Dec 30, 2010 – 7:33 AM
Monsters: They lurk in our fears, our imaginations, and sometimes, in our lakes and forests.
Sea serpents; tall, hairy creatures; unicorns; blood-sucking doglike animals -- they've all been in the news this year. They're either real, myth or simply new and previously unknown beasts that share the world with humans and come under the category of cryptozoology: the study of hidden or unknown animals.
Here's a look back at some of the more interesting cryptozoology stories that we covered in 2010.
Read full article: http://www.aolnews.com/2010/12/30/2010s-top-cryptozoology-monsters/
Showing posts with label unicorns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unicorns. Show all posts
Monday, January 10, 2011
2010's Top Cryptozoology 'Monsters'
Dec 30, 2010 – 7:33 AM
Monsters: They lurk in our fears, our imaginations, and sometimes, in our lakes and forests.
Sea serpents; tall, hairy creatures; unicorns; blood-sucking doglike animals -- they've all been in the news this year. They're either real, myth or simply new and previously unknown beasts that share the world with humans and come under the category of cryptozoology: the study of hidden or unknown animals.
Here's a look back at some of the more interesting cryptozoology stories that we covered in 2010.
Read full article: http://www.aolnews.com/2010/12/30/2010s-top-cryptozoology-monsters/
Monsters: They lurk in our fears, our imaginations, and sometimes, in our lakes and forests.
Sea serpents; tall, hairy creatures; unicorns; blood-sucking doglike animals -- they've all been in the news this year. They're either real, myth or simply new and previously unknown beasts that share the world with humans and come under the category of cryptozoology: the study of hidden or unknown animals.
Here's a look back at some of the more interesting cryptozoology stories that we covered in 2010.
Read full article: http://www.aolnews.com/2010/12/30/2010s-top-cryptozoology-monsters/
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Chinese 'Unicorn Cow' Horns In on Fame
Dec. (2) -- A cow with a horn smack dab in the middle of its forehead is leading some people to claim the supposedly fictional unicorn is alive and well and living in northern China's Hebei province.
According to Metro.co.uk, the cow's farmer, Jia Kebing, first noticed a small bump on the cow's forehead when it was born two years ago, but he didn't expect it to grow into an 8-inch horn.
But it has, and so has the cow's popularity, even though the presence of two normal horns makes the animal more of a "tri-corn" than a unicorn.
The cow is just one of many so-called unicorn creatures that have popped up over the centuries ever since reports of the mythical creature appeared in India.
Some of the creatures that have been either mistaken as unicorns or cited as possible explanations for how the myth started include:
The oryx, an antelope with two long, thin horns projecting from its forehead, that supposedly looks like a horse with one horn when seen from the side and from a distance.
The eland, another type of antelope known for its great strength.
The Javan rhinoceros, which Marco Polo claimed was a unicorn when he visited Java in the 13th century.
The narwhal, a whale with a long single horn that traders often claimed belonged to a unicorn.
But while experts claim the unicorn myths are man-made, so are some unicorns, according to Cerridwen Fallingstar, who has come across many tales of unicorns while teaching classes in cross-cultural shamanism.
"There seems to be a history of one-horned goats or cows in Assyria, a kingdom located in present day Iraq," she told AOL News. "They used animal husbandry techniques to move the horn buds of the animals and relocate them in the middle so they created one long horn."
She says animals who go through the hornswoggling tend to be more aggressive and can be used to guard the herd.
According to Fallingstar, this is similar to the technique used by Oberon Zell, a neopagan priest who created some unicorns out of goats that toured with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus from 1985 to 1989.
But while it's most likely that any unicorns that exist are actually horned animals that have been adapted in this manner, or members of species that normally have two horns that for some reason only grew one horn, there are some folks who are convinced unicorns exist.
"Saying that unicorns are fictional is the equivalent of stating that UFOs do not exist," said Seth Greening, a self-proclaimed "supernatural survivorologist" based in Los Angeles. "Of course there are flying objects that remain unidentified. And, of course, there are monocerotes or unicorns. But can a unicorn be a cow?"
Greening says that anatomically speaking, Jia's cow may be technically considered a monocerote, or one-horned animal.
"It certainly does appear to have a single horn growing out of the center of its forehead," he said. "But a real unicorn?"
