- Joined
- Mar 2, 2023
Before you answer my query with a resolute "why yes of course he is, isn't it obvious?" allow me to jog your memory. I will do that by means of a short recap of the first half of the 13th episode of the first season of Spongebob Squarepants, this episode aptly titled "Scaredy Pants". Please do try and not to get too frightened by what you will see.
The episode begins, as many do, inside the Krusty Krab. Therein lay Spongebob, the resolute worker. with his blonde skin and blue eyes. It is halloween. And Spongebob is being mocked by his peers for how easy it is to drive his sensitive soul into sheer hysterical terror. This abuse hardens his tiny Sponge heart and he swears revenge on the world.
With help from his best friend, the living pentagram known as Patrick Star, Spongebob performs a demonic ritual of self-mutilation. The intent of such a horrible deed is described by Spongebob as making him resemble the wraith of the Flying Dutchman. Patrick then equips Spongebob with a pair of wooden klomp shoes. Maimed and adorning the attire of a Frisian peasant, spongebob is released onto the streets to enact his retaliation against the society that wronged him.
Arriving at the party, and backlit by the moonlight. Spongebob's machinations are set in play, none of the party-goers expectant of what is about to occur to them, the terrible sights they will witness and will never be able to forget. They're all so innocent about the calamity that hangs over their own heads. The end is near.
However, by the grace of God, Spongebob's evil deeds fall short of their goal. His abject failure quickly turning into the source of mockery for all onlookers. The mercy that they've been granted is soon dashed into the rocks. The laughter of the crowd quickly turns into screams of agony, the real Flying Dutchman is summoned. Furious at the insults to his figure, he quickly prepares to harvest the souls of all present and torment them forever in Davy Jones's locker. At the last second, the Dutchman commits a terrible mistake.
It all comes tumbling down, Spongebob's awful form underneath the costume is so terrible that not even the old Hollander can withstand it, and he flees the Krusty Krab, followed by everyone else within. The abject horror of Spongebob's disfigured form is so disgusting that even Patrick Star's fragile mind shatters at the realization. Spongebob is soon deserted by his one and only companion, the very same that inflicted the horrible procedure on him. Squarepants is left in his lonesome. Desperately claiming that, as a sponge, his flesh shall regrow. The nightmare ends.
Well, dear reader, not to disturb your sleep tonight, but you might be aware that the Flying Dutchman is REAL! shocking, I know. But you have no need to worry, what I meant is that the flying dutchman is a real ghost story (MEANING IT'S REAL!!!!)
Be not alarmed, science has gone out of it's way to settle our fears. Scientists have proposed that the origin of the Flying Dutchman myth, might come from the illusion called "fata morgana" wherein an object in the horizon appears to float above the water, due to light-refraction and some such scientific buzzwords. Point being, there's no such thing as flying ghosts that come to take your soul away when you're stranded in an isolated place away from anyone that can hear your shrieks for help. Now, let me give you some extremely similar examples of just that, from all over the world, that science has never tried to cover in any such way.
You see, the flying Dutchman is no mere Floating Netherlander ship. It is actually an archetypal tale. The Ghost Riders in the sky, Odin's wild Hunt. The night parade of 100 Youkai. The Erlkönig written about in Schubert's opera. They're all tales about man seeing something he should not, and narrowly avoiding eternal torment as punishment for witnessing things the living were not meant to. A lonesome cowboy in the plains of America witnesses a ghostly herd of flying cows, being chased by ghostly herdsmen, and the devil at their rear. The cowboy is then warned that he must turn his life around, or be punished with joining the herd. A Nordic forestman is alone deep in the woods, he overhears a hunting party. Following the cacophany of hunting dogs and horsemen, he witnesses the form of the Allfather. A terrible omen from the God of Madness and knowledge, sometimes the huntsman is then turned into a dog and conscripted into the hunt. A quiet Japanese village is assaulted by a procession of spirits in the middle of the night. The villagers stay indoors and pretend to be asleep. Anyone that dares even so much as peek at the horrible parade of Youkai, will be forced to join them for all eternity. These are all archetypal tales very similar to the ghost ship that appears out of nowhere and kidnaps seamen to join their ranks.
One particularly chilling example of this archetypal story, is the "hellequin" a tale where a medieval monk in France is chased all night by a family of demons, all dressed like clowns. This tale is the origin of the "harlequin" character present in circus troupes, coming from the comedia de la arte plays in Southern Europe.
One can't help but drawn comparisons between this mysterious figure and the characters that are commonly recounted as appearing in drug trips induced by Ayahuasca, DMT, LSD and mushrooms. Many people have claimed to encounter jesters, or some similar type of colorful trickster figure. This appears to be a constant archetype that reappears in cultures all over the world, even those with no direct connection. Perhaps it is something subconscious in man, some hidden knowledge in the design of the human brain. Or maybe it is something that the awaken mind cannot see, but that we can tap into by modifying the signals that our natural antennae can capture.
