Fairy Tale Spotlight: Interview with a Demon (Preliminary)

T.K. Wade: Thank you very much for doing this for me. I appreciate it.

Demon: My pleasure.

TK: What do you prefer me to call you during this interview?

D: ***REDACTED***

TK: I understand. ***REDACTED***

D: ***REDACTED***

TK: Yes. And you should know this is just a preliminary meeting. I'm going to do a more detailed interview later on.

D: For you blog.

TK: Fairy Tale Spotlight.

D: [He chuckles.] Interesting name.

TK: Thank you. Can you tell me why you find it so interesting?

D: It really depends on your definition of a fairy tale, I suppose. Are they not works of fiction?

TK: I am assuming that a vast number of them are actually true.

D: Like me?

TK: Perhaps. I do think that, more often then not, people who claim to believe in demons would not recognize one if it was right in front of them.

D: And I am a demon, because why?

TK: You told me you were.

D: And you believed me?

TK: Yes.

D: And what if I was lying to you?

TK: Then I made a mistake. I am taking the risk that I am making a mistake.

D: Why take the risk?

TK: What do you have against risk?

D: [He smiles quietly for about 10 seconds.] I am uninterested in anything that is imprecise.

TK: Yet you found the name of my blog interesting.

D: Of course. Your theme is fascinating. Did you have a point?

TK: Actually, now that I think on it, maybe I didn't. Not sure what happened there.

D: It's all right. [He chuckles.] So about those preliminary questions.

TK: Yes, fine. How do you ascertain value?

D: ***REDACTED***

TK: Yes.

D: Value is the quality of that which is useful.

TK: And what is capable of having value?

D: All things and everything.

TK: Do I have value?

D: Of course.

TK: Do you have value?

D: Of course.

TK: ***REDACTED***

D: ***REDACTED***

TK: ***REDACTED***

D: ***REDACTED***

TK: I'm not going to be able to include some of this conversation.

D: I understand. Continue.

TK: Can there be value in a collective.

D: That is the whole idea.

TK: What do you mean?

D: A collective is the very foundation of the universe. Everything works as a collective and so everything functions as it should. When the collective breaks, it causes chaos. Even you need to admit that when people work together towards a common goal, they tend to succeed more often. When a house is divided against itself, it should ultimately fall.

TK: So you aren't real big on individualism, are you?

D: An individual is a natural part of a collective.

TK: But in becoming part of a collective, does not their individualism cease?

D: Humans all have special skills which add to the whole. A carpenter would not make a good blacksmith, but the carpenter needs the blacksmith for his nails. Together, they make a pretty good team. Now add an architect, a painter, and perhaps an interior designer to the mix. Pretty soon, you'll have a house. Each man is an individual, but the house would not have happened without the collective.

TK: What about a man who can do great things all by himself.

D: That is only an illusion. No man was great of his own accord. Environmental circumstances caused by those around him provoked him to achieve such heights-much like a bullied child learns how to stand up for himself simply because he was bullied. The world runs on cogs that sometimes do not spin the way they are supposed to. It causes aberrations like this great man you refer to.

TK: I disagree. May I explain why?

D: Of course.

TK: What you call an aberration, I call exceptional. I think every man has a purpose in life, but some men tend to rise above the rest purely by their own personal gumption.

D: ***REDACTED***

TK: ***REDACTED***

D: ***REDACTED***

TK: Can we agree to disagree, at least?

D: We'll save it for the proper interview. I have to admit that I did find the whole thing fascinating. I would warn you though that most people are going to think that you are merely making all this up. You are a writer, after all.

TK: Yes.

D: And what will you do if they accuse you of faking it?

TK: I'll say I wrote it.

D: And if they accuse you of dabbling in dark subjects?

TK: I'll just say I wrote it. It's fine. We'll pick this up at a later time. I think I have what I need. Thank you for coming, ***REDACTED***.

D: My pleasure.

[Thank you for reading my blog. Did you enjoy it? Did you hate it? Either way, you can leave a comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Thank you!]

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Darby O'Gill and the Good People (Part 3 of 3)

The final chapter of "Darby O'Gill and the Good People" dealt exclusively with leprechauns. Once again, I am not here to give a synopsis of the chapter as much as I am going to tell of what I learned. Leprechauns are not at all what I remember them being growing up. The first thing you should probably do before we begin is to put the whole rainbow and pot o' gold story out of your mind. It really has nothing to do with this legend.

From what I understand, the leprechauns were also one of the Good People, but more specifically, they were the cobblers. I'm not sure how they got picked for this job, but I get the impression that they were not volunteers. Leprechauns seem to not like their work very much.

