Ledger’s Lafayette & Seely’s Sasquatch
Posted by: Loren Coleman on January 24th, 2008
Musing on the Twilight Language.
Sometimes, I must blog about the Fortean and the anomalistic, as it applies to current events. I need to move these thoughts along, so for those looking for something strictly zoological or cryptozoological, you might wish to skip this one. For those who allow yourself to go down this path with me, here goes….
This morning Craig posted news items on reports of Bigfoot or Sasquatch being tracked in Wisconsin. One aspect of the story that may have whizzed by you is the twilight language; the name game is part of the account.
Did you notice where the sightings are occurring? They are taking place around Seely, Wisconsin. The name “Seely” is worthy of our Fortean attention, as pointed out to me by Robert Schneck.
In the classification of fairies, Celtic folklore discusses the good and the bad fairies.
Two of the most prominent categories, derived from Scottish folklore, are the division into the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court. William Butler Yeats, in Irish Fairy and Folk Tales, further divided them into the Trooping Fairies and the Solitary Fairies. These categories are generally applied to any fairy-type creature, from elves, pixies and brownies to ogres and giants.Classification of Fairies, Wikipedia.
Bigfoot is hardly a fairy in the way most people think about them, but for those who study fairies, they know all fairies are not the Little People. Some fairies are larger hominoids, namely orges, trolls, and giants. Orges and giants in Seely, Wisconsin makes some sense, in a Celtic translation of the events unfolding there.
Of course, you can take or leave my thoughts on the twilight language. But sometimes it can reveal an intriguing stream of consciousness or a quicksand of foggy thoughts, I suppose.
Fairies, for example, link events and places with a sense of wonder and mystery; indeed, fairies and fairylands often are the twilight language captured in monikers and on the landscape. I have written extensively about the links within the “Fayette Factor.”
“Lafayette” translates into “the little fairy” or “the little enchantment.”
Now, take, for instance, the death of Heath Ledger. Hardly anomalistic, one would think, although the media is making it more mysterious, everyday. What first jumped out at me was the location where Ledger lived and died.
Heath Ledger was found in his fourth-floor apartment at 421 Broome Street, between Crosby and Lafayette Streets in SoHo, New York City, on the day of the Full Moon, January 22, 2008. Perhaps a minor detail, one to be overlooked and forgotten. Or not.
Heath Ledger, who was well-known for many of his acting roles, played the role of The Joker in the forthcoming Batman installment, The Dark Knight, set to be released during the summer of 2008. (Several of Ledger’s characters, such as in the two Terry Gilliam-directed films, The Brothers Grimm and The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, have been edgy and Fortean.)
Ledger’s The Joker is based on the first two appearances of Joker in the Batman comic books, as well as The Joker’s portrayal in the graphic novel The Killing Joke. Ah, the Phantom Clown brought to life, to meet death.
To prepare for the role, Heath Ledger lived alone in a hotel room for a month researching the character and developing his performance. Ledger claimed he was basing his characterization upon Sid Vicious and the charismatic delinquent Alex DeLarge (played by Malcolm McDowell) in A Clockwork Orange (1971).
Ledger found the role extremely difficult, and suffered insomnia as a result, leading to his use of sleeping pills.
Ledger’s family is placing heavy pressure on the New York Police Department and the media to not discuss suicide with regard to Heath Ledger’s death. Perhaps it was an accident, whatever that is. Certainly, suicide notes are only found in 20% of all self-inflicted deaths, so the lack of a note is an indication of nothing.
For now, and perchance for always, Heath Ledger, who soon will be remembered for his role as the death-clown, The Joker, died mysteriously.
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.
Death-Clown?
Ledger’s portrayal has been noted as being something wonderful and unique. The lack of sleep and demands of the role was noted a few times by Ledger before. But, this in itself isn’t a reason for his death. Also noted by Ledger recently was that he was recovering from Pneumonia. His lowered immune system in concert with the meds he was taking could very well have caused an adverse reaction, as some doctor’s have noted in interviews related to this event.
I think the mystery here lies in a seemingly happy, loving father found dead with no real answers as to why.
My comment isn’t specifically about your observations on the name game/Twilight Language dancing around the fringes of the Ledger death or recent Bigfoot sighting. It is simply to encourage you to continue to discuss these things on the blog. If you feel that it may confuse and irritate the folks who are more interested in the “hard” evidence, then perhaps you could set up something here that would be a separate section to house this sideline of your work. Personally, I find it all fascinating, and I think you’re fairly unique in Cryptozoology for maintaining an interest in this, along with your search for real mystery creatures. Only John Keel (now retired from monster chasing) comes to mind, as someone who tried to keep both feet in these very different disciplines. I am also interested in some of the work of Michael Hoffman, but, without going into details, I think that there are many aspects to his thinking that people would find hard to deal with (I know I do!). You, on the other hand, seem free of that baggage. Anyway, Loren, please don’t stop commenting on the Fortean weirdness that often shrouds these events. It is clearly a part of the process (even if it’s unclear exactly what it all means).
