Supernatural in American Literature
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kindof fear is fear of the unknown."1 Therefore, it makes sense that if mortals cannot bear thedarkness, they [should not] not go there. If man dislikes "black night and yawning chasms,"2then should he not even consider them? Shouldn't man seek out the sunshine, instead? Theremedy is very simple: Avoid the darkness and seek the light. But, no. Mankind would neversubmit to this. He will immediately turn to the darkness. Drawn by his own cords of fear andlonging, man will imagine that he is tired of the light and his small, familiar world.3 "Noamount of rationalization... or Freudian analysis" can overcome "the thrill of the chimney-cornerwhisper or the lonely wood."4 Why? Children will always be afraid of the dark and men willalways shudder at what they do not understand, yet everyone will continue to seek it.5 Perhaps itis because society, particularly American society because of its history, believes the final horrorsare ghosts and demons, when truly it is the hidden aspects of its own soul.6 As reflected by itsliterature, American society has always held a deep fascination with the supernatural. Evidence
For instance, the lightening-rod salesmansays "you got to be ready in every dialect with every shape and form to hex St. , Love and Death in the American Novel, New York: Scarborough House,1966. William Cullen Bryant wrote his poem, "Thanatopsis," during this period. Hale arrives, it is quicklydetermined that "Tituba knows how to speak to the dead,"40 and that more went on than simplydancing. 87 When Henry arrives at his camp, hefeels hope in the "warm and strong hand clasped" to his. "12 Evenhighly esteemed academic publications such as the Journal of Scientific Exploration "now treatthe paranormal with as much respect and analysis as physics or the chaos theory. 37 One of the first things Goody Putnam asks about Betty is "How high did shefly?"38 This clearly illustrates how instinctive and deeply entrenched was this desire for thesupernatural. 51 When Dimmesdale, in all of his guilt, sees the meteor streak across the sky, he imagines that it is"an immense letter. "[Jill Cook Richards] is twenty-eight years into a career as a self-described psychic,"18which depends exclusively on her faith. Sleepy Hollow, a small town "under the sway of some witching power,"65 is haunted by "theapparition of a figure on horseback, without a head," said to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper"whose head had been carried away by a cannon-ball" in the Revolutionary War. " This treatment of the supernatural asan everyday occurrence reveals how comfortable Americans have become with the paranormal.
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Acceptance Essays