One of the many Good People were chosen and forced to learn the art of cobbling. They were told to do this possibly under some sort of threat. This cobbler was hence forth called a leprechaun. They spent much of their time away from their friends and would do their work in various hiding spots around the country.

Apparently leprechauns are invisible. You might be able to hear them talking, but you won't be able to see them. However, when a leprechaun is really busy working, his invisibility spell fails. If you manage to spot a leprechaun, he will remain visible even after he realizes he has been spotted. At that point, he is in your trap. This is actually not a good thing for either party, and I really need to go into why right away.

While in your trap, he cannot disappear at all and this is really upsetting to him. A main bullet-point of his job is to not be seen by anyone. The other Good People are probably going to ridicule him for it. Getting caught will automatically give the leprechaun a bad day. I want you to know this in case you are in that situation. You are actually causing this creature problems that he did not ask for.

Like with all the Good People, there is a set of rules for the encounter. Any broken rules will make the whole thing null and void. Firstly, you can't blink. The moment something breaks your vision of the leprechaun, he will be able to turn invisible again. He'll be gone after that. It is very common for a leprechaun to try and get you to either blink or look away. He may point at something behind you just to get you to look. The leprechaun may also ask to share a pipe with you which will give him a chance to cause a fire flash in your eyes or blow smoke at you. Either one will surely cause an automatic blinking reaction. If you decline these attempts, you should still be able to keep the leprechaun within your power.

It is important to note that the reason the leprechaun is trying to trick you into blinking is because he wants to get away from you. He was already having a bad day and you are making it worse. Keeping him in the trap is only making him hateful and even vengeful. Nevertheless if you can manage to keep your eyes open and decline his attempts to thwart you, you will be given a set of wishes that he will be obligated to grant.

How many wishes you get are actually a part of the rules. The leprechaun will ask you for your first, second, and third wish in order. You will make your wishes, and he will promise to grant them. And always at this point, the creature will ask you what your fourth and final wish will be. Well, four wishes! That's not a bad deal at all! The problem is that if you make that fourth wish, it breaks the hold you have on the leprechaun. The first three wishes are also dissolved. There is another problem you will have at this point, but I will get to that later.

When you are asked what your fourth wish is, you are supposed to decline. With much frustration, the leprechaun will then proceed to make the wishes a reality. There are few limits to what the leprechaun can grant. They nearly have the ability to change reality itself, but therein lies a problem. This reality is exclusively controlled by the leprechaun himself. He is conjuring it all up, and you are allowing yourself to be incorporated into it. This allows the leprechaun to include a few subtle snide remarks within the new reality, but other than that, it seems very real. He is still bound by your wishes, however, and will be forced to keep you happy unless certain rules are broken.

One very easy rule to break is that you cannot tell anyone about the leprechaun. You must pretend it never happened. This is difficult to do because the leprechaun is going to make everyone you come in contact with ask you all about your change in fortune. They will be very persuasive too. The moment you tell, the whole fantasy ends. All wishes destroyed.

During the fantasy, people may ask if you want anything. This is a leprechaun trick. He is actually trying to get you to make that fourth wish. Yes, just because you declined to make the wish does not mean that you can't make one later... and by accident. It is very hard to avoid these trials, and remember that they don't really end. You have to try and enjoy your newfound wealth while always keeping in mind that the leprechaun is watching for even one mistake. There is no statute of limitation. One slip up and the whole thing is ruined.

Now for the scary part. Remember how I told you that you were making the leprechaun's day even worse? Well, that is probably the most important part. This creature will hate you for giving him all that extra trouble. If you fail on any of those rules, there is a good likelihood that the leprechaun will seek revenge against you or the ones that you love. The longer you push him, the more hateful he will become.

The best rule for dealing with a leprechaun is to just walk away. He won't bother with you if you just leave. The truth is that there really is no way to win against one anyways. He will always be one step ahead of you and eventually you will mess up. But really, why do you want to upset him to begin with? Just leave him alone.

I have a friend who made a really interesting point. He told me that if he spotted a leprechaun who was having troubles doing his work, he would walk up, help him finish it, and then simply turn around to leave. The leprechaun would not expect that, to be sure. Some might suggest that doing so might cause the leprechaun to attempt to give you a gift, but something tells me that going into it with that mindset is not a good idea. The gift itself could also be bound by rules that could still work against you later on. This only adds to the augment of simply leaving them alone. Whatever you end up choosing to do, it really counts that you just be a good person.

