Stingy Jack

An old legend about Hallowe'en goes something like this...

A long, long time ago - a couple hundred years ago, there was a deceitful, bad-tempered drunk everyone called "Stingy Jack." Now, Stingy Jack didn't care what people thought of him and he constantly ticked people off by playing practical jokes on unsuspecting bystanders.

Nobody was suprised when, one late night, while Jack was in a public house (a pub) drinking as usual - he got in a tad bit of trouble...

...you see - Jack ran into The Devil, Himself on this fateful cold, autumn evening.

As I already mentioned, Jack was drinking at the public house when a stranger sat beside him. Stingy and cheap as he was, Jack hadn't brought enough money with him and looked upon the stranger as an easy target for manipulation to garner himself a little more to drink before the night wore on. Jack struck up some conversation and in a short while, he offered his soul to the Devil in exchange for one last drink.

With the deal spoken, the Devil changed himself into a sixpence as payment to the bartender for Stingy Jack's drink but Jack took action in the blink of an eye and scooped up the sixpence off the counter, dropping it quickly in his pocket - right beside a silver cross. The proximity to the silver cross kept the Devil from being able to shape shift back into human form, so with the Devil literally at his mercy, Stingy Jack offered new terms to the Devil. Jack made the Devil promise to leave him alone for 10 years and if this was agreed upon, only then would Jack release the Devil from his pocket. Once the Devil agreed to this, Jack downed his drink and got up to leave, flicking the coin/sixpence in the corner while he was on his way out the door. As promised, the Devil let Jack alone and didn't bother him again.

That is - the Devil didn't bother Stingy Jack for all of ten years...as per agreement.

One night, 10 years after the incident in the public house, Jack was walking alone on a cold, dark, autumn night - along a winding path, working his way home (probably from the public house...again!). The Devil was hiding behind an apple tree a little way down the road and once Jack came near, the Devil jumped out and blocked Stingy Jack's progress. The Devil told Jack he had come to claim his soul, as per agreement. Still quick-thinking, Jack didn't bother to argue at all but asked, instead, for the Devil to allow him the pleasure of one last, juicy apple before taking his soul forever. The Devil agreed to this and jumped up in the apple tree to fetch Jack an apple...

As soon as the Devil leaped upward into the tree, Stingy Jack threw down a number of crosses on the ground all around the trunk of the apple tree... this trapped the Devil where he perched above in the tree. This time, Jack made the Devil promise NOT TO take his soul once Jack died. The Devil ended up having to agree to Jack's demand or else remain stuck in the apple tree. The Devil wasn't happy about this at all but after only a few moments of deliberation, the Devil agreed.

A few years later, Stingy Jack passed away. The Devil kept to his agreement, however, and did NOT try to collect Jack's soul in any way.

When Jack's spirit arrived at the Gates of Heaven, Saint Peter refused to let Jack in. The bad-tempered, miserable person Jack was all his life was not ever going to be welcome in Heaven, and Saint Peter promptly turned Jack away. This meant Jack had to go the other way and go ask for admittance from the Devil - in Hell.

When Jack arrived at the brink of Hell, the Devil remembered him and reminded Jack of the agreements made years ago. The Devil was simply keeping to His word - which meant Jack's soul would have no entry anywhere and Jack was turned away - even from Hell...

When Jack asked, "But where will I go now?"
The Devil responded, "Back to where you came from."

Jack turned to go but it was dark, so Jack asked the Devil for at least a little light so he'd be able to find his way around.

To that, the Devil tossed some embers at Jack - burning coals from the depths of Hell, and yelled, "BEGONE!"

Jack found and hollowed out a turnip and put the embers from Hell inside so the burning matter could be carried. Since the time when Stingy Jack was refused entry to Heaven and also banned from Hell, he has been wandering the Earth without a place to righfully settle. He is forever doomed, his only light, the embers of Hell burning from within the turnip he found.

Blake4D Interviews Montague The Vampire

If you want to read something that'll knock your socks off, go read about my friend, Blake4d and his interview with Montague The Vampire...

Fictional account?

I don't know... you'll have to learn for yourself - what you think this interview is about. Certainly, Montague is an interesting fellow.

Dark Art - An Interview With A Modern American Vampire On Being Human, Immortal, And The Practice of The Dark Arts by Blake4D a,k,a. Blake Hall IV

What do I know about Blake4d?

He's INTENSE and PASSIONATE... and very clever. If this little piece of written work is via Blake's passion and creativity, so be it... in my experience, many of the things Blake says/writes are not to be taken in 2-dimensional literal sense but offer TRUTHS of an abstract kind that many of us should pay attention to for their multidimensional qualities and inferences.

