BAT BOY. Do not forget the legendary BAT BOY. Oh, wait, is he dead, yet? Or is he still being sighted at that 7-11 where Elvis works?
I would consider this kind of entity more creepy than a ghost, since they're not human (or formerly human) and one doesn't know what rules it would be governed by.
Absolutely -- and that's where protocols are so important. I mean, if you think about it, nearly every blooming story hides a warning and a suggested resolution. Stepping into mushroom rings gets you caught by wild fairies; turn your shirt inside out to escape. In the goblin's case, you've only got "don't wander around the house at night because you'll cross paths with the goblin" but no idea of what to do next -- and maybe just as importantly, no real idea of what prompts any malignant re/actions. I mean, "mushrooms and fairy rings" it's hidden in there that you're interrupting the fairy-dance, and this annoys them.
With haints, it's "if you're a bad kid and out after dark when you should be at home in bed." Well, come to think of it, an awful lot of the creepier removed-real lessons I learned as a child had the same warning encoded in them: "bad things happen to kids who don't behave."
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Date: 20 Nov 2008 06:11 am (UTC)I would consider this kind of entity more creepy than a ghost, since they're not human (or formerly human) and one doesn't know what rules it would be governed by.
Absolutely -- and that's where protocols are so important. I mean, if you think about it, nearly every blooming story hides a warning and a suggested resolution. Stepping into mushroom rings gets you caught by wild fairies; turn your shirt inside out to escape. In the goblin's case, you've only got "don't wander around the house at night because you'll cross paths with the goblin" but no idea of what to do next -- and maybe just as importantly, no real idea of what prompts any malignant re/actions. I mean, "mushrooms and fairy rings" it's hidden in there that you're interrupting the fairy-dance, and this annoys them.
With haints, it's "if you're a bad kid and out after dark when you should be at home in bed." Well, come to think of it, an awful lot of the creepier removed-real lessons I learned as a child had the same warning encoded in them: "bad things happen to kids who don't behave."
Heh. Figures.