Before I bring an end to the Darby O'Gill blogs, I want to leave you with a poem included at the beginning of the book:

THE FAIRIES

"Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren't go a-hunting
For fear of little men.
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping altogether;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl's feather.

They stole little Bridget
For seven years long;
When she came down again
Her friends were all gone.
They took her lightly back
Between the day and morrow;
They thought that she was fast asleep,
But she was dead with sorrow."

~William Allingham.

Thank you for reading my blog! If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Darby O'Gill and the Good People (Part 2 of 3)

This blog continues off the last one. As I stated, the 1903 book "Darby O'Gill and the Good People" featured 3 long chapters which were all very telling about the nature of certain fairy creatures. The second chapter was nonetheless interesting. It dealt specifically with the origin of the Good People.

Usually when I hear about fairy origins, they are nothing like this. Fairies are often separated from religious backgrounds. But the first chapter already established that the Good People were put off by the mentioning of the Christian God. This suggested heavily that the Good People were demons.

According to the book, the Good People are not actually demons. They were direct creations of God. Little people who would play music and dance for the amusement of God and the angels. Brian Conners, the king of the Good People, was very clear that he was neither a fallen angel nor a demon. They were cute, little party planners basically.

So what happened?

According to Brian Conners, they held this position until Satan, whom they called Nick, went at odds with God himself. Satan felt unappreciated. He thought that he deserved equal treatment and convinced many other angels of this which soon led to conflict. I suppose for the sake of ridding the tale of confusion, Brian referred to the different factions as the black angels versus the white angels. I am pretty sure he did not mean that they were wearing any particular colors, but who knows?

As this conflict started, the Good People were not taking a sides. They simply continued their work in making fun and amusement for everyone in Heaven. Not that there was much fun to be had with everyone at odds with one another. There came a point, however, when Satan tried to convince Brian Conners that he and his Good People should join his side as even they ought to be treated fairly. It sounded to me as if the king accepted only because it sounded like a decent proposal. So the Good People ended up standing with Satan on the side of the black angels.

Funny thing though: When things began to get heated, Brian decided that it might be best to back away. They did not want to get involved in a war of angels. So the Good People hid themselves away while the angels fought. Soon the Black Angels were overwhelmed and tossed down to the Earth to become what we call Fallen Angels. What of the Good People?

Believe it or not, it was their neutrality that really annoyed the mess out of God. He considered their actions to be lukewarm and so had them cast down to the Earth in a like fashion to Satan and his angels. Brian always felt like he had been mistreated in this way, for not having any side should have rid him of any blame. I hate to say it, but it has been well documented about how God feels about neutrality. He might have actually shown them some mercy if they have continued to side with Satan even if it was just out of ignorance.

So is this story true? I'll be the first to admit that it is possible, but it rather conflicts with the more common demon hybrid theory. But who knows?! The author was, at least, open-minded enough to create a very vivid origin story for the Good People that involved the original angelic conflict. It gives the story a lot of credence but does not out rightly prove anything. So take it as presented and draw your own conclusions.

One last thing you must consider before you wrap up your thoughts on the matter. Even though the book was written by a man, the origin story was told by Brian Conners. You might want to factor in a healthy dose of personal bias on his behalf. Brian will obviously feel for his situation and fail to see any wrongdoing. He is, after all, an evil entity living among us.

Next week, we'll continue with a leprechaun story.

Thank you for reading this blog! If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. God bless ye!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Darby O'Gill and the Good People (Part 1 of 3)

So we begin a new series. This time, we will be discussing some interesting points made by a book written in 1903 called "Darby O'Gill and the Good People" by Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. It was also made into a movie (Darby O'Gill and the Little People) by Disney in 1959. This book covered some very open-minded points in Irish folklore. I am not really as interested in giving a synopsis as much as I want to comment on what the book talked about. Since the book is genuinely good and worth reading, I'll steer clear of an outright spoiling of it.

"Darby O'Gill and the Good People" is written in three fairly long chapters and each one deals with a different aspect of Irish fairy lore. The "Good People" mentioned in the title is the main focus and everything that happens in the three chapters branches off from them. The Good People are actually little people, or manikin as I have called them in a past blog.

My friend and fellow author Shawn O'Toole suggests the reason they are called "Good People" is probably done so that the fairies are not offended. If you met these little people, you might not expect they could be offended by anything. They seem to enjoy hearty dance and jovial music. They are very accommodating to visitors and try and make people comfortable. But don't be fooled! The Good People are anything but good.