Greening said that the real test on whether the cow is a unicorn is wholly dependent on the reaction it gets from people who see it in the flesh.
"It is the reality of the people who witness it [that matters]," Greening said. "It's the effect of seeing, touching or riding on a unicorn that makes it a unicorn."
Greening adds that since ancient times, people have attributed many magical powers to the unicorn, such as the ability to distinguish the guilty from the innocent, heal the sick and even restore virginity to young women. As such, Greening says it's important to see whether any of this happens around the unicorn cow.
"To know for sure if it is a true unicorn, one would have to talk to the crowds who have touched Mr. Jia's cow and document how many conditions were healed, how many guilty parties identified, how many virginities restored, etc.," Greening said, adding that he'd love to volunteer his investigatory services to this cause.
Somehow, it seems more likely that won't happen until there's a real unicorn sighting.
David Moye Contributor
AOL News
According to Metro.co.uk, the cow's farmer, Jia Kebing, first noticed a small bump on the cow's forehead when it was born two years ago, but he didn't expect it to grow into an 8-inch horn.
But it has, and so has the cow's popularity, even though the presence of two normal horns makes the animal more of a "tri-corn" than a unicorn.
The cow is just one of many so-called unicorn creatures that have popped up over the centuries ever since reports of the mythical creature appeared in India.
Some of the creatures that have been either mistaken as unicorns or cited as possible explanations for how the myth started include:
The oryx, an antelope with two long, thin horns projecting from its forehead, that supposedly looks like a horse with one horn when seen from the side and from a distance.
The eland, another type of antelope known for its great strength.
The Javan rhinoceros, which Marco Polo claimed was a unicorn when he visited Java in the 13th century.
The narwhal, a whale with a long single horn that traders often claimed belonged to a unicorn.
But while experts claim the unicorn myths are man-made, so are some unicorns, according to Cerridwen Fallingstar, who has come across many tales of unicorns while teaching classes in cross-cultural shamanism.
"There seems to be a history of one-horned goats or cows in Assyria, a kingdom located in present day Iraq," she told AOL News. "They used animal husbandry techniques to move the horn buds of the animals and relocate them in the middle so they created one long horn."
She says animals who go through the hornswoggling tend to be more aggressive and can be used to guard the herd.
According to Fallingstar, this is similar to the technique used by Oberon Zell, a neopagan priest who created some unicorns out of goats that toured with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus from 1985 to 1989.
But while it's most likely that any unicorns that exist are actually horned animals that have been adapted in this manner, or members of species that normally have two horns that for some reason only grew one horn, there are some folks who are convinced unicorns exist.
"Saying that unicorns are fictional is the equivalent of stating that UFOs do not exist," said Seth Greening, a self-proclaimed "supernatural survivorologist" based in Los Angeles. "Of course there are flying objects that remain unidentified. And, of course, there are monocerotes or unicorns. But can a unicorn be a cow?"
Greening says that anatomically speaking, Jia's cow may be technically considered a monocerote, or one-horned animal.
"It certainly does appear to have a single horn growing out of the center of its forehead," he said. "But a real unicorn?"
Greening said that the real test on whether the cow is a unicorn is wholly dependent on the reaction it gets from people who see it in the flesh.
"It is the reality of the people who witness it [that matters]," Greening said. "It's the effect of seeing, touching or riding on a unicorn that makes it a unicorn."
Greening adds that since ancient times, people have attributed many magical powers to the unicorn, such as the ability to distinguish the guilty from the innocent, heal the sick and even restore virginity to young women. As such, Greening says it's important to see whether any of this happens around the unicorn cow.
"To know for sure if it is a true unicorn, one would have to talk to the crowds who have touched Mr. Jia's cow and document how many conditions were healed, how many guilty parties identified, how many virginities restored, etc.," Greening said, adding that he'd love to volunteer his investigatory services to this cause.
Somehow, it seems more likely that won't happen until there's a real unicorn sighting.
David Moye Contributor
AOL News
Chinese 'Unicorn Cow' Horns In on Fame
Dec. (2) -- A cow with a horn smack dab in the middle of its forehead is leading some people to claim the supposedly fictional unicorn is alive and well and living in northern China's Hebei province.
According to Metro.co.uk, the cow's farmer, Jia Kebing, first noticed a small bump on the cow's forehead when it was born two years ago, but he didn't expect it to grow into an 8-inch horn.
