Mr. Dark Stories

[Deoridhe]

The phrase "a Mr. Dark Story" was coined on ISCA BBS (the largest BBS in the US) about a decade ago in the Paganism and Religious Magic Forum. Mr. Dark Stories refer to a phenomena that often takes hold of new pagans no matter what their age is which often cause problems, both for the pagan community in general and for the specific people involved in the story.

Mr. Dark Stories are a form of mass hysteria related to the occult. Frequently, newcomers to pagan thought become overwhelmed by the opportunities of magic and energy work and discover they have become pagan Just In Time To Save The World (tm). Sometimes these stories are begun by some spell or action taken by a member of the group (e.g. opening a rift to another world, or summoning a demon), sometimes begun by an external member (e.g. a new person in school seems suspicious and the group decides they must be a mage also and working against the pre-existing group), or sometimes the result of something "sense" by a member of the group (e.g. one person gets freaked out at a park and it's decided that it must be haunted, or people decide they must be vampires and so start acting on that).

Mr. Dark Stories are very common and show up no matter the age of the participants. I know a group of late twenties to early thirties pagans who believe they are all part of a Vampiric Cult, complete with having a "prince" a la White Wolf. However, the most common times to find Mr. Dark Stories are in High School and College, and sometimes there will even be several going at once in the same place with different groups.

Most of the time, Mr. Dark stories are largely harmless. They tend to be self-indulgent and out of touch with reality, but they serve to keep the participants intertained and to make the participants feel important.

Other times, however, a Mr. Dark Story can target a specific individual, either within the group or outside of the group, damaging and destroying friendships and relationships. Often Mr. Dark Stories will require a scapegoat, and the target of all of this negative focus may have psychological damage form the things said to or done to them. I can recall one occurance where the scapegoat of a Mr. Dark Story was held in a room for many hours in a forced exorcism due to the group deciding he must be posessed by a demon.

In rare cases, a Mr. Dark Story can result in death, either to a participant in a ritual or to a target, or in order to cast a major spell. Although this occurance isn't common, it is important to remember that Mr. Dark Stories are hysterical events and involve group think and building cohesiveness within the group, and this is sometimes a precursor to violence to those outside of the group or those within the group who disagree in some way with the direction it is moving.

What sort of experiences have people had with Mr. Dark Stories and what did those experiences teach you?  

[[Feather]s Soul]

Interesting. I've had a few run-ins with people running around infected with Mr. Dark Stories. I use common sence and a little physics and explain the whole thing, and they end up thinking I'm the freak. It's a way for some people to feel important.

What it tought me... It tought me that Everyone needs to feel important in the world in some way. I'm not one to get in the way of their coo-koo trip... until it gets to the point where others are being hurt.

Just something that came to mind: Mr. Dark Stories aren't only for pagans. I remember way back when, when some "friends" would be talking about how they were the next apostles and were sent by God to liberate true christians from the evils of Satan. The sad thing is that they truely believed it and I couldn't do anything to change their minds. I guess it's just part ignorance and part psychological. ... ... ... Err... Going off of 3 hours of sleep doesn't make me feel coherent sweatdrop sweatdrop  

[Yami Hotaru Higashi]

Never heard of it. Sounds amusing though.  

[Deoridhe]

I-X-I

Just something that came to mind: Mr. Dark Stories aren't only for pagans.

Very, very true. I focused on pagans here, but Mr. Dark Stories show up anywhere people need an artificial way to feel important.  

[[Feather]s Soul]

Deoridhe

I-X-I

Just something that came to mind: Mr. Dark Stories aren't only for pagans.

Very, very true. I focused on pagans here, but Mr. Dark Stories show up anywhere people need an artificial way to feel important.

3nodding 3nodding Just contributing my random thoughts whee sweatdrop  

[Arawath]

*ahem* Salem Witch Trials! *ahem*
(why not?)  

[Deoridhe]

Arawath

*ahem* Salem Witch Trials! *ahem*
(why not?)

