One of my favorite stories is The Walking Dead. The basic plot is weird because it's a Zombie apocalypse, where the dead are existing among the living. The living people are being hunted and their group gets smaller and smaller. One example of something that is very weird is that one of the groups, to avoid being hunted by the zombie is that when they killed one they remote there skin from their heads and wear them as masks.
Another story from this week is King Rat. This story is a weird combination of the children story about the "Pied Piper" and a young rebel who is going throw a star wars type Jedi trading - except a rat. One example of something that is weird is Saul is trying to find his inner rat just like a Jedi warrior, but Saul's special power is the ability to eat anything including garbage and the squeeze into tiny spaces. This doesn't quite live up to the legend of Luke Skywalker, but the story is kinda interesting because the rat catcher has the same power ask the Pied Piper and Darth Vader.
The Old Weird is kinda sad because it made fun of "freaks" or people with disabilities. The New Weird is more fun because you have the supernatural side of it.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Asian Supernatural
I read The Soul of the Great Bell which is a Chinese ghost story by Lafcadio Hearn. The collector of these stories said in the foreword That he wanted to share ancient Chinese stories of deep personal sacrifice and a strong sense of respect for family.
This story is not traditionally scary like horror stories today. To me, it feels more morbid and sad than scary. The sound that the great bell makes when it's rung is supposed to be the scary part. For example, the sound of the bell is so scary that the stone gargoyles shiver. The children from all around know the story of the great bell because their parents make sure their children know about the sacrifice of the bell makers daughter.
This is definitely a cultural difference from the western world because we in America are not taught to be devoted to our parents to the extent that we give our life. Without cultural belief, this story wouldn't have survival throughout the years. Parents here make lots of sacrifices for their children but when the children grow up they don't always make sacrifices for their parents.
It's funny how in their culture, it's interesting that a scary story is actually about parents manipulating their children.
This story is not traditionally scary like horror stories today. To me, it feels more morbid and sad than scary. The sound that the great bell makes when it's rung is supposed to be the scary part. For example, the sound of the bell is so scary that the stone gargoyles shiver. The children from all around know the story of the great bell because their parents make sure their children know about the sacrifice of the bell makers daughter.
This is definitely a cultural difference from the western world because we in America are not taught to be devoted to our parents to the extent that we give our life. Without cultural belief, this story wouldn't have survival throughout the years. Parents here make lots of sacrifices for their children but when the children grow up they don't always make sacrifices for their parents.
It's funny how in their culture, it's interesting that a scary story is actually about parents manipulating their children.
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