But it has, and so has the cow's popularity, even though the presence of two normal horns makes the animal more of a "tri-corn" than a unicorn.
The cow is just one of many so-called unicorn creatures that have popped up over the centuries ever since reports of the mythical creature appeared in India.
Some of the creatures that have been either mistaken as unicorns or cited as possible explanations for how the myth started include:
The oryx, an antelope with two long, thin horns projecting from its forehead, that supposedly looks like a horse with one horn when seen from the side and from a distance.
The eland, another type of antelope known for its great strength.
The Javan rhinoceros, which Marco Polo claimed was a unicorn when he visited Java in the 13th century.
The narwhal, a whale with a long single horn that traders often claimed belonged to a unicorn.
But while experts claim the unicorn myths are man-made, so are some unicorns, according to Cerridwen Fallingstar, who has come across many tales of unicorns while teaching classes in cross-cultural shamanism.
"There seems to be a history of one-horned goats or cows in Assyria, a kingdom located in present day Iraq," she told AOL News. "They used animal husbandry techniques to move the horn buds of the animals and relocate them in the middle so they created one long horn."
She says animals who go through the hornswoggling tend to be more aggressive and can be used to guard the herd.
According to Fallingstar, this is similar to the technique used by Oberon Zell, a neopagan priest who created some unicorns out of goats that toured with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus from 1985 to 1989.
But while it's most likely that any unicorns that exist are actually horned animals that have been adapted in this manner, or members of species that normally have two horns that for some reason only grew one horn, there are some folks who are convinced unicorns exist.
"Saying that unicorns are fictional is the equivalent of stating that UFOs do not exist," said Seth Greening, a self-proclaimed "supernatural survivorologist" based in Los Angeles. "Of course there are flying objects that remain unidentified. And, of course, there are monocerotes or unicorns. But can a unicorn be a cow?"
Greening says that anatomically speaking, Jia's cow may be technically considered a monocerote, or one-horned animal.
"It certainly does appear to have a single horn growing out of the center of its forehead," he said. "But a real unicorn?"
Greening said that the real test on whether the cow is a unicorn is wholly dependent on the reaction it gets from people who see it in the flesh.
"It is the reality of the people who witness it [that matters]," Greening said. "It's the effect of seeing, touching or riding on a unicorn that makes it a unicorn."
Greening adds that since ancient times, people have attributed many magical powers to the unicorn, such as the ability to distinguish the guilty from the innocent, heal the sick and even restore virginity to young women. As such, Greening says it's important to see whether any of this happens around the unicorn cow.
"To know for sure if it is a true unicorn, one would have to talk to the crowds who have touched Mr. Jia's cow and document how many conditions were healed, how many guilty parties identified, how many virginities restored, etc.," Greening said, adding that he'd love to volunteer his investigatory services to this cause.
Somehow, it seems more likely that won't happen until there's a real unicorn sighting.
David Moye Contributor
AOL News
According to Metro.co.uk, the cow's farmer, Jia Kebing, first noticed a small bump on the cow's forehead when it was born two years ago, but he didn't expect it to grow into an 8-inch horn.
But it has, and so has the cow's popularity, even though the presence of two normal horns makes the animal more of a "tri-corn" than a unicorn.
The cow is just one of many so-called unicorn creatures that have popped up over the centuries ever since reports of the mythical creature appeared in India.
Some of the creatures that have been either mistaken as unicorns or cited as possible explanations for how the myth started include:
The oryx, an antelope with two long, thin horns projecting from its forehead, that supposedly looks like a horse with one horn when seen from the side and from a distance.
The eland, another type of antelope known for its great strength.
The Javan rhinoceros, which Marco Polo claimed was a unicorn when he visited Java in the 13th century.
The narwhal, a whale with a long single horn that traders often claimed belonged to a unicorn.
But while experts claim the unicorn myths are man-made, so are some unicorns, according to Cerridwen Fallingstar, who has come across many tales of unicorns while teaching classes in cross-cultural shamanism.
"There seems to be a history of one-horned goats or cows in Assyria, a kingdom located in present day Iraq," she told AOL News. "They used animal husbandry techniques to move the horn buds of the animals and relocate them in the middle so they created one long horn."
