Myths and Mysteries
Although I do not believe in supernatural beings, I have found myself developing a fascination with the tales that people tell about these otherworldly entities. Some people can even find historical points to prove the existence of these mythical creatures and the effect that they have on us and our world. Faith and belief in mysterious forces can be a great motivator for a number of things in this life though some of these tales are just downright creepy.
It is said that some particular women give birth to creatures with animal features instead of those of a human baby. These creatures are known as Sooterkin and are said to be hideous creatures born from the womb of women who sat upon stovetops during their pregnancies. The heat and soot from this action were said to reach the babies in their mother’s wombs. This would then cause a small mouse-like creature to grow alongside the babies known as the Sooterkin. Although the Sooterkin was proved to be just a myth, there were many physicians who genuinely believed in this myth. One such was John Maubray, who wrote The Female Physician. At the time that this myth originated and circulated, there were no female physicians ,so all of the books and records about the female anatomy were written by men. The Female Physician was however an inaccurate interpretation of female anatomy and the instance in the book in which Maubray talks about Sooterkin could not have been true.
In the Early 1990’s, the Drum Barracks were featured on ‘Unsolved Mystery’. Those who lived near the historical landmark often reported sounds such as a wagon wheel and the hooves of horses as well as seeing smoke, which they believed could be from the pipes of the ghostly soldiers. There was also the sightings of a woman in a hoop skirt alongside the smell of lavender violet perfume. Some even claimed to have seen apparitions of the civil war soldier who once slept in the building. When ‘Unsolved Mystery’ sent a psychic in to the only remaining building to invesatigate, she entered and believed the building to be filled with restless spirits. Even the employees in the museum that was made of the museum claim to have experienced the strange paranormal phenomenon that was stated by the others. Even to this day, there is no explanation for all of the things that these people saw or heard or even smelled. It certainly adds an element of mystery to good old Camp Drum.
This world is filled with mysteries and as people we have a million different answers. Faith and belief ae a brilliant thing but not something that we should place all of our trust in. If we are to believe in all of the monsters that we are told about, all of the4 myths of what lurks in the shadows, then maybe we should all be just a little bit more warry of what hides in the dark.
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