The first thing that set off alarm bells is the fact that they do not like the mentioning of God--the Christian God, mind you. The king of the Good People, Brian Conners, did his best to make Darby O'Gill happy which prompted the good and Christian man to respond with, "God bless ye." Brian was extremely put off by this. Even though Darby was being friendly, the term struck the little person in the opposite way. This suggests that the Good People are actually demons of a sort. The author was very astute in understanding this.

Like the manikins I talked about in an earlier blog, the Good People go by a certain set of laws and legalities that they must abide by perfectly. When Darby finds himself trapped in his lair, the king explaines to him that he must stay their forever. If he tries to leave, they must silence him permanently. However, Brian promises Darby that he will do his best to keep him comfortable during his long stay.

Well, if Brian really meant this, why did he later try and trick Darby into leaving? I'm serious. Multiple times, Brian Conners politely would suggest that Darby could leave if he really wanted to. He even lies and says that he is more lenient on rules for people he likes. The truth was that if Darby ever did leave, these Good People could do very bad things to him. This is a quality that actually happens in humans, and it is arguably one of the worst kinds of evil.

Just a couple of days ago, I met a person at work who was very pleasant and happy. He smiled constantly and wanted to speak to everyone. However, I notice that his son always seemed uncomfortable when around him. This guy is a regular, by the way. I always felt like there was something wrong with him. At first, I thought he might simply have a mental disorder. But there was something very dark that finally came out on my last sighting of him.

This man is actually horrible to his son. He treats him with great disdain and makes him feel miserable. But the worst of it is that he does it with a skip in his step and a smile on his face. His personality is a very jovial one. It is very misleading. At first glance, you might think he is just a happy-go-lucky fellow. But deep within is a passionate passive aggressiveness that he enacts against anyone he feels he can hurt. I saw him do it to his own son and he tried to get me in on it. I ignored him completely even as he asked me to step in and take his side. Interestingly, that is a very good strategy when dealing with Good People.

These creatures tend to draw you in with their happy and pleasing natures. But it's a trick. They are trying to draw you into a trap. Once you are in, you are binding yourself to their rules. Unless you are very clever or of a like-minded sort, you probably will not be able to get away unscathed. The man I met at work seems the type who could outsmart a little person just fine. That doesn't mean he is a good person. It means he is just as ruthless.

The man's son is beholden to his father through no fault of his own. He is in a trap that he can't seem to get out of. His only way out is for his father to die or for him to simply run away. The latter is unfortunately not likely. Passive aggressiveness is a very powerful trap when it comes from a father. It is much like the spell these little people cast. I am extremely sorry for the son in this case.

The story of the father and son is a good example of how the Good People still seem to have an effect on humans today. Sometimes fairies of lore seem to materialize as normal human beings by way of inspiration. It is much like how the satyrs inspired the free love movement. The Good People are actually bad, but the badness is wrapped in a smiling, happy demeanor. Do not be fooled. They are evil. And they want to hurt you. And when they do hurt you, they will do so as they drink, laugh, and dance.

More on the Good People in the next blog.

Thank you for reading my blog! if you enjoyed it, you can leave a comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: It's Just a Story

I had someone tell me today that the Legend of Saint Christopher from this week's earlier blog was not true because "they" found out that it was "just a story." By "they," the person was referring to the Catholic Church. In all their wisdom, these people apparently found evidence that the things that happened within the tale were actually fiction. "Just a story" was intended to mean that it was just some fictional tale that someone made up, and as good as it is, it is ultimately false.

Saying that something is "just a story" is a very vague statement which is supposed to be believed the moment you hear it. You are not supposed to go any further than that. The rules state that if "they" say something is so then it must be so because "they" said it. Upon trying to counter this person on the evidence that I had uncovered as to the validity to Saint Christopher's story, I was told to stop going against that person's religion--something I was not doing in the slightest. Apparently I was breaking some rule by not simply being a good sheep and agreeing with her. Upon telling me what I was supposed to believe, it had, in that very moment, achieved dogma status, and my natural inclination to seek out the truth was stunted.

Have no fear. I am not so easily dissuaded. I am stubborn as the day is long. However, I did not pursue a conversation with this person any longer. The fact remains that I may have actually been in error about Saint Christopher and I am always willing to debate it. I have my evidence, and they have theirs. But in the case of my little encounter, I was shut down. The discussion was closed and any attempt on my part to make a counter argument was essentially mocking that person's religion. The rules of the debates were against me from the get-go.

Imagine if you were a part of a televised debate. You had your notes ready and were well-prepared to defend your position for better or worse. The moderator, as is his job, starts up by giving out the rules of the debate. He begins by saying, "Each will have five minutes. The other may say anything he likes baring anything that the former debater disagrees with."