She says animals who go through the hornswoggling tend to be more aggressive and can be used to guard the herd.
According to Fallingstar, this is similar to the technique used by Oberon Zell, a neopagan priest who created some unicorns out of goats that toured with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus from 1985 to 1989.
But while it's most likely that any unicorns that exist are actually horned animals that have been adapted in this manner, or members of species that normally have two horns that for some reason only grew one horn, there are some folks who are convinced unicorns exist.
"Saying that unicorns are fictional is the equivalent of stating that UFOs do not exist," said Seth Greening, a self-proclaimed "supernatural survivorologist" based in Los Angeles. "Of course there are flying objects that remain unidentified. And, of course, there are monocerotes or unicorns. But can a unicorn be a cow?"
Greening says that anatomically speaking, Jia's cow may be technically considered a monocerote, or one-horned animal.
"It certainly does appear to have a single horn growing out of the center of its forehead," he said. "But a real unicorn?"
Greening said that the real test on whether the cow is a unicorn is wholly dependent on the reaction it gets from people who see it in the flesh.
"It is the reality of the people who witness it [that matters]," Greening said. "It's the effect of seeing, touching or riding on a unicorn that makes it a unicorn."
Greening adds that since ancient times, people have attributed many magical powers to the unicorn, such as the ability to distinguish the guilty from the innocent, heal the sick and even restore virginity to young women. As such, Greening says it's important to see whether any of this happens around the unicorn cow.
"To know for sure if it is a true unicorn, one would have to talk to the crowds who have touched Mr. Jia's cow and document how many conditions were healed, how many guilty parties identified, how many virginities restored, etc.," Greening said, adding that he'd love to volunteer his investigatory services to this cause.
Somehow, it seems more likely that won't happen until there's a real unicorn sighting.
David Moye Contributor
AOL News
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Have You Seen This Missing Unicorn?
Maybe it's the last great unicorn hunt.
New Yorkers have been looking for this beast, a female unicorn with a friendly disposition, since thousands of posters for it sprung up around the city.
There's a phone number to call if you think you've seen it -- (917) 675-4783 -- and audio from some calls, as well as supposed images of unicorn sightings, have been placed on the unicorn's Web site, missingunicorn.com.
The project was started by New York artist Camomile Hixon, who told the Los Angeles Times that she was just trying to make people smile.
"A unicorn is beyond race, beyond religion. I wanted something that could reach anyone at any age. I thought, if I could just make a handful of businessmen on Wall Street think about unicorns, I will be successful," she said.
The city has shut down the project and stopped Hixon from putting up new posters... but they haven't been stopped from selling T-shirts that cost nearly $30 a piece.
That's expensive even in New York... but I'll gladly buy one.
Wait, I think I left my wallet on my unicorn.
New Yorkers have been looking for this beast, a female unicorn with a friendly disposition, since thousands of posters for it sprung up around the city.
There's a phone number to call if you think you've seen it -- (917) 675-4783 -- and audio from some calls, as well as supposed images of unicorn sightings, have been placed on the unicorn's Web site, missingunicorn.com.
The project was started by New York artist Camomile Hixon, who told the Los Angeles Times that she was just trying to make people smile.
"A unicorn is beyond race, beyond religion. I wanted something that could reach anyone at any age. I thought, if I could just make a handful of businessmen on Wall Street think about unicorns, I will be successful," she said.
The city has shut down the project and stopped Hixon from putting up new posters... but they haven't been stopped from selling T-shirts that cost nearly $30 a piece.
That's expensive even in New York... but I'll gladly buy one.
Wait, I think I left my wallet on my unicorn.
Have You Seen This Missing Unicorn?
Maybe it's the last great unicorn hunt.
New Yorkers have been looking for this beast, a female unicorn with a friendly disposition, since thousands of posters for it sprung up around the city.
There's a phone number to call if you think you've seen it -- (917) 675-4783 -- and audio from some calls, as well as supposed images of unicorn sightings, have been placed on the unicorn's Web site, missingunicorn.com.
The project was started by New York artist Camomile Hixon, who told the Los Angeles Times that she was just trying to make people smile.
"A unicorn is beyond race, beyond religion. I wanted something that could reach anyone at any age. I thought, if I could just make a handful of businessmen on Wall Street think about unicorns, I will be successful," she said.
