SONGSOPTOK: It seems that fear is the most important primal instinct in the animal
world. The two main manifestations of fear in the human society is centered
around two entities: God(s) and Demons. We somehow learn to fear ghosts and
spirits at a very early age and remain marked by that fear later in life. What
is your personal experience? When did you start fearing ghosts and for what
reasons?
VERA: I started to fear ghosts at a very
early age for some reasons. The main reason was that as a child I stayed very
often with my grandparents since my parents were working. And the windows of my
grandparents’ apartment looked out upon the main cemetery of our city. For the
first time I was visiting the cemetery with my grandmother. The impression of
that event still stays with me until now. Since that moment I look at
everything connected with death, funerals, another world and ghosts with mixed
feeling of holy awe and curiosity.
SONGSOPTOK: Very often adults try to
control the tantrums of children by threatening them with ghosts and spirits.
Do you remember any such incident when you were very young? In your opinion, do
such methods have a permanently negative effect on children? In what way?
VERA: Fortunately for me my parents were
quite progressively-minded people. They read a lot of books on the educational
topics. So I don’t remember such cruel experimentation. And I really think that
the fear is a very bad teacher for any child.
SONGSOPTOK: Not only do we frighten
children with ghosts, we often entertain them with ghost stories. When children
learn to read, grown-ups often try to incite them to get into the habit of
reading by buying ghost stories. What do you think of this practice?
VERA:When I was small and still couldn’t read my mother was reading
to me the Russian folk tales gathered by a very famous explorer of the Russian
folklore literature Alexander Afanasyev. A part of his famous book included
supernatural stories of many kinds. it was the part that I naturally liked the
most and asked my mother to read to me before sleeping very often. So in my
case it was my natural inclination.I think that it’s not really important what
kind of literature parents use to make the reading attractive process for their
children. The main thing is the result – a child that likes to read.
SONGSOPTOK: Adolescence is normally
the period when we start asking questions about different things. Did you start
asking questions about the existence of ghosts? Will you share the details with
us?
VERA: I didn’t need to ask questions
about the existence of ghosts because somewhere inside I didn’t doubt their
existence. Some members of my family had some experience in this sphere that
they shared with me. I was just studying this topic by reading books,
newspapers etc.
SONGSOPTOK: A lot of people claim to
have direct experience of ghosts or other inexplicable phenomena. Do you have
any such experience to share with us? Or experiences of people you know?
VERA: My mother shared some of her experiences
of this kind with me very early in my life. She saw ghosts many times – in an
old house, in a hotel, on a train passing black tunnels…
SONGSOPTOK: It is true that most of us
like reading or watching films about ghosts, spirits or mysterious phenomena.
Do you enjoy these things too? Can you think of a specific story or a film that
really thrilled you? Do you have any favorite writers of this genre?
VERA: Yes, I collect ghost stories and
supernatural atmospheric horror movies. From all the cinema that exists in this
genre I especially enjoy the old Mexican horror movies from the50s and 60s in
black and white. The most impressive Mexican horror for me is The Black Pit of Dr.
M (Misterios de ultratumba) (1959) directed by Fernando Méndez. But great
movies are too many to mention all of them. The innocents (1961) by Jack Clayton is timeless classic
too. As to literature I like too many
books- from short stories of M.R. James
and E.F. Benson to some novels of Virginia Andrews.
SONGSOPTOK: Many of us think that
science still has to go a long way to explain everything that we experience on
earth. Science has enlightened us about a lot of things, but there are certain
areas that can be considered as the twilight zone – the breeding place for the
uncanny and the preternatural. What are your thoughts about this?
VERA: I think that the day when science
is able to explain everything will be the end of the world. Not everything
should be replaced by artificial things. Let’s leave some space for mystery and
nature.
SONGSOPTOK: We find it difficult to
accept that nothing remains after death, which often leads us to imagine the
supernatural. We are naturally attracted to what lies beyond the known everyday
world. What is your opinion about this? Do you think that everything ends with
death? Or is it because since we don’t really know that we oscillate between
belief and doubt?
VERA: I think that for a human being it’s
impossible to imagine what he/she is going to experience after death. And it
saves our brain to some extent. On the other hand I think that our deceased
loved ones have the ability to watch us and guide us when we need them by
coming to our dreams.
SONGSOPTOK: Almost all societies
believe that the entities that exists in the realms that are beyond our
understanding and our sensory perceptions possess an immense amount of power.
But the capacity of humans is limited. So why does humans believe that the
souls of the dead are immensely powerful? What, according to you, is the reason
for this?
VERA: I think it’s because these souls are in
another world where everything changes in an unpredictable way. So they can get
unpredictable power there.
SONGSOPTOK: As we grow more and more
dependent on science and technology, it is possible that our belief in the
supernatural will grow weaker with time. In that sense ghosts and other
entities are likely to have a very dark future indeed. But wouldn’t that
deprive us of a whole range of feelings and emotions? Wouldn’t we become poorer
in our sensations? What is your opinion?
VERA: I think that the strength
of science will never really replace the spiritual depth and strength of a
human being. We are dependent on technologies since a very long time but the
ones that want to find the beauty of mystery still find it. Everything depends
on the person. The beauty is in the eye of the beholder so to say.
VERA DROZDOVA is a Russian poet currently living in Moscow.
She has been writing poems since 8 years old. Have some works published in
magazines, newspapers. Some song lyrics are released on CDs. She has also
published one book of poetry as an independent author. She has won some poetry
contests. She likes to collect and to read poetry books, to meet new people.
We sincerely
thank you for your time and hope we shall have your continued support.
Aparajita
Sen
(EDITOR)
Songsoptok
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