"But isn't the point of a debate to show two opposing sides?" I ask.

"Yes, but not if it means offending the religion or beliefs of your opponent. Have you no decency, sir? If you are going to be a problem, we can call this thing off right here and now."

At this point, I suppose I have to just toss my notes behind me and just stand there for two hours. When did pomp and circumstance ever become a part of a proper debate? Why is offending someone a stopping point? Is it not the very nature of a debate to bring up a point of view that will displease the opponent?

It reminds me of the time I was playing 9 ball with a friend via an online video game. That is basically the British variation of our US 8 ball in the game of pool. I got myself into a jam. I couldn't pot the ball I needed without jumping the cue-ball over another one. It was going to take a lot of exceptional skill to make the shot work. I did managed to do it, and I potted the ball in with plenty of flare. There was only problem. British pool does not like the ball to go airborne at any time. The game punished me two turns for doing that. I felt like a bunch of pompous Brits were looking down on me for creating such a barbaric display in front of everyone. Egad! Needless to say, it was US 8 ball from that point on.

The point of my little pool adventure was that a person should have the freedom to show what he can do in any situation. A debate is much like a war. War really has no rules. There may be some written in a book somewhere, but the truth is that if you entirely wipe out a country, the rules don't mean anything after all. If you are going to tell me that the story of Saint Christopher is "just a story," I would very much like a chance to explain myself. I did not just pull the story out of my ass!

Also... I am not the type to simply believe something just because I heard it. I take my time and try and figure these things out through both evidence and an exceptional common sense. If someone is so bold as to say something is just a story, I want names, dates, and reasons. I am not a sheep who just believes what I am told by faceless people. I am an individual who is actually trying to figure this stuff out. I do so without any pomposity or adherence to dogma at all. I am an individual trying to figure out the universe by my own abilities. I may be right and I may be wrong. But if you dare tell me I am wrong, you better come with an armful of documents to prove it. If not, then you have no reason to even be making the claim. Away with you!

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you like it? Did you hate it? Either way, you can leave a comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Tale of Saint Christopher

(This story, although based on extensive research, is written by me. It is also very likely true.)

A long time ago, even to the time of ancient Egypt, there was a race of demon creatures called the Cynocephaly. I know it looks a bit hard to pronounce, but if you read it slowly and carefully, it will get easier the more you try. The Cynocephaly was a race of creatures who had the body of a man and the head of a dog. They are more often referred to by the description of "dog-headed men."

Among the ones of Egypt was the famous Anubis who, through his career, was recognized as the god of death and then later the god of the mysteries of embalming. He had a son named Wepwawet who was an Egyptian war deity. Wepwawet may also have gone by the title "Big Bad Wolf," but that is an entirely different story. In fact, we need to get away from ancient Egypt.

Let's move ahead thousands of years. We are now at some period before the year 251 AD. The place is Canaan and it is filled with demons of many types. The Cynocephaly was simply one of them. One particular Cynocephaly was known by the name of Christopher and has been recorded to be 5 cubits tall. How tall was is 5 cubits? By today's standards, Christopher was 7.5 feet or 2.3 meters tall. He was also known to have a fearsome face which is understandable when you combine such tallness with the head of a canine.

Now Christopher had a very important job. He served the king of Canaan himself and was very loyal. But one day, Christopher had a funny idea. He became a little obsessive of this idea and just had to do something about it. Christopher had decided that he wanted to leave the king and serve "the greatest king there was." But he did not know who this king was and where he might find him. And so he went to the king of Canaan to ask him who this person might be. The king said, "Of course, that would be me. I am the greatest. Therefore you need not leave."

"It must be true," said Christopher. "I am already where I need to be."

But there came a time when Christopher, while working on something, heard someone talking about the Devil. He did not know who this Devil was, so he went before the king and asked about him. The king suddenly became very nervous and crossed himself at the mere mentioning of this entity. When Christopher saw this, he thought, "The king seems to fear the Devil. And if he does indeed fear him, then the Devil must be a greater king than he. Therefore I must go out and serve the Devil." And so Christopher left the king of Canaan to seek out the Devil.

It came to pass that Christopher ran across a band of marauders. The leader of these marauders claimed that he was the Devil. Christopher acknowledged this and so chose to join him in servitude. This lasted for a while, but there came a day when the band was to pass by a cross that had been placed by the wayside. Upon seeing this cross, the Devil went out of his way to avoid it. At once Christopher realized that the Devil feared the cross, and because of this, he could not be greater than what the cross represented.

"What does that cross represent?" he asked.