The city has shut down the project and stopped Hixon from putting up new posters... but they haven't been stopped from selling T-shirts that cost nearly $30 a piece.
That's expensive even in New York... but I'll gladly buy one.
Wait, I think I left my wallet on my unicorn.
New Yorkers have been looking for this beast, a female unicorn with a friendly disposition, since thousands of posters for it sprung up around the city.
There's a phone number to call if you think you've seen it -- (917) 675-4783 -- and audio from some calls, as well as supposed images of unicorn sightings, have been placed on the unicorn's Web site, missingunicorn.com.
The project was started by New York artist Camomile Hixon, who told the Los Angeles Times that she was just trying to make people smile.
"A unicorn is beyond race, beyond religion. I wanted something that could reach anyone at any age. I thought, if I could just make a handful of businessmen on Wall Street think about unicorns, I will be successful," she said.
The city has shut down the project and stopped Hixon from putting up new posters... but they haven't been stopped from selling T-shirts that cost nearly $30 a piece.
That's expensive even in New York... but I'll gladly buy one.
Wait, I think I left my wallet on my unicorn.
Friday, April 3, 2009
On the trail of mythical beasts
01 April 2009 by Sumit Paul-Choudhury
WHAT makes so many people want to believe in fabulous creatures? Chris Lavers and Joshua Blu Buhs set out to explore this question, and although one tackles an ancient myth and the other a modern one, they come up with remarkably similar answers.
The Natural History of Unicorns might sound whimsical, but in fact it is an erudite, scholarly book which uses the unicorn to illuminate millennia of social and geographical change. Unicorns appear in many guises in many cultures - from the ferocious one-horned ass described by the Greeks to the courtly, Christianised goat of medieval Europe and beyond. Lavers's achievement is to show how each of these is a chimera based on startlingly accurate reports of real animals, carried over trade routes stretching from the African jungle to the Arctic Circle.
The unicorn's susceptibility to virgin maidens, the curative qualities of its horn, its elusiveness and temperament: Lavers explains how these properties were shaped to suit the ideologies and beliefs of different societies, throwing up - and answering - fascinating questions along the way. For example, did khutu, a material used in ornamental knife handles, come from narwhals, giant birds, musk oxen or woolly mammoths?
For those, like myself, who always assumed that our forebears more or less made up unicorns from folk superstitions and a pinch of rhinoceros, Lavers's book offers revelations not only about mythical creatures, but about the extent and effects of globalisation in ancient times. It's eminently readable, too.
One of the themes of Lavers's book - that belief in mythical animals is a product of social change - is central to Bigfoot, an exhaustive study of wild-man myth-making in the 20th century. Buhs's book starts out in similar territory to that of Lavers, suggesting that the Himalayan legend of the yeti became "folklore for an industrial age" because it meshed well with Britain's post-colonial concerns and drew on popular fascination with far-flung places - a kind of media-accelerated version of the same processes that created unicorns.
Buhs goes on to describe how the search for Bigfoot and Sasquatch was dominated by the concerns of white, working-class men. For this disenfranchised group the quest was a validation of their lifestyle, skills and knowledge, which they perceived as being threatened by mass media, formal education and popular culture. The hunters' desire to be accepted as scientific, while simultaneously disparaging the scientific establishment, makes for thought-provoking reading: there are obvious parallels with the attitudes of intelligent-design enthusiasts and climate change sceptics.
Popular culture eventually defanged Bigfoot, and unicorn-hunting has fallen out of fashion. But both Lavers and Buhs suggest that these myths, and others like them, will persist in one form or another. Tellingly, both trace their respective subjects all the way back to Gilgamesh, one of the world's oldest fictional texts, in which the wild man Enkidu is tamed by female sexuality. If belief in fabulous beasts has such deep roots, it is unlikely to go away any time soon - although with the Earth becoming an ever-smaller place, Buhs suggests that future monster-hunters may have to turn their attention to the stars.
Sumit Paul-Choudhury is the editor of NewScientist.com
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227021.600-on-the-trail-of-mythical-beasts.html
WHAT makes so many people want to believe in fabulous creatures? Chris Lavers and Joshua Blu Buhs set out to explore this question, and although one tackles an ancient myth and the other a modern one, they come up with remarkably similar answers.
