[a note about p.a.r.o.d.y.]Let's start with the basics. Here's Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary online's definition of the word "parody": 1 : a literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridiculeI like to think that the P.A.R.O.D.Y. website meets that definition. It was written as part of the promotional effort for The Blair Witch Project back in 1999, in those happy times when we no longer feared Russians but hadn't yet gotten hysterical about Muslims — an era when the best scapegoats Americans could come up with were Marilyn Manson and the Columbine kids. I believe Count Chocula is a sign of gothism about as seriously as Jonathan Swift believed that eating Irish babies was a good solution to the problems of famine and overpopulation. And who am I? "Benjamin Covelo" is a pen name I used back then. I now have a website under my own name, Joshua Ross: The Palaverist. Finally, a quick note about modern witchcraft. Witches, Wiccans, and other Neo-Pagans practice various earth-based religions that draw on pagan beliefs predating Christianity. Essentially, witches revere nature and try to attune themselves to the earth's cycles and patterns. Witches do not worship Satan, practice bloody sacrifices, cast evil spells upon their neighbors, or fly on broomsticks in the night. To learn about witchcraft basics or to read an interview with the makers of The Blair Witch Project, please visit The Witches' Voice. |
