Happy Fall Y'all!!!

Ok I promise I'll never say that out loud to anyone...unless it's a room full of Georgia preschoolers. Anyways, it is technically the start of autumn as of September 21st, which may I just say, was the most unforgettable September 21st I've ever had. For one, I actually listened to the entire Earth, Wind & Fire track unironically. And I also watched my first ever football game the entire way through for UGA vs Notre Dame; sure, I attended high school football games (maybe a total of two) but I truly never understood it or had any interest in the players. Georgia Football has a way of changing you though.

(On a really weird tangent, one of my first teachers was named Autumn and I've always thought of how she made us dress up for Halloween to the max...insert picture here)

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Anyways, that got me thinking about how fall usually brings my favorite weather and season with it; by season, I don't still mean climate. I mean just the general ambiance. That means Halloween, scary movies, acceptability of dark themed clothing, sweaters and sweatshirts, and boots. For me, that's my ideal wardrobe paired with my favorite media content to consume. I still haven't gotten around to watching the traditional spooky movies, like The Nightmare Before Christmas (it still fits the fall theme), Hocus Pocus, and the Goonies. One day, I'll get around to those. But it usually does mean that I watch more horror movies, watch more crime shows/listen to more true crime podcasts, and read more scary stories. For movies, I opt for weird complex thrillers like Hereditary, Arsenic and Old Lace; it's also the perfect time of year for Harry Potter marathons. You can't argue with me. I occasionally choose this time of year to reread the Twilight Saga, only because it definitely matches the setting of the story itself.

But back to the reading aspect- I really enjoy first person accounts of true crime and supernatural phenomenons. For a while, shows like Supernatural, the Walking Dead, and Teen Wolf satisfied those needs of more dark-themed content, but since I've been trying to get back into enjoying leisure reading, I've looked for more threads and stories to read. As a high schooler, I frequented CreepyPasta and got my fix through those sensationalized and often fictional tales; it is horror fiction, so your imagination has to play a part in it. However, I recently found that reddit has really good threads for horror-esque stories- specifically, there is a thread called r/nosleep that is truly chilling.

I tend to read it late at night when I'm trying to fall asleep, so that makes sense, right? It's exactly up my weird alley of being interested in the more macabre part of human existence and death. I promise I'm not a sociopath. But it is a common thing for humans to be interested in the inhumane, to understand why it is that some things defy what we accept as natural, especially when it comes to violence and death. Murder case trials like the O.J. Simpson trial and the Ted Bundy trial are also examples of this. Of course, the media sensationalism played a huge role in public interest, but it doesn't deny the inherent qualities of the crimes that attract followers. But r/nosleep is more of the personable stories that seem more believable than the CreepyPasta fiction; it's always easier to connect with an idea when someone tells you a personal story with conviction. A normal tale to scare you isn't really the kind of stuff that sticks with you forever. But r/nosleep threads are.

The coverage ranges from personal hauntings to conspiracy theories to common phenomenons within careers that are constantly in contact with near-death/death situations. For example, one of the more scarring/chilling threads/subreddits I also found is called "I'm a Search and Rescue Officer for the U.S. Forest Service and I Have Stories to Tell." Normally, you don't overthink the kind of work that goes into play when there are missing people or wildlife/nature-based accidents in parks services. But the stories that this redditer goes into are fascinating. One of my favorite to ponder is the random staircases present in the non-populated forests and the universal acknowledgment of them being topics of no discussion among actual rangers. The stories with missing children are quite depressing, with the end result being seemingly hard to stomach for some readers. But it's the adventurous idea of entertaining what it would be like to pursue that career. I feel that at one point in life, everyone wants to be a forensic investigator/some career similar to it; that is, of course, until you get familiar with what death actually means and what you'd be doing on a daily basis. It doesn't seem likely, but the U.S. Forest Service follows that path.

There are confidentiality issues that come into play, so the whole thread only consists of 8 parts; if you're able to handle grotesque details and enjoy the unexplainable, I highly recommend starting your fall season with some of this light reading. I don't recommend reading it before bed, because I did have to pull out the old stuffed animals to get me through the night. I'm not ashamed, but I am disappointed in myself; then again, the dark is an unforgiving force and if what I need is a plush golden retriever to face it, then so be it. Here's to a great bedtime routine and to no sleep!