be noted that all of these tales seem to reference fear of strangers, ESPECIALLY handsome young men in the American and Slavic, and beautiful women in the Eastern. However, it is a very specific symbol to have come from a common fear, and I can't for the life of me figure out what it might symbolize; any ideas?
There are also some modern encounters that I feel do fall under this umbrella, even though they may sound very different. They catch on it, for me, because I have this theory: that these visions of animal feet are only attempts to interpret what we are really seeing - a mode of movement or transportation that we simply cannot comprehend. So I believe as our world has become more advanced, as more and more people simply don't come into regular contact with chickens and goats, other images have become more common.
This is what leads me to believe that the following might also fall under this phenomena:
Centaurs. I have heard of a few modern encounters with 'hideous' centaurs, always at night. In the past, I cannot find any folkloric references to centaurs, only mythological; the idea of them actually being real, as opposed to symbolic, seems to be more modern. However, I haven't researched centaurs in particular anywhere near exhaustively, so I'm not sure on that.
Certain alien encounters. Now, UFOlogy is not at all my area of expertise; as I've said to Amanda in the past, 'I don't hang out in UFO circles'. I have zero opinion on the whole of UFO experience. However, there are some encounters that I think could fall under this; specifically, small craft phenomena, where a person encounters what seems to be a very small (think car-sized) UFO, containing a single visible individual who looks like a person, but is off in some way (often a manic grin). They usually travel off the ground, but only by several feet. They have been known to chase people (reference down to 'follow' behavior below) and interact directly with them by 'speaking' without moving their mouths - interpreted as a type of telepathy. There was even one particular encounter in which the being stated that it was not an alien and referenced its people's fall, warning they may be preparing to take the earth back.
Certain angel encounters. I have no idea how to tell the difference between an angel and a flying faerie. I also don't trust other people to be able to tell the difference. Maybe they are the same thing; biblically, angels can be both monstrous and beautiful. It should be noted that in many modern angel encounters, the angels do not actually flap their wings when they move. This says to me that it is a mental interpretation, rather than literal. I'm also going to toss the Mothman in here, since he also has wings that do not move when he flies.
The Storyteller(s)
This one is a label for a very, very specific kind of modern encounter that I have read multiple times from different sources, so it is starting to have some weight with me, although I first encountered it at a more questionable source.
This is the basic summary: the person, as a child, nightly had a visitor. This visitor was outlandish-looking, something that would scare them now, but at the time they don't remember being scared by it. It was human in shape but not actually human, appeared to wear outlandish human clothes and makeup, and either clung to or hovered near the ceiling; and in its nightly visits, it would talk. On and on and on. About things too complicated for them to understand at that age, but they recall wars (especially stories of actual battles), politics, and sometimes mythology. None of them seem to have recalled enough details to find out if any of these things were actual references to things that have happened in human history. They would not fall asleep at night until the thing left, but do not remember being especially tired in the time that it visited them.
Eventually, it stops visiting. Years later, looking back on it, it frightens them. And they have seen it since - on the street - still dressed outlandishly; it should be attracting stares, but it does not. It does not approach them, or they run away before it has a chance to. In a few cases, it has run across the road in front of their car, or followed alongside it for a short stretch, regardless of speed (again, see 'follow' behavior in the next section). In these cases, it was apparently visible to the others in the car.
I have a lot more questions about this thing than theories. Is there only one? Or maybe many? Could it be a historian? Or is its job to educate children? Is it confused, or does it target human children on purpose? Could the children it's targeting be changelings? Why does it check up on them later?
My instinct, which I have learned to rely on to some extent, says that its checking on them later in their life is not out of malicious intent, and they could probably call on it at any time if they wanted it, for some reason. But that is instinct, not fact.
Following/Watching
This is more of a theory, based on things I have both observed myself, and heard.
Faeries tend to do things like stare in windows. They also chase - people on foot, in cars, and in one case I've heard of, on a bike. But I have never heard of these particular kinds of faerie - the mobile ones, but inhuman looking - actually attempting to harm a person. Also, most notably, despite the fact that they can follow alongside a car traveling at 30mph+, they apparently cannot catch a person running on foot.
I think the most logical explanation for this is that they aren't chasing at all; they are following, out of curiosity. The staring through windows ties into this as well. Unfortunately, the fear they inspire in people (even when the person can't see them) causes people to run from them; I think they don't understand that they're frightening, or maybe they don't care, and they keep following.
