Guest post: A spectral force of terror out there
Originally a comment by Artymorty on But are you?
It’s so creepy because it’s so paranoid. Signalling that there’s a kind of diffuse, spectral force of terror out there. The world is just so, so full of evil people! But I’m not one of them! I’m safe!
The real force of terror is the idea itself — the paranoia that at any moment you could be marked as One of Them instead of One of Us, the Good People. So you must be vigilant and demonstrate your commitment to Us, against Them.
It’s the Crucible. The poster might as well say:
I am not a witch.
If you are
in any way
afraid
of being harmed by a witch
or you suspect
that someone’s a witch
let me know.
I’ll prove I’m not a witch
by joining in the witch hunt.