I had an "Ah-ha!" moment today. I was thinking about Hallowe'en and the idea that, back in the day, it was a legitimate fear people held that on All Hallows Eve embodiments of evil would emerge. And these evils used to be humans. We could all be that evil one day. We could all descend into madness and leave no one to ascend into heaven when the time comes for it.
This encompasses, I think, the idea of slippery slopes, the idea of the bronze man... The idea that eventually, evil men outnumber the good ones until no one redeemable is left. All of this seemed more real back then on this particular day than on any other. People then believed in witches and zombie, ghouls and vampires out for flesh and blood, for corruption of souls.
Now, that seems like a joke. And that belief system is dismissed and crazy. Which to me, is scarier than the original idea. What if, one day, perhaps only one hundred years from now, my belief system is proven wrong and I am the silly past before "modern" thought?
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