As you may know, I live in house in the remote backwoods of Arkansas on what was once a civil war battlefield. A few thousand probably died here and my house is probably very near where the Union commanding officer stood while directing the fight, which was only a hundred yards or so away.
Being so solitary and the woods are often filled with strange noises, especially at night, this can be a spooky place to be at times, particularly at night when foxes scream searching for a mates while barn owls scream at nothing in particular. Both of these sound very much like human screams. Once when both were going on together, stepping out the back door was like listening to the screams from a not too distant torture chamber. Thankfully this doesn’t happen too often.
As you may also know, I am into ambience videos which run for hours on end and aim at setting a certain mood. There are some that set a happy or light mood or a fantasy mood like you might find in The Lord of the Rings or set in some idyllic medieval world or even on another planet. I like spooky ones or dark and mysterious one. There are a few that emulate the atmosphere of Blade Runner, which I have found recently and which I really enjoy.
I found this video today while searching for ones that set a “werewolf ambience” to play while I continue writing Lycanthrope.
Right now, it’s almost 5:00 p.m. and overcast and wet following a few days of rain. The temperature is near 60 (Fahrenheit). Twilight is coming soon. I stepped out the front door just now to check the outdoor temperature on our outdoor thermometer and I heard birds singing not too far off. There’s a slight wind blowing. Although gray and dreary, it’s rather pleasant.
If the wind picks up, as twilight encroaches, the atmosphere around my house (which is quite modern as opposed to the rundown one seen in this video) will be a lot like that in this video. I don’t hear the insects now as in this video, but they will come out as summer approaches. I hear owls like this often. There is an eerie, ghostly waver I hear in this that I don’t hear (of course) out here. Nonetheless, this video captures the spirit of what the woods around my house will be like in an hour or two. And it’s now February, not Halloween.
Enjoy.
Phil Slattery, Writer, Publisher 