The Natural History of Unicorns might sound whimsical, but in fact it is an erudite, scholarly book which uses the unicorn to illuminate millennia of social and geographical change. Unicorns appear in many guises in many cultures - from the ferocious one-horned ass described by the Greeks to the courtly, Christianised goat of medieval Europe and beyond. Lavers's achievement is to show how each of these is a chimera based on startlingly accurate reports of real animals, carried over trade routes stretching from the African jungle to the Arctic Circle.
The unicorn's susceptibility to virgin maidens, the curative qualities of its horn, its elusiveness and temperament: Lavers explains how these properties were shaped to suit the ideologies and beliefs of different societies, throwing up - and answering - fascinating questions along the way. For example, did khutu, a material used in ornamental knife handles, come from narwhals, giant birds, musk oxen or woolly mammoths?
For those, like myself, who always assumed that our forebears more or less made up unicorns from folk superstitions and a pinch of rhinoceros, Lavers's book offers revelations not only about mythical creatures, but about the extent and effects of globalisation in ancient times. It's eminently readable, too.
One of the themes of Lavers's book - that belief in mythical animals is a product of social change - is central to Bigfoot, an exhaustive study of wild-man myth-making in the 20th century. Buhs's book starts out in similar territory to that of Lavers, suggesting that the Himalayan legend of the yeti became "folklore for an industrial age" because it meshed well with Britain's post-colonial concerns and drew on popular fascination with far-flung places - a kind of media-accelerated version of the same processes that created unicorns.
Buhs goes on to describe how the search for Bigfoot and Sasquatch was dominated by the concerns of white, working-class men. For this disenfranchised group the quest was a validation of their lifestyle, skills and knowledge, which they perceived as being threatened by mass media, formal education and popular culture. The hunters' desire to be accepted as scientific, while simultaneously disparaging the scientific establishment, makes for thought-provoking reading: there are obvious parallels with the attitudes of intelligent-design enthusiasts and climate change sceptics.
Popular culture eventually defanged Bigfoot, and unicorn-hunting has fallen out of fashion. But both Lavers and Buhs suggest that these myths, and others like them, will persist in one form or another. Tellingly, both trace their respective subjects all the way back to Gilgamesh, one of the world's oldest fictional texts, in which the wild man Enkidu is tamed by female sexuality. If belief in fabulous beasts has such deep roots, it is unlikely to go away any time soon - although with the Earth becoming an ever-smaller place, Buhs suggests that future monster-hunters may have to turn their attention to the stars.
Sumit Paul-Choudhury is the editor of NewScientist.com
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227021.600-on-the-trail-of-mythical-beasts.html
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Mythical Creatures - 16 June 2009
A set of six stamps depicting Mythical Creatures will be issued by Royal Mail this summer
Fantasy and myth are popular subjects for both films and books. Here fantasy artist Dave McKean (who worked on the Harry Potter movies) takes a look at some of the most popular and unusual creatures from legend. The UK has a rich and diverse folklore around mythical creatures: some famous nationally and others regionally. This set features: unicorn, mermaid - legends very common around UK coast inc northern isles of Scotland), Giant (inspired by Finn McCool associated with the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland), Fairy queen (in a chariot pulled by birds), Pixie (which feature in Cornish folklore), and Dragon (emblem of Wales).
http://www.norvic-philatelics.co.uk/2009/06a-mythical_creatures.htm
Fantasy and myth are popular subjects for both films and books. Here fantasy artist Dave McKean (who worked on the Harry Potter movies) takes a look at some of the most popular and unusual creatures from legend. The UK has a rich and diverse folklore around mythical creatures: some famous nationally and others regionally. This set features: unicorn, mermaid - legends very common around UK coast inc northern isles of Scotland), Giant (inspired by Finn McCool associated with the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland), Fairy queen (in a chariot pulled by birds), Pixie (which feature in Cornish folklore), and Dragon (emblem of Wales).http://www.norvic-philatelics.co.uk/2009/06a-mythical_creatures.htm
Monday, February 23, 2009
Werewolves, unicorns and gore
Published: Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 4:03 a.m.
Mythtym
Edited by Trinie Dalton
In any 1970s horror movie worth its splatter budget, there's a crucial moment when a comely young woman examines herself in a mirror and is promptly killed. For Trinie Dalton, such hopelessly cliched moments are packed with clues to our darkest fears.
