I’m an obsessive keeper of lists.
Lists of things to do, places to go, messages to reply to, the seventeen bottles of cleaning product that need to be refilled, records to listen to, books to read…the list goes on. There’s one list in particular that I frequently flick through, never tick an item off, and think about all the time. A list that seems to forever expand, and never shrink.
This list that is one that I call the “Research List”.
The thing about this list that makes it particularly interesting, is that it is a sprawling indulgence for my interests in the spooky, unknown, and mysterious. It’s become an innumerably long collection, organised in to categories such as “Strange Places”, “Cults”, “Apocrypha”, and “Unbroken Codes and Puzzles”, to name a few. It started as a place to jot down subjects mentioned in passing that I didn’t understand, perhaps gave me chills, or that I felt deserved at least a cursory glance at Wikipedia for later on.
But, what was that “later on”? What was I ever going to do with that information once I’d compiled it? Leave it to sit in my notes app? Let it stew in the back of my brain until it is totally forgotten and god damn it I know I knew the answer to that pub-quiz question once.
This morning I was reading the latest instalment of Brain K. Vaughan’s excellent Exploding Giraffe SubStack newsletter, and the idea clicked: what if I turn items on my list into full-length research pieces, and then cast them in to the void in the hopes someone may see them?
If you’re not just future me (hello, future Alex!), and are an actual human being that has stumbled on this newsletter, welcome. Maybe it’ll be a year from now and there will be dozens of posts on here exploring everything from the Gedi Ruins to the disappearance of Elisa Lam, the Arizona Ghost Radio to the Dogon Tribe, and Dream Hacking to Chaos Magic. If that’s something that floats your boat, consider subscribing, and I’ll see you somewhere spooky soon.
If you are also a keeper of exciting lists of the strange and spooky, leave a comment below with something you’d love to know more about. If I make use of it I’ll make sure to mention you in that instalment of Ooh, Spooky once I emerge from the rabbit hole you’ve dug for me.
Psst, as mentioned above, definitely check out BKV’s Exploding Giraffe if you like NSFW comics with a paranormal twist…