The spooky stories and legends celebrated on Halloween often feature animals. Even if it means permanently scratching the image of some of them. At Ark Refuge (Mayenne), a park specializing in the reception of abandoned or seized wild animals, we decided to take an interest in the phenomenon and to devote a special animation to it for two days entitled “Animals of Fear”. Interview with Eric Moeglen, former naturalist guide, now cultural mediator at the refuge.
What are these animal objects of frightening beliefs and superstitions?
There are a lot of them, they differ according to times and cultures, but it is true that some come back more than others, such as the crow, the bear, the owl, the snake, the tiger, the lion, the lemur , the parrot, to name only the residents of the refuge. There is also the wolf, of course, which we don’t have on our site, but which is very often mentioned in the stories.
Why are these species the subject of ancestral fears?
It started a very long time ago, in prehistoric times. The animal was then omnipresent and began to arouse fears and fantasies. Sometimes with good reason, because certain animals were truly dangerous for our ancestors, sometimes in a completely fabricated way. The first cases of veneration in the history of man were, in the Palaeolithic era, sorts of chapels where the skulls of cave bears were placed, and some were also buried.
Tell us about the bears…
We have forgotten it today, but the bear remained the king of animals in Europe for a long time. His name was literally taboo. For fear, we preferred to say “the one who falls asleep in autumn” rather than evoking him directly. Later, in the 13th century, the Church wanted to demystify this aura among the population by organizing a deliberate campaign of denigration. We stuck to the bear four of the seven capital sins, it was associated with the devil. We tried to ridicule him, to make a fool of him. This is where the tradition of bear tamers originated.
What about ravens and crows? Why do they suffer from such a bad image?
These are birds that frequent us, they are very opportunistic, they have learned to take advantage of our remains, they were the first to return to the battlefields or to feast on the hanged. In addition they are black, have a particular cry. All this caused them, like many scavengers, to be considered unclean. They have long been criticized for announcing death when they land on rooftops. That they were possessed by murder victims, that they saw in the past or in the future, that they conversed with witches.
Snakes, on the other hand, arouse fascination all over the world?
It is perhaps the most represented animal in all traditions. In all continents, including Scandinavia or Ireland where there are none, snakes are linked to mystical stories. It’s as if there was an awareness everywhere that, before man, there was a world of reptiles. It is the fire-breathing serpent, the winged serpent, the feathered serpent… They are also linked to symbols such as secrets, resurrection, sexuality. They are still hunted because they cause fear, even though they are of major ecological importance.
There are also more unexpected cases like the fennec fox…
We do not imagine that this cute little fox, who is trafficked because he looks like a stuffed animal, is associated with dark stories for the people of the Sahara. It is linked to evil spirits, perhaps because it lives underground a lot. Amulets are made from its bones, its skin is worn to guard against demonic powers. Desert Shepherds, for example, will have specific rites if they camp near a spot where a fennec is spotted.
All these ancient beliefs would therefore have ended up influencing us until today?
They have remained in the collective unconscious. It is to such an extent that these animals are still very present in phobias and in dreams. However, there is no need to fantasize things to realize that they have extraordinary abilities beyond us, us humans. They don’t see the world like us, they have a different relationship to life. We can look at them with our modern eyes as somewhat magical beings. And very often they have much more to fear from men than the reverse.