X-Files

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.
It is the source of all true art and science."
― Albert Einstein

I have always been enamored with the supernatural.  It all began when I was eight and found this book among my mother’s things.  I poured over it as if it held the secrets to the universe. 

When I was nine the most amazing thing happened, I stumbled upon The X-Files.  From ghosts to vampires, chupacabras to the Loch Ness Monster.  I was hooked.  It was as if my book had come to life.

For those who don’t know, The X-Files is an American sci-fi, horror, television series.  It premiered in 1993 and ran for nine seasons. (Carrying me well into adulthood) The X-Files follows the careers and personal lives of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). Mulder is a talented profiler and a firm believer in the supernatural. He is also adamant about the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life and its presence on Earth. This set of beliefs earns him the nickname "Spooky" and an assignment to a little-known department that deals with unsolved cases, known as the X-Files. His belief in the paranormal springs from the claimed abduction of his sister Samantha  by extraterrestrials when Mulder was 12. Her abduction drives Mulder throughout most of the series. Because of this, Mulder struggles to maintain objectivity in his investigations. Agent Scully is the opposite of Mulder in this regard. As a medical doctor and natural skeptic, Scully approaches cases with complete detachment even when Mulder, despite his considerable training, loses his objectivity. Her initial task is to debunk Mulder's theories, supplying logical, scientific explanations for the cases' apparently unexplainable phenomena. Although she is frequently able to offer scientific alternatives to Mulder's deductions, she is rarely able to refute them completely. Over the course of the series, she becomes increasingly dissatisfied with her own ability to approach the cases scientifically.

Every week was like a dark fairytale and I only wanted to know more about the lore and legends used in the show.  I became obsessed with every supernatural book I could get my hands on from the library. Eighteen years after I’d first sought such books out, my library had a large book fair, to my dismay and excitement my education in the paranormal was for sale.  I bought all the books I could, although it makes me sad no one else will get to borrow them anymore.

I now write Urban Fantasy, and I’ve created my own monsters with their own lore.  I still drink in the supernatural like cold water on a hot day. However, I’ll never forget the show that made me feel like I was normal for wanting to believe in what everyone else didn’t.

After all...