It may also be possible that this following behavior is some sort of predatory instinct. They may be playing with us.
Singing Trees
Such as the tree that tried to eat me.
I call them 'singing trees' because I have heard of several encounters, besides my own, in which they emit music. In several cases, the people who heard the music were for some reason not stupid enough to follow it; this makes me wonder if it only works on certain people, if they weren't the target, or if I am just particularly easy to capture.
In cases in which the person actually approached the tree, the results were usually dangerous.
There was one account I read where there was apparently only one inhabitant in the tree, and a cat managed to kill it (without dieing itself, as happened in our case); but up until that point it was very aggressive, throwing rocks or nuts. I am not sure if that falls under this, since there was only one, and it didn't seem to use any music-luring, but rather just attack people.
Humanlook Fae
This uh, awkward portmanteau is one that dates back to conversations I had with Corey about faeries; this is pretty standard for the terms we would come up with.
Anyways, this refers specifically to the concept of faeries that look like humans, and possibly could pass as one easily enough to walk among us without drawing comment. Now, I have no doubt that there are some faeries, or things related to faeries, that have appeared very human; what I do not know is if that is their natural appearance, or if they somehow crafted an illusion, or if it's simply a case of a person mentally interpreting them as looking human (never doubt your mind's ability to interpret things for you, it's one of the amazing things about the human brain).
Fae Animals
This refers to a larger phenomena that I haven't researched nearly enough. Basically, I'm referring here to the hellhound/black shuck/however else you like to call it; the part that I'm not sure about is the possibility of other animals falling into this category, which is what would, you know, necessitate it being a category.
Things that I think might fall into this category include the horses that the faerie hunt is said to ride, other 'demonic' horse tales, pookas, white stags, dobhar-chu, and potentially all of what I class as 'strange animals' (animals that are obviously not normal, mortal animals) including the animals that traditional American and European witches are said to turn into, and the familiars they are said to have (sometimes one and the same).
I have read a few modern reports of encounters with strange animals, although the more traditional folklorish ones (pookas, demonic horses, etc.) I have found none of. The most well-known that some of you might have read of is Gef, the Dalby Spook; those of you familiar with the story would know he was supposed to be a talking mongoose, and those of you even more familiar with the story know that prior to his arrival, the father of the family (who eventually died, supposedly as a result of Gef's ire) saw a 'witch rabbit' (the strange rabbits that witches were said to turn into) in the garden outside the house.
More loosely, I am not sure if the werewolves reported throughout certain parts of America and Europe, and the strange things sometimes found inside houses (like the headless dog thing reported by one person in a PE post on ontdcreepy) might fall into this category as well.
Alright, I think that's all I have for now. Besides which, I have to go out and buy some cookie tins so I can start baking. :D I will be taking video this time, I think.
Also, I discovered this show, Pucca. SO CUTE. Also, Netflix says it's a kid's show but I'm pretty sure the main character is being raised by three gay fathers, and someone just literally shat a brick. NOT SURE WHAT THINK
Anyways, I decided to go ahead and define those terms I referenced yesterday in my post, plus a few others.
Keep in mind that I use them to describe phenomena I've found in research, that I've seen frequently enough to find notable; not things I have seen myself (for the most part) nor that I can verify is a pattern for any reason other than coincidence, cultural inspiration (in the case of folklore), or possible collaboration/inspiration between people making up paranormal experiences.
I'll start with the ones I mentioned yesterday :P
Chickenfeet
The name for this I got primarily from how it shows up in Slavic folklore, but I've observed identical or very similar phenomena in others as well. Basically, this is the case of human-like creatures of folklore that I have some reason to believe are inspired by or are direct descriptions of faeries, having some sort of monstrously unusual quality about their feet.
In Slavic folklore, literal chicken feet are the most common motif, but you also hear of goat feet, or simply ugly claws. Occasionally, you hear of no feet at all. This is usually ascribed to creatures like vampires or demons, as well as witches/hags. In the case of Baba Yaga, her house is the one that has chicken feet; I'm not sure if I would classify it under this, especially since some versions of the tale fall more towards mythology than folklore.
I've heard a few encounters recounted that sounded very similar to the Slavic versions. First, one of the less well-known Black-Eyed Kids experiences, said to be a retelling of an older relative's (grandfather, I think?) encounter with a black-eyed kid, which after tricking the man into interacting with it, was revealed to have chicken feet. Second was in a Personal Experience post in ontdcreepy; I'll hunt it down late for those of you guys who didn't see it, rather than summarize it.
