In the Night. In the Dark.
In the Night. In the Dark. 2017 | gouache on aquabord | 12" x 12" x 2"
October 31, 2017
On a dimly lit night when you were under the glorious stars and a sliver of moon there were suddenly two eyes looking back at you, slowly dancing side to side. And all around you were the unseen things that go bump in the night, in the dark.
But what if the things that went bump in the night were only the thoughts in your head, all the things you’ve been taught to fear and bought into maybe without even knowing it, all the things that loomed large in your imagination but weren’t that likely to happen, all the things that could legitimately cause you harm if you happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and what if? What if _______? Or what if _______? What if you hadn’t _______? What if you had _______?
What if the things that go bump in the night were more afraid of you than you are of them? What if they only seem scary? What if you didn’t _______ because you were too afraid and then you’d never _______?
But it’s not anything you can take very seriously anyhow, especially because of the ridiculous nature of the situation considering you are having all these thoughts while sitting on a camp toilet looking at rattlesnake looking back at you, from a safe distance, under the glorious stars and a sliver of moon, in the night, in the dark.
(Based on a true story that took place at Big Bend Ranch State Park and titled after a line in Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting of Hill House.)
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