So, I ended up catching a cold while fasting for Yom Kippur. Terrible combo and it’s making it difficult to finish the last two chapters of my book. So, I didn’t have the mental ability to go researching any animals or come up with anything that interesting. All I could think about was being sick and still trying to get stuff done. So, here are some memes found on Google.
This was a busy and crazy week. I feel like I always say that, so at least my life is somewhat predictable in its chaos.
A big reason for the chaos was that Yom Kippur was sitting right in the middle. This is the Jewish holiday where one fasts from sundown until sundown. I made it through that ordeal somehow. The problem is that it left me tired and I caught a cold, so I was a mess the next day. It didn’t help that I spent part of my fasting time dealing with some drama and not being able to take a nap. Thinking back, I did notice that I felt off from the beginning even though the cold wasn’t as strong as it was the next day. I mistook it for weather-induced migraines in the moment.
It’s still hard to focus and muster energy, especially at the end of a day. Mornings and evenings are all about being congested. My throat is a little tickly, but the real mess is my nose and sinuses. Home test said no covid before you ask. I still took Thursday off to recover and be safe. Probably should have slept more, but I took some time to write two sections of the penultimate chapter of Darwin & the Avenging Elf. Not my wisest moment since I needed the rest, but I thought I could use this 3-day weekend to focus on recovering.
Speaking of writing, I’ll be finishing that book today. Then, I plan on working on some idea books while I recover. ‘Phi Beta Files’ have been collecting dust in my satchel since last school year. Should really finish the characters at least. That way I can start figuring out how to tell the stories. I believe it was going to be six books with each one having short stories that connect to a main plotline. Basically, each ‘short story’ would be a chapter of the overall adventure. Not sure why I keep thinking of it as short stories, but it’s the same thing I want to try with my superhero stuff.
What else was going on? My son had a lot of work and even two tests, which we struggled to study for. It really showed how disorganized and chaotic this week was since it felt like everything was coming out of nowhere. At least that’s all over and we may have a better idea of the scheduling. My cold definitely didn’t help with focus and figuring out what was going on. It’s even making it hard to focus on this post.
Oh yeah. I finished preparing all of the November posts, so I’ve taken some time to work on the December ones. This includes a post about ‘fixing older franchises where the author is deceased’. That’s going to be a messy one and I’m sure some people know what prompted it. Couldn’t avoid it and I was nervous just writing the thing, but I had to get it off my chest. I’ll spend next week getting through the December posts since I won’t be tackling any book writing for a while. So, I may even start in on January stuff if I can think of any topics. Getting really tough to find anything that I haven’t talked about, especially since I don’t know why I’m still here. Guess it just gives me something to do since the writing career has flopped pretty harshly.
Eating fruit for lunch has been working out rather well. Mostly, I haven’t given up and started going back to junk food. Vegetables didn’t make it for very long, but going with apples, grapes, and various berries is still going strong. Sticking to water as well. I don’t feel like I’ve lost weight though. Energy hasn’t changed much either, but that could be due to sleeping trouble. The cold and weather sensitivity may have had a hand in that issue too. This is why I’m definitely going to be sleeping in on Sunday and Monday. Today is all about finishing the book.
Television hasn’t been a thing this week. I watched both seasons of ‘One Punch Man’ when I had time. Now, I’m back to figuring out what I should watch. Maybe I’ll finally watch ‘Locke & Key’ on Netflix. Been circling that one for a while because I could never figure out if I was interested or not. I’ll have two days to rest and binge while I work on some future ideas or my jigsaw puzzle. We’ll play it by ear. I’m definitely tired of dealing with ads on Hulu, so I need a break from that service.
Now, we’re getting into the more obscure beasts. How obscure are we talking? Well, it’s not as easy to find information on some of these. So, the posts might be getting a little thinner.
The Amarok (or Amaroq) is from the Inuit religion and is simply a giant wolf. They are solitary hunters who go after anyone foolish enough to hunt alone at night. Probably not hard to figure out how this legend came about. In fact, giant wolves are found in multiple religions and mythologies. Most times, they aren’t altered beyond being made enormous, which comes with the usual super strength and durability. The Amarok is not that different and was probably born from the concept of dire wolves.
There are some differences among the Inuit. Those in Greenland use Amarok solely for this creature while others use it for any wolf. Even with its ferocious reputation, the Amarok is typically put in a positive light. The story I ran into the most was the following:
‘A young boy was weak and considered an outcast by his village. He prayed to the gods for strength, which resulted in an Amarok being sent to him. He wrestled the Amarok’s tail until small bones fell out of him. These were stunting his growth. He went back to wrestle the Amarok every day in order to build up his strength. Eventually, he was strong enough to earn the respect of his village.’
Others stories have people killing an Amarok as a sign of strength or just because. There wasn’t much else to these tales, except for one that stood out to me:
‘A mourner and their friend go in search of an Amarok they hear is nearby. They find the pups and the mourner kills them. Running away, they hide nearby to see the mother appear with food. The mother Amarok goes to a lake and drags out a human form. The mourner drops dead because the Amarok took their soul.’
That’s also the closest I could come to finding any supernatural powers. Mostly, the Amarok is a giant wolf used in mythology either as a benevolent guardian, dangerous predator, or test of strength. Some tales talk of them appearing to pick off sick reindeer when the herds get too large. This helps the herds grow in strength and be better sources of food for the Inuit.
Beyond all of that, it got tricky finding clear information. I noticed that some people used the term ‘Amarok Wolf’ for general large wolves. This is regardless of their origins. So, I saw it getting used for Fenrir and the wolf who raised Remus and Romulus. I don’t think that’s right though. Kind of muddies the waters.