"Christ," replied the Devil. "I'll have nothing to do with it. Come around like I am doing."

"No," replied the dog-headed man with the shake of his head. "I am going to find Christ and serve him, for he seems to be a greater king than you." And so he left to do as he said.

The Cynocephaly searched for Christ but could not find him. And this was very troublesome for he wanted dearly to serve the greatest king of all. One day he happened upon a hermit, who seemed to know something of Christ, and asked the man, "If I cannot find Christ, what then may I do to serve him?"

The hermit answered, "If you wish to be a good servant to Christ, then you might try much fasting and prayer. It has always done good by me."

Christopher did not like this. He replied, "I do not see how fasting and prayer does anything for a great king. Is there anything of more substance that I can do to serve Christ?"

The hermit then suggested, "There is a dangerous river near here where many travelers are dying while attempting its crossing. Because of your great size and strength, you could carry them upon your shoulders from one side to the other."

"And in what way would that be serving Christ?" asked Christopher. "It sounds as if I am only serving lesser people."

The hermit explained, "I give you my assurances that if you serve these people, you will also be serving Christ."

"I do not think so," said Christopher. "But I do not see any other way. I will do this." So the tall Cynocephaly went to the river and began his service in carrying the travelers over one-by-one. The river was once a place where many would perish, but that was no longer true. Christopher continued in this way for many years. Even so he never truly thought he was serving Christ, but what could he do? It seemed to him that Christ was unreachable and that he could only live to serve these lesser people. Nevertheless he continued in good faith.

There came a day when a small child, a boy, asked to be brought across the river. The dog-headed man, of course, agreed. The child would easily have been killed in the deep river. But as he attempted to carry the child across, it felt as if the boy was as heavy as lead. As strong as Christopher was, he was forced to struggle fiercely to remain above water.

When Christopher finally made it to the other side, he fell to the ground while taking care not to hurt the child. Panting and wheezing, he told the boy, "Because of you, I have been put into the greatest danger. Having you on my shoulders was as if I was bearing the whole world."

The child smiled pleasantly and placed a hand upon Christopher's dog-headed face. The boy then said, "You had upon your shoulders not only the world but Him who made it. I am the Christ and you have been doing my work. In this way you have served me." The boy then vanished right in front of Christopher. It was at this moment that a Cynocephaly, a dog-headed man, a demon had chosen to serve Christ for the rest of his days.

The ending of this story is a sad one, but I will continue so that you will know its outcome.

Some time after, Christopher traveled to Lycia where Christians were being persecuted and martyred. He did his best to give them comfort during this time, but ultimately he was brought before the king to give sacrifice to a pagan god. Christopher said to the king, "I cannot do it, for I am a servant of Christ. He is the greatest king of all, and this god you speak of cannot be greater than He."

"I will give you riches," said the king. "You will be as if a king also. All you must do is give a simple sacrifice to this god."

"I will not do it," said Christopher simply.

"You will change your mind," said the king. The king sent beautiful women to tempt Christopher, for he knew something of the Cynocephaly and how they had a love of beautiful women. And this was very true. However, Christopher did not fall into temptation. In fact, Christopher converted these women into servants of Christ like himself!

The king, who saw that many citizens of his land were also becoming Christian converts to this dog-headed man, decided that Christopher must simply be killed. He sent out a number of men to slay Christopher, but they ended up converts as well. Unfortunately there was one soldier who was more stubborn than the others. He would not listen to what Christopher had to say. The soldier killed Christopher and he did so in the year of 251. Christopher has since been known as Saint Christopher and a protector of travelers.

As time has passed by, the legend has changed Saint Christopher to have the head of a man instead of a dog. And they say he was not a demon. Some say that the confusion came from him being a Canaanite which sounds similar to canine. But that is a very silly excuse that simply makes little sense. We know that Canaan was a land of many demons, and where demons are often inclined to serve the Devil, there was but one that we know who served Christ. Christ saw this, and that one demon was ultimately saved.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you like it? Did you hate it? Either way, you can write out a comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Thank you!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Old Man and His Grandson

I've had a difficult week. I needed a little something to pull me out of the doldrums. I went back to my good ol' Grimm collection looking for a fun, little shorty to spotlight for my second blog this week. I found one in "The Old Man and His Grandson."

This story is more of a lesson-based story. It does not include any fairy creatures or magic at all. What it does include is the hilarious and candid innocence of a child. Because of its brevity, I will include the entire story below. Enjoy.