Dalton is the editor of "Mythtym," a new anthology of essays, fiction and artwork -- both serious and campy -- about werewolves, unicorns and what she calls "mirror horror."
As she explains: "If you watch enough of those movies, they're all exactly the same. These splatter-core movies have their own tropes -- like how the best way to show blood is to cut someone up in the shower so you see it on the tiles. But then you realize that these cliches are based on archetypes. The mirror as a symbol seems most powerful in a time of fear, when people step back and look at themselves."
"Mythtym" is a deep investigation into, and a cheeky balm for, the things that scare us. It's composed of three zines that Dalton, author of "Wide Eyed" and a compiler of "Dear New Girl or Whatever Your Name Is," made over recent years.
In "Mirror Horror," the anthology's first and largest section, she traces the theme of damning narcissism in works as diverse as the woodcuts of Albrecht Durer and the blood-bucket slasher flicks of Dario Argento.
Then, echoing the wry spirit of her friend, performance artist Miranda July, she follows up with a section devoted entirely to unicorn kitsch.
Unicorns -- really? Instead of derailing the book's otherwise involved explorations of mythology and high-gloss production values, this offers a knowing wink at the silliness of such pursuits.
"That's just my sense of humor, and it's a very contemporary way of making art, to just throw everything in there," Dalton says. "It's like how I watch horror movies that might otherwise be disturbing: If you look at it with an intellectual framework, or people around you are laughing at the scenes, you're not scared of it."
"Werewolf Express," the book's final segment, splits the difference, bookended by Dalton's essay on werewolf mythology and feminist semiotics and an illustrated spread of dog stickers offering advice to Shelley Duvall.
In between is a smattering of short works by authors such as Rachel Kushner and Amy Gerstler, as well as photos of mixed-media sculpture, campy illustrations and video stills.
"Mythtym" may be the ideal reference book for our collective psyche -- at once macabre, escapist and unexpectedly incisive. And it might even take us back to a time when we were afraid to drift too far from the campfire.
-- Los Angeles Times
Mythtym
Edited by Trinie Dalton
In any 1970s horror movie worth its splatter budget, there's a crucial moment when a comely young woman examines herself in a mirror and is promptly killed. For Trinie Dalton, such hopelessly cliched moments are packed with clues to our darkest fears.
Dalton is the editor of "Mythtym," a new anthology of essays, fiction and artwork -- both serious and campy -- about werewolves, unicorns and what she calls "mirror horror."
As she explains: "If you watch enough of those movies, they're all exactly the same. These splatter-core movies have their own tropes -- like how the best way to show blood is to cut someone up in the shower so you see it on the tiles. But then you realize that these cliches are based on archetypes. The mirror as a symbol seems most powerful in a time of fear, when people step back and look at themselves."
"Mythtym" is a deep investigation into, and a cheeky balm for, the things that scare us. It's composed of three zines that Dalton, author of "Wide Eyed" and a compiler of "Dear New Girl or Whatever Your Name Is," made over recent years.
In "Mirror Horror," the anthology's first and largest section, she traces the theme of damning narcissism in works as diverse as the woodcuts of Albrecht Durer and the blood-bucket slasher flicks of Dario Argento.
Then, echoing the wry spirit of her friend, performance artist Miranda July, she follows up with a section devoted entirely to unicorn kitsch.
Unicorns -- really? Instead of derailing the book's otherwise involved explorations of mythology and high-gloss production values, this offers a knowing wink at the silliness of such pursuits.
"That's just my sense of humor, and it's a very contemporary way of making art, to just throw everything in there," Dalton says. "It's like how I watch horror movies that might otherwise be disturbing: If you look at it with an intellectual framework, or people around you are laughing at the scenes, you're not scared of it."
"Werewolf Express," the book's final segment, splits the difference, bookended by Dalton's essay on werewolf mythology and feminist semiotics and an illustrated spread of dog stickers offering advice to Shelley Duvall.
In between is a smattering of short works by authors such as Rachel Kushner and Amy Gerstler, as well as photos of mixed-media sculpture, campy illustrations and video stills.
"Mythtym" may be the ideal reference book for our collective psyche -- at once macabre, escapist and unexpectedly incisive. And it might even take us back to a time when we were afraid to drift too far from the campfire.
-- Los Angeles Times
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