In traditional American folklore, you see something very similar - although more often limited to goat hooves. This trait usually belongs to a witch, or the devil or a demon in disguise, and sometimes more specifically 'wood devils' (i.e. demons that apparently live in the woods, especially in New England), which I've already discussed in the past. We all remember my conclusion, right?
(I wanted to put a macro of Mr. Crocker from Fairly Odd Parents here, but there seem to be none of him shouting 'FAIRIES' despite what you would expect...I might have to make my own later :P)
If we also look at modern American cryptozoology and urban legend, we see the Jersey Devil. One of his defining traits is his goat hooves. In fact, this is one of his most defining traits, as many encounters with him concern primarily the sound of hooves on the roof, or the prints found outside after.
In Eastern folklore, especially Chinese and Japanese (the two I am most familiar with), many supernatural creatures are said to simply have no feet at all. Also, one of the biggest ways to spot a fox in disguise in Japanese tales is to look at her feet, which she usually cannot disguise.
One big thing to note across all of the above legends - spread around the world - is that in all cases, you will either not notice the feet, or they will appear normal to you (ESPECIALLY to be wearing practical, travel-worn boots), until you look directly at them, looking for something suspicious. (This does not apply to wise old women, either, in all cases; or maybe the implication is that they are wise enough to check the feet of a stranger). However, if we want to look at it from a sociological perspective, it should also be noted that all of these tales seem to reference fear of strangers, ESPECIALLY handsome young men in the American and Slavic, and beautiful women in the Eastern. However, it is a very specific symbol to have come from a common fear, and I can't for the life of me figure out what it might symbolize; any ideas?
There are also some modern encounters that I feel do fall under this umbrella, even though they may sound very different. They catch on it, for me, because I have this theory: that these visions of animal feet are only attempts to interpret what we are really seeing - a mode of movement or transportation that we simply cannot comprehend. So I believe as our world has become more advanced, as more and more people simply don't come into regular contact with chickens and goats, other images have become more common.
This is what leads me to believe that the following might also fall under this phenomena:
Centaurs. I have heard of a few modern encounters with 'hideous' centaurs, always at night. In the past, I cannot find any folkloric references to centaurs, only mythological; the idea of them actually being real, as opposed to symbolic, seems to be more modern. However, I haven't researched centaurs in particular anywhere near exhaustively, so I'm not sure on that.
Certain alien encounters. Now, UFOlogy is not at all my area of expertise; as I've said to Amanda in the past, 'I don't hang out in UFO circles'. I have zero opinion on the whole of UFO experience. However, there are some encounters that I think could fall under this; specifically, small craft phenomena, where a person encounters what seems to be a very small (think car-sized) UFO, containing a single visible individual who looks like a person, but is off in some way (often a manic grin). They usually travel off the ground, but only by several feet. They have been known to chase people (reference down to 'follow' behavior below) and interact directly with them by 'speaking' without moving their mouths - interpreted as a type of telepathy. There was even one particular encounter in which the being stated that it was not an alien and referenced its people's fall, warning they may be preparing to take the earth back.
Certain angel encounters. I have no idea how to tell the difference between an angel and a flying faerie. I also don't trust other people to be able to tell the difference. Maybe they are the same thing; biblically, angels can be both monstrous and beautiful. It should be noted that in many modern angel encounters, the angels do not actually flap their wings when they move. This says to me that it is a mental interpretation, rather than literal. I'm also going to toss the Mothman in here, since he also has wings that do not move when he flies.
The Storyteller(s)
This one is a label for a very, very specific kind of modern encounter that I have read multiple times from different sources, so it is starting to have some weight with me, although I first encountered it at a more questionable source.
This is the basic summary: the person, as a child, nightly had a visitor. This visitor was outlandish-looking, something that would scare them now, but at the time they don't remember being scared by it. It was human in shape but not actually human, appeared to wear outlandish human clothes and makeup, and either clung to or hovered near the ceiling; and in its nightly visits, it would talk. On and on and on. About things too complicated for them to understand at that age, but they recall wars (especially stories of actual battles), politics, and sometimes mythology. None of them seem to have recalled enough details to find out if any of these things were actual references to things that have happened in human history. They would not fall asleep at night until the thing left, but do not remember being especially tired in the time that it visited them.
