We most think of haunted places being
old abandoned houses and graveyards,
yet those dreaded intersections known
as crossroads are considered in most
places to be quite haunted or at least
enchanted. In much of the folklore,
a crossroad was a place where fairies,
witches, ghosts, and all manner of
uncanny beings were said to haunt.
Throughout the ancient world deities
such as the Greek Goddess Hecate were
said to be seen wandering over crossroads.
Often the ancients left offerings
to Hecate at crossroads such Hecate
Cakes, sweet cakes decorated with
lit candles (an antecedent to the
modern birthday cake).
During the Christian era such worship
was seen as satanic with the early
church villifying all such pagan practices.
Soon crossroads became identified
with demons and the devil himself.
Stories of people selling their souls
to the devil became common.
Crossroads
Also See: ROBERT
JOHNSON’S DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
AND THE CROSSROADS CURSE ...
My own theory is that early christians
who saw the pagan peasantry worshipping
at a crossroads became convinced these
were devil wroshippers due to the
new prejudice.
Another superstition held that vampires
usually attacked people lost at the
crossroads. But, a counter belief
held that suspected vampires should
be buried at the crossroads to confuse
the corpse when it rises. The undead
have a hard time with directions it
would seem. Vampires, suicides, a
murderers were usually buried at a
crossroads.
Among the voodoo faiths of the carribean,
this intersection of roads was considered
magical with many deities being connected
to it. In Cuban Santeria, the trickster
Eleggua was conjured at a crossroads
as is his Haitian counterpart Legba.
In Brazil, the practioners of Macumba
still leave offerings at crossroads.
Belief in it being a magical place
can be found everywhere from Mexico
to India. Since a crossroad is ambiguous
in nature being not one direction,
but actually four, this causes it
to be an uncanny place.
Among ancient people this ambiguity
be it the midnight hour or a place
such as a door way (or crossroad)
was considered especially susceptible
to supernatural forces. it should
also be noted that New Year\'s Eve
held just such an ambiguous nature,
and at one time Halloween was the
Celtic New Year. So, these ambiguous
places and times remain places of
uncanny and supernatural forces, even
today.
So, this Halloween you might well
avoid an intersection of roads, or
you might run into Hecate and her
wild hunt.
Chris Friend
Chris Friend has been publishing
his artwork and articles for twenty
odd years, Mostly in small press horror
and sci-fi magazines. He has had work
in such zines as Black Petals, Stygian
Articles, Space and Time, and too
many to count. He earns his living
as a Certified Nurse's Aide and care
provider. He also publishes a newsletter
Mars.
Chris is 47 years and hopes to acomplish
even more.
Check
out his web site here:
www.chris.michaelherring.net
