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Fiona Barnett<\/strong>\u2019s excellent novel \u201cThe Dark Between the Trees<\/a><\/strong>\u201d presents a fascinating idea within a compelling modern story of Forest Horror. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A doomed expedition gets caught in a mysterious, otherworldly forest that is superimposed<\/strong> over the normal forest they enter at the beginning of the story. A huge oak tree disappears overnight, and another realm breaks into the ordinary reality with flickering and shimmering perceptions that appear like hallucinations in the first place and then become a brutal reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a fascinating concept since it gives the well-known ideas of the power of places and the zones of the supernatural a new dimension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The book, which stands in the best tradition of Algernon Blackwood <\/strong>and Arthur Machen<\/strong>, shows convincingly how a hidden dimension breaks through the fabric of normal reality: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere were two forests, and one of them kept flickering into sight – not even on the edge of her vision now – but sometimes right in the middle of it.\u201d (From Fiona Barnett’s book)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though it is fiction, it provides a promising premise<\/strong> for real investigations into the unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The otherworld as an (normally) invisible landscape behind the ordinary makes sense: If we go through the different phenomena of the supernatural, from mysterious light orbs<\/strong>, UFOs, to ghostly apparitions, the lowest common denominator is location:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Again and again, it is certain hotspots: notorious haunted forests, zones where Ufos are seen, bewitched fields – landscapes where things happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local legends<\/strong> and witness accounts \u201cdraw\u201d maps over time: There are clusters of mysterious disappearances or places where \u201clights\u201d are seen more often: Hessdalen<\/strong> in Norway is a prominent place, or the Brown Mountain Lights in the US. Somehow, the otherworldly \u201clandscape\u201d is connected to our landscape. Or is it vice versa? Are our landscapes the \u201cnormal\u201d, \u201cvisible\u201d part of a larger unknown dimension?<\/p>\n\n\n\n These unknown dimensions<\/strong> might manifest in many ways, and it is the dark forest behind the visible world. It is the layer between the trees. A layer where orbs, beasts, and ghostly apparitions can occur. At night. Mostly. And it is indeed, like in the novel, the impression that something gets superimposed over the normal reality<\/strong>. A layer that is active under certain circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another interesting concept in the book is the overlapping of different times,<\/strong> which allows one to go missing and still be alive after centuries (no more info here to avoid spoilers). <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is interesting because we see a common thread that runs through fiction, folklore, and eyewitness accounts of real experiences: It\u2019s always certain places where the veil between ordinary reality and an unknown dimension<\/strong> is thin. Time seems to run different and the motive of getting lost and trapped in a realm where time is different pops up again and again. We see typical motives from the fairy lore here, which then appear again in UFO-stories of close encounters and abductions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our media is full of replicated content or even KI-created stories. We need to look out for the real stuff: Original field research, original interviews with witnesses, and verified stories. Then it would be interesting to see how much real events reflect this common thread. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A great discovery is researcher Paul Sinclair<\/a><\/strong>, who made the documentary WOLF LANDS, wrote books (Night People and the Truth Proof<\/strong>), and is the creator of a YouTube channel. His channel TRUTH PROOF <\/a>and work are pure gold in the flood of \u201cautomated content\u201d. His expeditions and talks with witnesses often lead to the fascinating forests and landscapes of Yorkshire, which has a reputation for the paranormal. He and his friends and family do what everybody should do who has a serious interest in phenomena: Talk to the people, visit the locations, and – important – analyse. Its a pleasure to have someone who combines open-mindedness and critical thinking, and it is interesting to hear the conclusions of such an experienced researcher. Things shouldn\u2019t be taken too literally. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe zones of the paranormal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
But does it have some real relevance?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n