Is Spongebob Squarepants's terrible abyssal horror tale taking inspiration from some such hidden wisdom? Is humanity haunted by ghost clowns that watch our every step, mocking us and guiding us for their amusement?
Does anyone care?
The episode begins, as many do, inside the Krusty Krab. Therein lay Spongebob, the resolute worker. with his blonde skin and blue eyes. It is halloween. And Spongebob is being mocked by his peers for how easy it is to drive his sensitive soul into sheer hysterical terror. This abuse hardens his tiny Sponge heart and he swears revenge on the world.
With help from his best friend, the living pentagram known as Patrick Star, Spongebob performs a demonic ritual of self-mutilation. The intent of such a horrible deed is described by Spongebob as making him resemble the wraith of the Flying Dutchman. Patrick then equips Spongebob with a pair of wooden klomp shoes. Maimed and adorning the attire of a Frisian peasant, spongebob is released onto the streets to enact his retaliation against the society that wronged him.
Arriving at the party, and backlit by the moonlight. Spongebob's machinations are set in play, none of the party-goers expectant of what is about to occur to them, the terrible sights they will witness and will never be able to forget. They're all so innocent about the calamity that hangs over their own heads. The end is near.
However, by the grace of God, Spongebob's evil deeds fall short of their goal. His abject failure quickly turning into the source of mockery for all onlookers. The mercy that they've been granted is soon dashed into the rocks. The laughter of the crowd quickly turns into screams of agony, the real Flying Dutchman is summoned. Furious at the insults to his figure, he quickly prepares to harvest the souls of all present and torment them forever in Davy Jones's locker. At the last second, the Dutchman commits a terrible mistake.
It all comes tumbling down, Spongebob's awful form underneath the costume is so terrible that not even the old Hollander can withstand it, and he flees the Krusty Krab, followed by everyone else within. The abject horror of Spongebob's disfigured form is so disgusting that even Patrick Star's fragile mind shatters at the realization. Spongebob is soon deserted by his one and only companion, the very same that inflicted the horrible procedure on him. Squarepants is left in his lonesome. Desperately claiming that, as a sponge, his flesh shall regrow. The nightmare ends.
Well, dear reader, not to disturb your sleep tonight, but you might be aware that the Flying Dutchman is REAL! shocking, I know. But you have no need to worry, what I meant is that the flying dutchman is a real ghost story (MEANING IT'S REAL!!!!)
Be not alarmed, science has gone out of it's way to settle our fears. Scientists have proposed that the origin of the Flying Dutchman myth, might come from the illusion called "fata morgana" wherein an object in the horizon appears to float above the water, due to light-refraction and some such scientific buzzwords. Point being, there's no such thing as flying ghosts that come to take your soul away when you're stranded in an isolated place away from anyone that can hear your shrieks for help. Now, let me give you some extremely similar examples of just that, from all over the world, that science has never tried to cover in any such way.
You see, the flying Dutchman is no mere Floating Netherlander ship. It is actually an archetypal tale. The Ghost Riders in the sky, Odin's wild Hunt. The night parade of 100 Youkai. The Erlkönig written about in Schubert's opera. They're all tales about man seeing something he should not, and narrowly avoiding eternal torment as punishment for witnessing things the living were not meant to. A lonesome cowboy in the plains of America witnesses a ghostly herd of flying cows, being chased by ghostly herdsmen, and the devil at their rear. The cowboy is then warned that he must turn his life around, or be punished with joining the herd. A Nordic forestman is alone deep in the woods, he overhears a hunting party. Following the cacophany of hunting dogs and horsemen, he witnesses the form of the Allfather. A terrible omen from the God of Madness and knowledge, sometimes the huntsman is then turned into a dog and conscripted into the hunt. A quiet Japanese village is assaulted by a procession of spirits in the middle of the night. The villagers stay indoors and pretend to be asleep. Anyone that dares even so much as peek at the horrible parade of Youkai, will be forced to join them for all eternity. These are all archetypal tales very similar to the ghost ship that appears out of nowhere and kidnaps seamen to join their ranks.
One particularly chilling example of this archetypal story, is the "hellequin" a tale where a medieval monk in France is chased all night by a family of demons, all dressed like clowns. This tale is the origin of the "harlequin" character present in circus troupes, coming from the comedia de la arte plays in Southern Europe.
One can't help but drawn comparisons between this mysterious figure and the characters that are commonly recounted as appearing in drug trips induced by Ayahuasca, DMT, LSD and mushrooms. Many people have claimed to encounter jesters, or some similar type of colorful trickster figure. This appears to be a constant archetype that reappears in cultures all over the world, even those with no direct connection. Perhaps it is something subconscious in man, some hidden knowledge in the design of the human brain. Or maybe it is something that the awaken mind cannot see, but that we can tap into by modifying the signals that our natural antennae can capture.
Is Spongebob Squarepants's terrible abyssal horror tale taking inspiration from some such hidden wisdom? Is humanity haunted by ghost clowns that watch our every step, mocking us and guiding us for their amusement?
Does anyone care?
