8 Comments
User's avatar
Blurg's avatar

'Occult Sex as a Conversational Resource.'

It's amazing where you can find pick-up tips.

Expand full comment
spencer's avatar

Wow, phenomenal research. The most fascinating part, as pointed out in the end if I'm interpreting correctly, is the Popobawa being a manifestation of so many different anxieties. Struggling with sexual identity, perceived (or very real) group threat theory [link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_threat_theory], etc. Universality of the boogeyman.

Expand full comment
Steven C Watson's avatar

Ignorance isn't bliss. All we have left of this is the word 'nightmare'; that "demon" has dwindled to almost nothing through of knowledge. That "demon" too rode the chest in legend. Where does it have some significance? The young who are ignorant because they are young. You get older, you absorb knowledge, and just have bad dreams that you blame on the cheese the evening before. If you are W.E.I.R.D.

Of course, there will always be those who think there is more to reality than reality - and the phenomena are repackaged as space aliens; their anal probes; and Mothman - the latter looking like more or less the West Virginian Popobawa. You can never speak of man as a rational being.

Fascinating as always. Thanks for this.

Expand full comment
Niccolo Soldo's avatar

Will give this a read over the weekend. Sounds fascinating.

Expand full comment
Stone Age Herbalist's avatar

It's one of those 'something for everyone' stories

Expand full comment
S.A.M.'s avatar

I had the same exact nightmare last night, I'm so glad it was a popobawa and not some weird fetish for bat demon sodomy

Expand full comment
SlowlyReading's avatar

This is amazing. It reminds me of the account of the penis-stealing witches given here:

https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/book-review-the-geography-of-madness

Expand full comment
Nic Doye's avatar

Things that go bum in the night

Expand full comment