The Wicker Man
Posted by: Loren Coleman on January 30th, 2009
If you are interested in the Wicker Man and the symbolism linked to it, you may be interested in my new offering, “The Wicker Man Burns,” over at The Copycat Effect today.
The Wicker Man burns bright overnight.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
During the late 1970s, I was living in Lake Arrowhead in Southern California. At the time, Lake Arrowhead was a mecca for cults and mediums of all types. I worked at a book store that sold occult tomes and other otherworldly paraphernalia at fairly steep prices. I made friends with many of my customers and I would be invited to a number of hosted events.
Some of my friends were self-described “Druids”. One Halloween, I was invited to a wickerman burning. Not knowing exactly what one was, and lured by the promise of free food, I accepted the invitation to attend.
The burning was held on a ranch in Riverside. Their wickman was about 30′ tall, mostly built out of scrap lumber with natural material added for cosmetic effect. After an hour of prayer, they dressed me in white robes and allowed me and some other “cadets” to have a front row seat.
The Druids surprised all of us newbies by bringing out a real human sacrifice: A legally-obtained female cadaver that had come from India. The poor thing was wrapped tightly in strips of white linen and carried carefully to the wickerman and placed inside. Then the Druids torched the wickerman. Everything was quiet until dawn as the wickerman burned down and left a little hill of ashes.
I was offered a little pail full of ashes to take with me to use as fertilizer in my garden, but I declined.
Loved the 1973 version with Edward Woodward ( my 4th cousin incidently ) ( sad claim to fame that but there you go ; ) and with Christopher Lee and Britt Ekland. I must get a copy of the more recent version.
At least they aren’t burning human sacrifices alive in them anymore. Hopefully.
Hi coelacanth 1938, WOW ! A legal human cadaver, i thought even a kidney from India was illegal if it was paid for ? Just goes to prove you learn something every day ! P.S. Not often i am shocked…………….
My wickerman experience was way back in 1978 when India was legally supplying human cadavers to the rest of the world, and California had no laws whatsoever regarding the treatment of cadavers (There are some truly horrible rumors about what really happened to Marilyn Monroe’s corpse still floating around). Some of the cadavers were pretty far gone from what I was told: They were mostly skeletons with a minimum of soft tissue. They were supposed to be slated only for medical students, but anybody with money could buy one. The practice has since stopped.
That is a wild story you just told, Coelacanth1938!!!
Who’da thunk it!!! Marcodufour: As far as I know the recent Nicholas Cage version of WM is horrible. Anyone seen it? 🙂
Hey Cryptidsrus, you heard right, it was SO HORRIBLE that I couldn’t even finish it and that is saying alot for me, I am a huge movie fan and movie buff, I ALWAYS finish a movie even if it sucks. There have only been a handfull that I haven’t been able to finish and this was one of them. Don’t waste your time or money!
Coelacanth1938, thanks for sharing that incredible experience! What a night that must have been!
Maine Crypto- I saw the movie all the way through and I gotta say, you missed out big time. The ending was completely awesome, one of the most stunning, brilliant pieces of cinema ever put to film, well worth slogging through the rather bland lead up to it. Only very rarely does a movie come along where the last part completely redeems the horrible beginning, in spades. It was quite frankly awe inspiring. Cough cough. 😉
Cryptidsrus- Nicholas Cage running around the forest in a bear costume. That’s all you need to know when making your decision as to whether to rent this one.
I find it a bit strange that anyone would enjoy watching a human being getting burned alive.