Is that what a Bunyip looks like? No idea because the descriptions were incredibly varied and I couldn’t find many common factors beyond ‘aquatic’. Not surprising since this is folklore that was spread across Australia. Even the name has regional variations, so you can’t really lock down a single concept.
As I said, the only constant is that the Bunyip is aquatic. This may mean that it’s an aggressive water spirit because people tended to be afraid of it. I did mention that there were a few common factors too. Since they’re aquatic, Bunyips were strong swimmers with either fins or flippers. They have a loud, distinctive call that is similar to a boom or a roar. Women and children were its preferred prey. Beyond all of that, the legends tend to be unique to their region.
There have been a few theories at to the Bunyip’s origins:
Most sightings describe a creature with a round head, brown or black fur, no tail, and being between 4 to 6 feet long. This description is why some believe the Bunyip was born from seeing seals that wandered up the rivers. If they made it far inland, people unfamiliar with them would assume they’re a strange creature. An elephant seal would really drive this myth considering how big and aggressive they are.
Other sightings describe a creature with a long neck that is 5 to 15 feet long. They have a head like a horse or emu with more equine features such as mane and tail. This could have come from the fossils of extinct animals found in Australia. It was adding to the bones to make sense of what was found.
The first written account of the Bunyip described it as laying blue eggs. It had deadly claws, powerful legs, a bird-like head, and a colorful chest? That actually describes the Australian cassowary:
Cassowary
Just a thought, but another source could have been crocodiles. An aspect of the Bunyip is eating children and livestock that get too close to the shore. That’s exactly what crocodilians do. If it happened when people weren’t looking then they could blame a mysterious creature.
Finally, another aspect of the Bunyip is the booming call. This may be what people thought was making the call of a bittern marsh bird. It could also be pieces from all of these theories getting mixed together.
There have been plenty of sightings over the years. Oddly enough, these increased when European settlers started showing up and were finding fossils. This began in 1818 when large bones where found and described as being similar to that of a hippo. Of course, this was probably an extinct animal, but it got the ball rolling. Why wouldn’t it? Europeans showed up to see kangaroos, koalas, cassowaries, platypuses, and other unique animals. The possibility of a Bunyip wasn’t off the table if one thinks it’s simply an elusive water predator.
I keep looking up information and it paints so many strange pictures. The Bunyip is a large starfish. It’s also a dog-headed, furry creature. The Bunyip bloodthirsty predator. It’s also a protector of wildlife who devours people who do evil. The Bunyip is a natural animal. It also has supernatural powers such as controlling water levels and hypnotizing humans into being slaves. Your head starts spinning after a while. Guess you can pick your legend and stick to it.
From 2015-2018, I spent October posting my attempts at a horror series. It took a lot out of me and my doubts where extreme, so I didn’t bother publishing. Instead, I made it a blog only thing. My mind goes back to it from time to time and I wanted to give it a small revival. Yet, it would be insane to have a post with a link to each of the 30-31 parts. So, I’m going to try to connect a PDF of each book to the next four Tuesday posts. Let’s see if it works.
Raven’s Hold
This is the one that started it all. A young man named Ian has been invited to be a patient at the Raven’s Hold asylum. Once there, he meets a few of the residents and makes a new friend who claims to be a prisoner. Though, very little is stranger than the excitable Dawn Addison and her invisible unicorn. As Ian’s stay gets longer, the sense that there is more to Raven’s Hold than reality can explain grows.
We’re going to be touching on some monsters throughout the month. I was trying for obscure ones, but the first one is probably known by others. If you’ve been a fan of Wolverine comics or ‘Supernatural’, you’ve heard of:
THE WENDIGO
These creatures are from Native American folklore, specifically the Algonquin-speaking people such as the Cree and Ojibwe. This means there are some variations on what the Wendigo looks like and acts, but there are the following commonalities:
Evil supernatural being
Cannibalistic
Connected to winter and the cold
Connected to famine and starvation
I think the last one is why Wendigo are cannibals and many imagine them to be gaunt. A lack of food could drive someone to eat another person. These beings are almost skeletal and corpse-like, which is similar to how a person would look if they starved to death. A few descriptions give them bloody lips like they are dehydrated. Some of the tribes had it that a Wendigo would grow in proportion to the person it ate, which meant it would remain hungry. This is why they are still gaunt even if they are eating people at a terrifying rate. It’s this aspect that also makes them a symbol of gluttony.
I’ve found 3 origins for the Wendigo:
Just a malevolent wind spirit that comes out during the winter. Not sure if this is genuine lore or modern fiction.
A human turns into a Wendigo if they are driven to the point of cannibalism. Since it is from the northern regions of America, it stems from the threat of being trapped in the snow. People may give in to the urge to eat those who have already died if they have been left without food for so long. Key point there is that they don’t eat the living, but the dead to transform.
A human who demonstrates extreme gluttony and greed will turn into a Wendigo. In this scenario, it is a tale to promote cooperation and sharing. Cannibalism comes after the change.
Wendigo tend to be giants, but European influence has created a version that is human-sized and bestial like a werewolf. The original lore had them as giants with glowing eyes, long tongues, sharp teeth, and sharp claws. Those are the only things were common while the rest of their description changed by culture. Powers were varied too with some having weather control and perfect stealth. The point of a Wendigo was to be scary and prevent people from committing cannibalism and general gluttony. So, they may have been built to fit whatever local fears and threats people had, which explains the variety.
Finally, there is something called Wendigo Psychosis, which is up for debate and currently considered a culture-specific disorder. The reason for the debate is that some people think this was created by anthropologists misunderstanding things, but there are others who think the syndrome is real. Basically, a person develops a craving for human flesh and fears becoming a cannibal. Some think this is when a person is possessed by a Wendigo spirit. This isn’t as common as it was prior to the 20th century, which is another reason there are debates on if it’s real or not.