*coughs* Yeah, well, the economic and social pushes behind that graduates it to a little above yur average Mr. Dark Story, but I'd agree the girls' initial stories were probably in the same vein.  

[Rosemary Girl]

one of my old bible study teachers told me that the local witchcraft groups sacraficed humans because their gods required it
now them pagans are trickey, they SAY they dont hurt people and just worship nature. but people HAVE gone missing during their solstices

*at that point my brain broke at the shear possibility that he could be sugesting people are capible of that for some religion, and I decided maybe to find out for myself what witchcraft was like*  

[[Feather]s Soul]

Rosemary Girl

one of my old bible study teachers told me that the local witchcraft groups sacraficed humans because their gods required it
now them pagans are trickey, they SAY they dont hurt people and just worship nature. but people HAVE gone missing during their solstices

*at that point my brain broke at the shear possibility that he could be sugesting people are capible of that for some religion, and I decided maybe to find out for myself what witchcraft was like*

I don't think that's a Mr. Dark Story. . . From what I gather, it's a fantasy that people live to make their lives more interesting, not stories that are passed around that are depressing. ((IE- You and a group of friends have to stop this unimaginable evil. Your friend starts acting 'funny' and you 'know' that the grreat evil has possesed him, and now you have to purify his soul by death or forceful purification. ))  

[Arawath]

I-X-I

Rosemary Girl

one of my old bible study teachers told me that the local witchcraft groups sacraficed humans because their gods required it
now them pagans are trickey, they SAY they dont hurt people and just worship nature. but people HAVE gone missing during their solstices

*at that point my brain broke at the shear possibility that he could be sugesting people are capible of that for some religion, and I decided maybe to find out for myself what witchcraft was like*

I don't think that's a Mr. Dark Story. . . From what I gather, it's a fantasy that people live to make their lives more interesting, not stories that are passed around that are depressing. ((IE- You and a group of friends have to stop this unimaginable evil. Your friend starts acting 'funny' and you 'know' that the grreat evil has possesed him, and now you have to purify his soul by death or forceful purification. ))

Agreed...I think it's more like situations where people convince themselves absolutely that something is real when it isn't, just by an overly-active imagination or fear. We sometimes want something to be unique or unusual so badly that we actually convince ourselves of it. And I don't think that this is just confined to the occult.  

[TeaDidikai]

~Thread Necromancy~

I wonder what effect Mr. Darks have in reality- and places like Yesode (and I use the term loosely).

I also tend to wonder where the lines between Mr. Darks and real situations blur. Give a thought form enough energy and define it as a being unto itself beyond your grasp and it takes on such characteristics.

My favorite Mr. Dark was a demonic summoning that involved a bunch of Christians looking at me funny.  

[TheDisreputableDog]

I finally know what you all mean when you say "Mr. Dark" at someone.

Sad to say, I've been living a Mr. Dark for the last three years. rolleyes Three years. Demons, angels, long trains of reincarnation as famous historical and fictional people, cadre of mages specially chosen by God and led by his daughter to save Lucifer, all his subjects, and oh yeah, the world. Three years. I suppose I could have easily avoided it and I can't believe I played along with it for so long, but we all do crazy things for love. neutral  

[Lotus Poem]

I hadn't ever heard a name put to that concept. Very interesting, I had something like that in like 4th grade....it was really silly my best friend and I said "Bloody Mary" in the mirror one afternoon and for weeks were convinced that she and a crew of evil demon types were after us and we had to stop them before the hurt anyone. Of course I was like 9 so no big deal I grew out of it within the year and it was kinda fun while it lasted you know smile

So those people who run around acting like they are the next "Buffy" or something are what you're talking about?  

[Operation Shoestring]

Made merciless fun of someone with a Mr. Dark story cribbed directly from Dianne Duane's "so you want to be a wizard" series except with a single name change.  

[MST3Kakalina]

I've never run across real life Mr. Dark scenarios, nor have I created my own. (as far as I can tell, of course wink ). The internet, though, seems to be full of them.

Hmm...I have a new idea for a thread.