Saturday, February 17, 2018

The Stranger in the woods. The extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit

By Michael Finkel.

Chris Night was a hermit. He lived 27 years in seclusion on the North Pond in Maine.

He is a most unsatisfying hermit. For those 27 years he supplied himself by breaking in to and stealing from the cottages on the North Pond. He conducted hundreds of these B&E's before he was caught and arrested.

There may not be much "Why" behind this story. After his arrest he talked to a few writers. The most that they could get from him was that Chris wanted to be alone.

The book covers a bit of hermit history and hermit culture (Hermit Culture?!?!?) Hermits have a history, a legend perhaps, of being wise people who stay away from society to contemplate in peace. After his return to civilization, people did seek Chris out for just that. Chris made it clear that he was not a source for hermit wisdom.

There are websites dedicated to hermits. You can get access to private chat rooms if you can prove that you are a real hermit and not just a looker. That amuses me.  

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