Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Kendare Blake Takes The Dare

Kendare Blake is daring it up with us this week. She's the author of the brilliant, terrifying Anna Dressed In Blood, and its sequel Girl of Nightmares (out August 7, 2012). Kendare Blake digs travel, animals, Greek mythology, bloody meat, vegans, and writing books that scare the hell out of people. April Tucholke dared Kendare to start an urban legend, because, well, urban legends are awesome. Here we go:

For those who don’t know, a psychopomp is a portent of death, a spirit that foretells or announces when a person is about to or has recently passed. Family members of hospital patients recount stories of animals rapping against the hospital windows in the middle of the night. They turn to see yellow eyes or a flutter of wings, and when they turn back to the patient’s bed discover that they have died.

This psychopomp is different. As the story goes, this photo was taken on the same day the cat died. When the distraught owner posted the photo online, it prompted sympathy. Until the owner himself died, approximately two weeks later. Prior to his death, he told family members that he had seen the cat, outside in his garage. While that death cannot be attributed to the psychopomp cat, others have reported experiencing a strange sensation after looking into the cat’s glowing eyes. They say that after looking into its eyes for several minutes, a strange, panicked feeling takes hold, for no reason. Some say that they see the cat shift, or move, or its expression change. It should be noted that these responses are rare.


Though no harm or death can be attributed to this image, legend has it that if you stare into the eyes of the psychopomp cat, it will become your psychopomp, and will appear to you in the days preceding your death.


Okay, that's it. Thanks, Kendare! Let's make this baby happen. Stare into those glowing eyes, people, and spread the word. Who knows...maybe we will get this into snopes. Or, at the very least, give someone nightmares--which I hear is really good karma.

Next up: April Tucholke, this Friday, March 9.

12 comments:

  1. The more I look at that picture the more creeped out I get. The eyes are getting to me. They are eating my sanity.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AHHHH thank you so much Kendare. This is awesome. And terrifying. I really think it's going to haunt my dreams tonight...

    ReplyDelete
  3. "It is vowed that the birds are psychopomps lying in wait for the souls of the dying, and that they time their eerie cries in unison with the sufferer's dying breath. If they can catch the fleeing soul when it leaves the body, they instantly flutter away chittering in daemoniac laughter; but if they fail, they subside gradually into a disappointed silence." Just adding in some Lovecraft. Eerie photo.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh yeah, I can totally see myself getting into this. One more thing to be paranoid about. Thanks a LOT, Kendare! :P

    ReplyDelete
  5. Creepy! I love a good urban legend. :) And, Kendare, I LOVED your book!!! So much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I adored ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD as well! (Should have mentioned it in my comment, but I was too freaked out.) Can't wait for GIRL OF NIGHTMARES!

      Delete
    2. ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD was so damn good.

      Delete
  6. I was reading, thinking to myself, "Yeah right. Whatevs. As if." Then I finished, scrolled up, and stared at the photo for all of three seconds before I started getting creeped out. Thanks a lot, Kendare!! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I thought this was awesome!

    See this is why Anna Dressed in Blood is one of my all time favorite reads!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love this! This could absolutely be an urban legend. I hope this starts getting spread around...the legend of the pyschopomp :)

    ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD is next up on my to-read pile, and I've been eyeing it greedily for weeks! So excited to read it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Normally I do not learn post on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up very forced me to check out and do it!
    Your writing taste has been amazed me. Thanks, quite great article.
    Also visit my web-site free iphone

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hello just wanted to give you a brief heads up and let you know
    a few of the pictures aren't loading correctly. I'm not sure why but I think its a linking issue.

    I've tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same results.
    my web page :: learn piano

    ReplyDelete