In the interview, the subject - Montague - claims to be a vampire, and also - to be a practitioner in the dark arts, among other things...

Take note (for those who would foolishly trade THIS life for that of one in vampire flesh and being) that Montague states, in no uncertain terms, that our society and media influences upon society have turned the idea of "the Vampire" into beings of no more depth than of clowns or criminals.

What do I THINK of the interview/article?

I think that the article contains a number of important messages that people should hear - about the media, religions, society, about our inner selves and truths within us... however, I do not know where Blake found this Montague...

Let me know what you think of Montague...

New Blog - Introductory Post: Crossing and Stepping Over Lines

As explained in the first post of my new blog, I have been crossing and stepping over lines in the past 8-12 months. Necessarily, a new blog has been created - for discussion on topics which veer away from folklore, urban legends, mythology, fairy tales and appropriate topics for THIS blog.

In the last year, I've found myself in discussions online on a myriad of topics and have had to take a much closer look at topics that most people deem to be "weird tales" and "strange fodder," however - in my examinations of these weird tales (on topics such as black eyed kids, shadow people, harlequins, ghosts, etc) I'm finding information that is not so weird after all...which ends up also directing me straight into the study of CONSPIRACIES...

There ARE many explanations for things that a general public says are "too weird to be true," and - in the least - I have felt it important to treat "accounts" of events as being true for those who experienced the events. The latter statement is something that seems hard for people or any individual to do unless a measure of humane empathy is employed, along with a great deal of patience...but I've been working on maintaining empathy and patience so that I can LISTEN to 'witnesses' of various paranormal/unexplained events and situations. I've been reading a LOT in the past 6 months - and when people notice the titles of WHAT I am reading, I'm invariably discriminated against - as some mere idiot or flake...so I'm trying to have a great deal of patience with a number of real life acquaintances, too...who seem to not recall that people like Charles Fort and John Keel (recently passed on, R.I.P. Mr. Keel) were not mere laymen in their fields!!!

So I've been listening, reading, engaging in discussion about things like black eyed kids, ghosts, shadow people, conspiracies, propaganda, etc. and let me tell you... as strange as these topics are or as strange as they seem or sound... these ARE topics that a general public might do well to get involved in for discussion. The "incidents" of UFO, ghost, BEK, shadow people, demons, and more are NOT decreasing...eventually, in my opinion, nearly ALL OF US will end up seeing SOMETHING paranormal and unexplained - usually quite frightening and disconcerting...and I've found that many people who DO SAY SOMETHING - do so in a whisper, briefly and then clam up, fearing societal backlash or ridicule about their mention of an unexplained happening or experience...

I'm not sure there are wholly scientific explanations for many things "out there," and I'm quite convinced that a number of things we believe are paranormal and unexplained have explanations in psychological terms but are going to continue to be ignored - when really - THERE ARE ANSWERS - even if many "sightings" originate within our own minds, in our neuroses (most of the civilized world isn't as "civilized" and well-mannered as we like to think...) and psyches. BOTTOM LINE: what is felt as a real experience BECOMES a real life experience for the person/people who live through an experience...whether that experience was influenced by glitches in the brain (pareidolia, for example), came from a true external source, or not.

Hence, the need to get THESE and related topics OFF the Urban Legends/Folklore/Fairy Tales blog and on to a space set aside for such discussions.

New blog: Mythbuster2009's Conspiracies and Weird Stuff
Drop by the new blog and add to any discussion you see over there, suggest a topic for research or discussion, let me/us know if you've had a paranormal/unexplained event experience or if you have a theory on conspiracies.

Sticks and Stones Myth

I recently wrote an article over at HP (Hub Pages) about the myth/saying "Sticks and Stones." This saying about sticks and stones is actually a very common IDIOM which is, in fact, largely untrue. Rather, it's sort of a 'safe face/comeback" link in this day and age. Sort of a last word resort - if you manage to be able to have the last word and walk away from any conversation in which you find the need to use this idiom.

The article: Sticks and Stones: The Myth That Words Will Never Hurt You

"Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones
But Words Will Never Hurt Me."

Yeah right-o, brave and unaffected, oh - unemotional warrior of the human species...

You're DARN RIGHT words hurt! Well, at least until you become unattached to what was said - which takes some personal self skill-building, to say the least.

The idiom is designed to convey: an opinion that people cannot hurt you with bad things they say or write about you - that you (or the receiver of the words) is not going to be affected by mere words.