I’ll have to keep such blogs coming here ~ no room for a separate “section” ~ with perhaps the addition of a new subcategory over to the right side. Haven’t decided on a good umbrella term yet, but maybe something simple like “name game” or “twilight language” might capture it all.
My more strictly suicide-related, school shootings, rampage killings, contagion factor, and related topics blog is at The Copycat Effect, which can be found here:
http://copycateffect.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the link!
I’m with “unclemonkey” – “Anyway, Loren, please don’t stop commenting on the Fortean weirdness that often shrouds these events.” Just post a “Musings on the Twilight Language.”-type warning at the top, maybe even above the illustration, and in all-caps, to announce the nature of the post.
Crypto-anything and Fortean synchronicities ARE somehow interrelated – or not – and they all justify, even demand, sensitive investigation.
Hey Loren in your book Mysterious America you talk about Phantom Clowns right? Have you ever investigated happenings like this?
Kudos for this wonderful article Loren.
Life and Fantasy, deeply intertwined, with a blurry edge that let us not know where one ends and the other begins.
I agree wholeheartedly with UncleMonkey.
What was weird about Ledger’s death is the fact on the day he died it was reported on the news that he was found at the foot of his bed, unclothed. Looked almost sacrifice-like. Now CNN and other outlets are saying that he was actually in his bed, and when the masseuse first came to check on him he was still alive and snoring. When she came back some time later to wake him up he was unconscious and near death. Also, it turns out there were no open sleeping pill bottles near him; there were closed. (That’s what I heard this afternoon, anyway. Information may have changed since then.) I’m not necessarily suggesting any conspiracy surrounding this, but which is it?
Could it be the “story” was deliberately changed? (One fringe conspiracy site I looked at suggested this.)
I doubt it—but still it is strange.
Poor guy. Way too young. And his daughter will grow up without him!!!
IMDB and other websites are “speculating” that maybe Ledger got a little too much into his character and it messed him up emotionally and physically. They are saying in effect the JOKER character killed him. So I’m not the only one saying anything new. Or controversial. Ledger himself said the character “haunted” him and that he could not deal with the challenge of playing pure evil. Who knows, maybe it did contribute to his death. The pneumonia plus too many sleeping pills due to his massive insomnia? We’ll never fully know.
I did not know he died with so near Lafayette St. as a cross-street!!! That is just too weird!
Keep up the good work, Loren!!!
I agree with other commenters on this thread, and look forward to the inclusion of similar posts here in the future. I find this subject to be very interesting. And I think the phrase “twilight language” is a clever handle for describing these kinds of relationships between place names (LaFayette, Seely/Seelie, etc.), events, subjects, livelihoods, etc. So thanks once again for a very interesting read, Mr. C.
Just in passing…
The masseuse called Mary-Kate Olsen before she called 911!!!
Twice!!! Apparently she owns the apartment Heath lived on!!! (Last I heard, anyway!)
IMDB is saying Olsen’s bodyguard apparently knew CPR. The IMDB boards are saying maybe she panicked and made the wrong move but that it was stupid of her to do that-maybe Heath could have lived, they’re saying—–way tooo strange!!!
Just in passing, again…
Just pointing out how weird this story is getting.
Rumor control:
“Apparently [Mary-Kate Olsen] owns the apartment Heath lived on!!! (Last I heard, anyway!)”
This is a false rumor. They were, however, reportedly dating.
Broome Street was named after John Broome, who was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1804 to 1810. Another John Broome, writer for DC Comics, wrote several Batman comics featuring the Joker.
You use a Lafayette Ford logo as an illustration. The Washer at the Ford was a Celtic fairy woman related to the bean nighe(banshee), and occasionally the Morrigan. She washes the clothes of those who are about to die at a fording place in the river.
Heath Ledger:
In my opinion Pneumonia is most likely the determining factor in this young father’s death.
I wish his family and friends peace.
I am a bit confused about “twilight language” so please forgive if I posted out of turn.
Although I am more interested in the hard biology and zoology behind cryptids, I am nevertheless drawn to things Fortean and find them endlessly fascinating to speculate upon. Even though I feel too ill informed to comment much on things such as “twilight language”, and the “name game”, I appreciate the inclusion of these kinds of articles on the site and always read them with interest. I do not mind these little side trips into the murkier and more mysterious corners of our universe.
Hi,
I think it’s also worth noting that the young actor Brandon Lee wore Death-Clown makeup when he died filming “The Crow.”
Is the fayette factor suppose to affect towns by the name of Lagrange? What does it do?