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"The Old Man and His Grandson" by the Brothers Grimm

There was once a very old man, whose eyes had become dim, his ears dull of hearing, his knees trembled, and when he sat at table he could hardly hold the spoon, and spilt the broth upon the table-cloth or let it run out of his mouth. His son and his son’s wife were disgusted at this, so the old grandfather at last had to sit in the corner behind the stove, and they gave him his food in an earthenware bowl, and not even enough of it. And he used to look towards the table with his eyes full of tears. Once, too, his trembling hands could not hold the bowl, and it fell to the ground and broke. The young wife scolded him, but he said nothing and only sighed. Then they brought him a wooden bowl for a few half-pence, out of which he had to eat.

They were once sitting thus when the little grandson of four years old began to gather together some bits of wood upon the ground. ’What are you doing there?’ asked the father. ’I am making a little trough,’ answered the child, ’for father and mother to eat out of when I am big.’

The man and his wife looked at each other for a while, and presently began to cry. Then they took the old grandfather to the table, and henceforth always let him eat with them, and likewise said nothing if he did spill a little of anything.

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Obviously this is a "respect your elders" story. We've all seen and heard them before. They are your elders and you ought to respect them simply because they are older than you. I find it convenient that they left out the drooling old man's vast criminal record, but whatever.

The real awesomeness of the story surrounds the actions of the "helpful" grandson. This kid was not actually trying to make a point. He was a wonderful little idiot that wanted dearly to save his parents trouble in there drippier years. I gotta hand it to him. He really cared!

Even though the boy's altruistic plan was thwarted by a sudden rush of empathy, the image still brings to mind a middle aged fellow sitting in the kitchen while he watched his aging mother and father shoving their face into a trough full of slop. Oh, how generous he is! This story made me laugh.

I still have no proof that the old man had actually earned his reverence. There seems to be an unwritten rule that we should look up to them. The story advises the reader to blindly look up and care for your elders no matter who they are, especially if they are your relatives. I don't agree with it, but I do like the story for its hilarious imagery. Children can really say and do things like that. You should meet my nephew sometime. (Sorry Josh.)

Thank you for reading this blog! Did you enjoy it? Did it offend you? Either way, I want to hear what you think. You can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Please Say Something (Short Film)

Continuing from last week's blog about the surreal, I want to showcase a short film by David O'Reilly which greatly goes into concepts of the surreal and the mechanics of dreams (at least from my own personal experience.) The film is called "Please Say Something," and this blog will spoil it. If you are worried about that, I am placing a link to the film at the bottom of the blog. Feel free to watch it first and then come back for the commentary.

First off, a little about David O'Reilly. David is known for making 3D short films and has also written and directed 2 video games. Likely his most famous short film was "The External World" which was mainly a comedy with very dark undertones to it. I do own and adore his one video game called "Everything," which utilizes the modern philosopher Allan Watts to convey the scope of the universe to the player. But by far, my favorite of his works was his short film "Please Say Something."

Let's begin.

The basic premise behind "Please Say Something" is actually a very common story. It is merely a story about a relationship that is, at times, very rocky. However, the people of the film are portrayed only with cats and mice. There are no other types of animals represented in the film at all. It centers around a married couple who we will called Mouse and Cat. Mouse is the man and Cat is the female.

Mouse seems to be a struggling writer. Cat does her best to support him. From the beginning you can already see that their relationship is struggling and likely from being in a rut. The story takes them to a lot of tough moments such as a car wreck and deals with difficult subjects like suicide, divorce, and fear of the unknown. However, it is the latter that actually impacts the story most of all.

There is also another very important thing to note about this film. It seems as if life is a dream and the dream itself is their life. Who is the dreamer? Generally, it seems to be Mouse. But there were some moments where it might have been Cat. It also could be someone entirely unknown (perhaps David himself.) And the way the dream is delivered is very familiar to me, and that is going to be the main focus of this blog. You may find it interesting to hear that I dream in a similar fashion to this film.

Because the story itself seems to be entirely a dream where no one ever wakes up, the film is riddled with anomalies. Near the beginning, Cat is seen pushing her way through what appears to be either a windy day or a blizzard. There are a lot of rather bizarre advertisements in the background that she does not seem to take notice of. When I dream, I see things like that too. I may see odd things happening around town that make no sense, but I accept them a normal. They are merely the background fuzz and have no bearing on my situation at the time. Even in this film, those odd backgrounds really have no purpose. Cat ignores them, and eventually so will the viewer.

One very prominent reoccurrence in "Please Say Something" was the aspect of rewinding time. Throughout the film, bad things and sometimes horrendous things happen. They happen naturally and are often tragic. Suddenly the scene falls back to a moment earlier and the scene plays out a second time in a much nicer way. It is as if the dreamer was surprised by how things went and immediately tried to correct it.