Cases where this idiom falls distinctly flat are:

• * Damage of words in the press to celebrities/public personas, even if the words about the celebrity turn out to be outright lies.
• * Where anyone emotionally sensitive is concerned ie: children (who may not be at an advanced level of being able to think and respond critically with reasoned thinking and responses. Children may internalize what they hear in a self-damaging way).
• * Where anyone emotionally unstable is concerned ie: persons afflicted with mental illness or even anyone under mental duress whereby the stress is undermining reasoned thinking. Those experiencing mental illnes, mental instability, high levels of stress may also internalize and feel exceptionally vulnerable to derogatory words, remarks, articles, etc.
• * Where oppressed and minority individuals/groups are concerned ie: these individuals or groups have already been harmed or at least consider themselves (sometimes) under attack, and so might be internalizing derogatory remarks, words, media reports, etc.  ++There are more, but these are the most common.

The point is...the human species has a great capacity for using words and also the ability to use words in a well-reasoned, respectful way. In almost every case of bullying or verbal attack, there IS a better, more effective way to put words and concepts across than with harsh statements, bullyish means.

For almost every statement of, "He/She should have been able to tell I was joking" and "She/He just took what I said all wrong - I was just being a little sarcastic," that are used as a cover when trying to joke or explain a way out of being blamed for bullying, there are additional "blames" upon the receiver of the verbal abuse in question.

People who use words harshly and who bully with words are rarely able to come up with a very good reason for doing so and, therefore, continue to blame the already-abused person.

Lack of accountability - or "mock accountability" (jokingly saying "sorry" when it is apparent that "sorry" is not a heartfelt response) is so prevalent in many cultures of supposedly "advanced" nations that we are basically accustomed to sarcasm, "double-talk," "slights," and all manner of harmful use of words.

More true than "Sticks and stones may break our bones but words will never hurt us," is the idiom, "Words Can CUT LIKE A KNIFE," and, in a more positive way, "A Kind Word Never Goes Unrewarded."

Just blurbing here...and hope that sometime, somewhere, if someone remembers this post and they're about to let loose with a sarcasm or hurtful words in a state of emotional thinking, they'll simply go with, perhaps, the safest alternative: "If You Can't Say Something Nice, Don't Say Anything At All."

Alternatives To Science: Charles Fort

The late Charles Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) seemed to start out life enjoying science immensely - or at least his early interest as a naturalist probably brought him to examine many things within the viewpoint of science. At some point, however, Charles Fort became very critical of the hard sciences, saying that most science and scientists relegate those things that science has trouble classifying and explaining into a non-category of 'damned' things. In other words, science and scientists often choose to discount or 'damn' things that do not have a simple or scientifically-based explanation.

Deeming an object or phenomena as 'damned' or untrue, false or unimportant just because someone or an academic discipline choose(s) not to pursue classification or explanations of an object or phenomena was inherently wrong and irresponsible in the mind of Charles Fort. Consequently, Fort turned from naturalist-science to naturalist and researcher of all objects and phenomena routinely discounted and 'damned' by the hard sciences. Essentially, we can say that Fort studied in the field of 'science of the damned.' Perhaps better stated, Fort examined "damned by science" topics, phenomena and items, and dedicated his energies and lifetime to these studies.

Here's an interesting radio show broadcast where the topic of discussion is the late Charles Fort. This is just one part of the "Charles Fort" topic on the Coast To Coast AM Radio Show - but is enough to provide you with examples of Fortean ideas and to gain some tidbits on the late Mr. Fort:



I'm sure you've been able to take note of my excessive use of the word "damned" in this post. I've used the word a lot because it is in the title of, perhaps, one of the world's most eye opening books about strange creatures and phenomena that science tends to treat as ridiculous, unreal and forgettable. The book is Charles Fort's "Book Of The Damned." Even if Fort has not been able to explain the existence of certain phenomena and items, with his Book Of The Damned, he clearly makes it known that unexplained things and happenings ARE PART OF OUR WORLD, whether science appreciates these things and events or not.

To view an online version of Fort's Book of the Damned:
Hypertext Version of Charles Hoy Fort's Book Of The Damned
Please enjoy Mr. Fort's wit and more than a few tongue-in-cheek comments Mr. Fort makes in his text. His frustration with 'the authority of science' is clearly discernible in his book.

If you'd like a PDF version of "Book of the Damned" for absolutely free, please see the left-hand sidebar for a free download. Also in the left-hand sidebar, Charles Fort's "New Lands" in PDF format. Just right-click and download for free and you'll stay on this page while being able to download in a new window.