Thanks to the Coronavirus Pandemic, we have been going for lots of walks in our neighborhood. It sure seems like a nice suburban...suburb. I mean, look at this sidewalk graffiti!
But then it happened. We took a walk into the woods and made some discoveries.
Having just heard a podcast reading of H. P. Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space, I was less than enthused to find skunk cabbages littering our path. In the story, a stone crashes from the sky and something from beyond our friendly earth gets into the ground. All the vegetation and the animals (including the human animals) start going...wrong. Skunk cabbages in the story grow to unusual sizes and in unusual shapes. In our woods, they have that "innocent look" about them, but the smell is something out of an eldritch nightmare. I know, because my kids made me smell them. In fact, they had walked here before, so maybe they are already under the malign influence of otherworldly horrors.
They said they were taking me to "the Black Lagoon," of Creature from... fame, but this body of water was clearly too small to hide a fish man.
My children were quick to inform me that the true lagoon lies farther into the woods. And they led me on.
We took a long time throwing stones in, which seemed like a bad idea in case he was napping under the water. If the Covid-19 virus has taught me anything, it's that nobody likes their afternoon nap interrupted. Maybe the Creature had gone for a walk.
We walked away, discovering a trickle that feeds into the lagoon. The water looks pretty terrible, especially with a skunk cabbage growing in it.
Our walk continued to another area with classic Lovecraftian features--the remains of an ancient and abandoned civilization. We saw a small brick ruin and approached carefully.
Just up the hill is an abandoned roadway with neglected power lines.
The houses were gone. Only concrete foundations with bits of plumbing and electrical connections were left.
A nearby parking lot had only one trash can and one barrier. The emptiness was reclaimed by the vegetation. At least there weren't any skunk cabbages.
We ventured deeper into the woods.
We found some more ruins and a last source of water. If only it had been potable water.
We made it home alive and were more enthusiastic than ever about sheltering in place!
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| What great neighbors! |
But then it happened. We took a walk into the woods and made some discoveries.
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| The woods...nothing creepy or awful ever happens there, right? |
Having just heard a podcast reading of H. P. Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space, I was less than enthused to find skunk cabbages littering our path. In the story, a stone crashes from the sky and something from beyond our friendly earth gets into the ground. All the vegetation and the animals (including the human animals) start going...wrong. Skunk cabbages in the story grow to unusual sizes and in unusual shapes. In our woods, they have that "innocent look" about them, but the smell is something out of an eldritch nightmare. I know, because my kids made me smell them. In fact, they had walked here before, so maybe they are already under the malign influence of otherworldly horrors.
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| Is there such a thing as innocent-looking skunk cabbages? |
They said they were taking me to "the Black Lagoon," of Creature from... fame, but this body of water was clearly too small to hide a fish man.
 |
| More like a Black Puddle |
My children were quick to inform me that the true lagoon lies farther into the woods. And they led me on.
 |
| Looking down at... |
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| ...the lagoon! |
We took a long time throwing stones in, which seemed like a bad idea in case he was napping under the water. If the Covid-19 virus has taught me anything, it's that nobody likes their afternoon nap interrupted. Maybe the Creature had gone for a walk.
We walked away, discovering a trickle that feeds into the lagoon. The water looks pretty terrible, especially with a skunk cabbage growing in it.
 |
| Water so evil it unties shoes! |
Our walk continued to another area with classic Lovecraftian features--the remains of an ancient and abandoned civilization. We saw a small brick ruin and approached carefully.
 |
| Hard to distinguish from the woods |
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| Nature covering up for a human (or non-human) mistake? |
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| Nothing to see here |
Just up the hill is an abandoned roadway with neglected power lines.
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| Above the ground power lines, clearly from ages past |
The houses were gone. Only concrete foundations with bits of plumbing and electrical connections were left.
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| The footprint of a home? |
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| The trees taking over for the power lines |
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| Another abandoned concrete pad |
A nearby parking lot had only one trash can and one barrier. The emptiness was reclaimed by the vegetation. At least there weren't any skunk cabbages.
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| Nature abhorred this vacuum |
We ventured deeper into the woods.
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| The bright sunshine ruins the creepiness |
We found some more ruins and a last source of water. If only it had been potable water.
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| More concrete detritus |
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| Maybe this is safer than Black Lagoon water? |
We made it home alive and were more enthusiastic than ever about sheltering in place!
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"Water so evil it unties shoes" Hilarious!
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