Often these "rewind" moments happen very quickly. Something bad happens, and the scene just flicks back and the correction occurs. The characters are not aware that it even happened (because the dreamer was the one who fixed it.) However, there was one moment that went a little longer and used a slightly more obvious mechanic. Cat finally gets tired of Mouse being too absorbed in his writing. She leaves him and they get a divorce. Life seems to go on for years. Cat finds another cat and marries him but is ultimately miserable for it. Mouse finally finishes his book but realizes he threw away the one that he loved in the process. So what does he do? He grabs the TV remote and rewinds times to make the fix himself. He even winks at the camera to show that he could do the trick all along. This is the only time the character seemed to be in charge of the rewind, but then again, it could still be the dreamer imposing the ability on Mouse.

This rewind ability is one I am very accustomed to in my own dreams. Being able to rewind does not mean you are controlling your dreams. It is more likely that your mind is trying to correct a horrible mistake that it made. It's a lot like looking the other way when the truth is inconvenient. Your brain says, "No, I won't accept that. Here, let's do it this way instead. It makes me happier." In my own dreams, I often change something that goes wrong. If someone in my family is killed, I'll step back and it doesn't happen the second time around. Sometimes, it takes multiple tries for it to go correctly (also represented in this movie, by the way.) Once again, I am not controlling my dream, I am merely dreaming defensively. It is not abnormal for someone to want things to go better than they did. In dreams, your fear of tragedy and desire to fix them will begin to play out without your consent. You may feel like you are doing it, but you are not.

Another interesting anomaly in the film is the use of a test pattern that will occasionally pop on the screen accompanied by a beep. Throughout the film, things seem to rise with intensity. The colors get more intense and the sounds get upsetting. When the test pattern appears, there seems to be an emotional reset that occurs. Often sound will stop altogether. Music will stop playing. The colors will reset to something more normal. It feels a lot like a blink.

"Please Say Something" has a very slow build of emotions that are often broken by this blink effect. And it actually is not a bad thing. We need the reprieve after being hit by so many hard subjects. Nevertheless, the blink of the test pattern does not always fix the situation. Sometimes it happens and things are just as bad as they were before. This gives a little more credence to the reality of the film. These things may actually be happening. The car crash was particularly tragic. Neither the test pattern or a reversal of time was able to stop it. It happened and the characters had no choice but to deal with the consequences. They may have been in a dream, but the dreamer was not able to do anything at all to remedy it.

The blink of the test pattern to me signifies my ability to try and make sense of what it going on. It is me trying to clear my mind and see through the chaotic world of my dream. I'm trying so desperately to figure out what is going on. Something isn't right, but the logical part of my brain is not working at full capacity. I'm confused and I just need a moment to solve the puzzle. Bad things are happening, and I need to think more clearly.

Early in the film, Cat loses a scarf that was very dear to her when the wind snatched it away. She liked the scarf because Mouse said it looked good on her. Later in the film, Cat succumbs to her wounds from the car wreck. She dies. Mouse sees his entire world fall apart. The entire structure of the world separates into simple shapes and colors to represent this aspect of his reality. Mouse sees no reason to continue living and decides to kill himself. It is at this moment that the scarf slaps him in the face. He takes it back to Cat, and she wakes up as if she never had died at all.

The odd thing about this is that you get a sense that the scarf was completely gone when it gets blown away the first time. You also feel as if so much time had passed between the time it blow away and the time when it hits Mouse in the face. But then again, this is likely the same dream throughout. This is not a collection of dreams. It is only one dream happening over one night of sleep. The scarf was always there. It was simply taken away for a brief period so it could fix a situation that was going to happen near the end of the story.

Even in my own dreams, I have items and plot points that disappear only to reappear towards the latter part of the dream (even after substantial plot and setting changes.) Time and space have no meaning in dreams. They are placed together in any fashion so that everything ultimately works by the end of it. If it doesn't end up working, you are probably going to wake up! Good conclusions in dreams are hard to get to, but they can happen. Ultimately Mouse and Cat come to that happy ending and the dreamer is able to wake up peacefully.

"Please Say Something" is, in my own opinion, the finest work of David O'Reilly. It takes the concepts of a dream and uses them to fuel what would commonly be considered a canned plot. It gives that plot new life and allows us a more visual way to understand how our subconscious works.

The video can be viewed by clicking the link below:
https://youtu.be/Q2YdJy0w66Y

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Did you hate it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Meow! Squeak!