Saturday 2 October 2010

Terrifying image

This picture was taken in Bath, almost a year ago, on the 30th of October. I cannot remember exactly where. I cannot remember what this statue was or why it was there. I think it was in the Royal Victoria Park. In any case, I think it is a terrifying sight.

In the documentary I put here on M.R. James, one of the persons interviewed mentioned that James's type of terror he created in his writings was subtle, at the corner of the eye, barely perceptible, which was enough to create dread. That is what struck me about this statue in the woods: there is something malevolent about the expression of its face, with the darkness coming, the autumn colours, it simply looked really threatening. I read once a scary Transylvanian tale that spoke of a guardian spirit of the forest, who murdered a few careless lumberjacks. The spirit could take many forms, but I always pictured him like this statue.

1 comment:

The Artful Gypsy aka Wendy the Very Good Witch said...

Yeah...that would really scare me if I came upon that unexpectingly in the woods...yikes! I like the photo though...a little creepy!