Wednesday, October 21, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
7
Commentary...
The Wild Hunt
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
As the seasons turn into
the waning of the year,
October is the month for
exploring the uncanny.
Through this month, The
Nugget will explore some
spooky folk mythology from
various cultures that make
up the American quilt&
There are nights in this,
the dark of the year, when the
wind screeches and howls
around the eaves, when it
is best to just stay inside,
near the fire. On nights like
that, Samhain, for instance,
the veil between the mate-
rial and the spirit world is
thin indeed, and one might
encounter& things& out
there in the dark night.
4 As Lewis Spence
writes in, <The Magic Arts
in Celtic Britain=:
<In the Western Isles
of Scotland the Sluagh, or
faerie host, was regarded as
composed of the souls of the
dead flying through the air,
and the feast of the dead at
Hallowe9en was likewise the
festival of the faeries.=
Ah& 9tis The Wild Hunt!
You do not want to
encounter The Wild Hunt.
Whether they are the Sidhe
(pronounced <Shee=) of the
faerie host, or the souls of
the restless dead, nothing
good can come of we mor-
tals tangling with them. At
best, you may be swept up
into the sky and dragged
off for miles on a terrifying
ride. At worst, you might be
taken for lifetimes, to return
only in a hundred, two hun-
dred years, when all you9ve
known and loved is dust&
It is not on Halloween
night alone when one must
fear The Wild Hunt. The
coming winter is the sea-
son of the dread host. In
Germanic and Scandinavian
lore:
(The Wild Hunt) swept
through the forests in mid-
winter, the coldest, dark-
est part of the year, when
ferocious winds and storms
howled over the land.
Anyone who found him- or
herself out of doors at night
during this time might spot
this ghostly procession 4 or
be spotted by it, which might
involve being carried away
and dropped miles from
where the unfortunate person
had been taken up, or worse.
Others, practitioners of vari-
ous forms of magic, joined
in it voluntarily, as an intan-
gible part of them (a <soul,=
if you like) flew with the
cavalcade while their bodies
lay in their beds as if sleep-
ing normally. Sometimes, the
members of the Hunt entered
towns and houses, causing
havoc and stealing food and
drink. (https://norse-mythol-
ogy.org/the-wild-hunt/)
Like so much Northern
European folklore and
music, tales of The Wild
Hunt migrated to the New
World. Perhaps the best-
known poetic expression
of The Wild Hunt is an
American song, written by
Stan Jones.
Yep. <Ghost Riders In
The Sky&=
An old cowboy went riding
out one dark and windy day
Upon a ridge he rested as
TIME TO PUT ON
WINTER TIRES
Call and make an appointment starting
November 1 for NO-WAIT SERVICE!
DAVIS TIRE
541-549-1026
Serving Sisters Since 1962
188 W. SISTERS PARK DR. IN SISTERS INDUSTRIAL PARK
he went along his way
When all at once a mighty
herd of red-eyed cows he saw
Plowing through the
ragged skies and up a cloudy
draw
Their brands were still on
fire and their hooves were
made of steel
Their horns were black
and shiny and their hot
breath he could feel
A bolt of fear went
through him as they thun-
dered through the sky
For he saw the riders
coming hard and he heard
their mournful cries
Yippie I oh oh oh
Yippie I aye ye ye
Ghost riders in the sky
Their faces gaunt, their
eyes were blurred
Their shirts all soaked
with sweat
He9s riding hard to catch
that herd
But he ain9t caught 9em yet
Cause they got to ride
forever on that range up in
the sky
On horses snorting fire as
they ride on hear their cries
As the riders loped on by
him he heard one call his
name
<If you want to save your
soul from hell a-riding on
our range
Then cowboy change
your ways today or with us
you will ride
Trying to catch the devil9s
herd across these endless
skies=
Yippie I oh oh oh
Yippie I aye ye ye
Ghost riders in the sky
Ghost riders in the sky
It is believed that the
Sidhe cannot cross water.
So, should you be out of an
October night and hear the
banshee9s wail, or the sound
of thundering hooves and
howling on the wind& make
for Whychus Creek. It might
just save you.
Gallery Sale!
SELECT ARTISTS’
WORK ON SALE
Shop early for local
artisan holiday gift s.
O
M 11 a.m.-4 4 p.m.
Open Th urs.-Mon.,
541-719-1800 • 357 W. HOOD AVE., SISTERS • HOODAVENUEART.COM