Eventually, it stops visiting. Years later, looking back on it, it frightens them. And they have seen it since - on the street - still dressed outlandishly; it should be attracting stares, but it does not. It does not approach them, or they run away before it has a chance to. In a few cases, it has run across the road in front of their car, or followed alongside it for a short stretch, regardless of speed (again, see 'follow' behavior in the next section). In these cases, it was apparently visible to the others in the car.
I have a lot more questions about this thing than theories. Is there only one? Or maybe many? Could it be a historian? Or is its job to educate children? Is it confused, or does it target human children on purpose? Could the children it's targeting be changelings? Why does it check up on them later?
My instinct, which I have learned to rely on to some extent, says that its checking on them later in their life is not out of malicious intent, and they could probably call on it at any time if they wanted it, for some reason. But that is instinct, not fact.
Following/Watching
This is more of a theory, based on things I have both observed myself, and heard.
Faeries tend to do things like stare in windows. They also chase - people on foot, in cars, and in one case I've heard of, on a bike. But I have never heard of these particular kinds of faerie - the mobile ones, but inhuman looking - actually attempting to harm a person. Also, most notably, despite the fact that they can follow alongside a car traveling at 30mph+, they apparently cannot catch a person running on foot.
I think the most logical explanation for this is that they aren't chasing at all; they are following, out of curiosity. The staring through windows ties into this as well. Unfortunately, the fear they inspire in people (even when the person can't see them) causes people to run from them; I think they don't understand that they're frightening, or maybe they don't care, and they keep following.
It may also be possible that this following behavior is some sort of predatory instinct. They may be playing with us.
Singing Trees
Such as the tree that tried to eat me.
I call them 'singing trees' because I have heard of several encounters, besides my own, in which they emit music. In several cases, the people who heard the music were for some reason not stupid enough to follow it; this makes me wonder if it only works on certain people, if they weren't the target, or if I am just particularly easy to capture.
In cases in which the person actually approached the tree, the results were usually dangerous.
There was one account I read where there was apparently only one inhabitant in the tree, and a cat managed to kill it (without dieing itself, as happened in our case); but up until that point it was very aggressive, throwing rocks or nuts. I am not sure if that falls under this, since there was only one, and it didn't seem to use any music-luring, but rather just attack people.
Humanlook Fae
This uh, awkward portmanteau is one that dates back to conversations I had with Corey about faeries; this is pretty standard for the terms we would come up with.
Anyways, this refers specifically to the concept of faeries that look like humans, and possibly could pass as one easily enough to walk among us without drawing comment. Now, I have no doubt that there are some faeries, or things related to faeries, that have appeared very human; what I do not know is if that is their natural appearance, or if they somehow crafted an illusion, or if it's simply a case of a person mentally interpreting them as looking human (never doubt your mind's ability to interpret things for you, it's one of the amazing things about the human brain).
Fae Animals
This refers to a larger phenomena that I haven't researched nearly enough. Basically, I'm referring here to the hellhound/black shuck/however else you like to call it; the part that I'm not sure about is the possibility of other animals falling into this category, which is what would, you know, necessitate it being a category.
Things that I think might fall into this category include the horses that the faerie hunt is said to ride, other 'demonic' horse tales, pookas, white stags, dobhar-chu, and potentially all of what I class as 'strange animals' (animals that are obviously not normal, mortal animals) including the animals that traditional American and European witches are said to turn into, and the familiars they are said to have (sometimes one and the same).
I have read a few modern reports of encounters with strange animals, although the more traditional folklorish ones (pookas, demonic horses, etc.) I have found none of. The most well-known that some of you might have read of is Gef, the Dalby Spook; those of you familiar with the story would know he was supposed to be a talking mongoose, and those of you even more familiar with the story know that prior to his arrival, the father of the family (who eventually died, supposedly as a result of Gef's ire) saw a 'witch rabbit' (the strange rabbits that witches were said to turn into) in the garden outside the house.
More loosely, I am not sure if the werewolves reported throughout certain parts of America and Europe, and the strange things sometimes found inside houses (like the headless dog thing reported by one person in a PE post on ontdcreepy) might fall into this category as well.
Alright, I think that's all I have for now. Besides which, I have to go out and buy some cookie tins so I can start baking. :D I will be taking video this time, I think.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-08-04 02:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-04 05:01 pm (UTC)I'll also see if I can dig up something for you online, I have some extra-good google-fu.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-04 07:21 pm (UTC)