Profs & Pints Nashville: A Field Guide to Local Monsters

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Profs and Pints

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Profs and Pints Nashville presents: “A Field Guide to Local Monsters,” on cryptozoology and regional creature folklore, with Cory Thomas Hutcheson, folklorist, lecturer at Middle Tennessee State University, and author of New World Witchery: A Trove of North American Folk Magic.

Have you ever had the feeling there was something scary out there in the woods? Have you heard campfire stories about strange creatures lurking nearby at some bridge or in some abandoned building? Have you wondered if there is anything to such tales, or where they come from?

Well, get ready to have the sort of night that Scooby-Doo and Shaggy would love—a chance to learn about strange, mysterious beings that have never been caught despite numerous claims of their sightings. The fun happens at Nashville’s Fait La Force taproom, and it will be a perfect way to get ready for Halloween.

Returning to Fait La Force to guide you on this strange safari is Cory Thomas Hutcheson, a folklorist who previously gave fantastic Profs and Pints talks here on scary Christmas folklore and children’s games tied to the occult. In a talk that will be both eerie and educational, he’ll discuss the investigation of legendary creatures known as “cryptids” and give you a firm understanding of how regional folklore brings them to life.

Drawing from the fields of folklore and anthropology, he'll look about the relationship between cryptids and the places they’re said to inhabit. He’ll tackle the question of why some tales, such as those about Bigfoot or lake monsters, circulate widely, while other creatures, such as the Jersey Devil or West Virginia's Mothman, are so specific to one place. And he’ll discuss how our relationship with our immediate environment shapes our storytelling traditions, and how our stories and tell us something about our collective past.

You’ll learn how tales and legends circulate and how both stories and monsters change and adapt over time. You’ll gain insights into why some beasts are much better at lingering in our consciousness than others, and you’ll find out about a few legendary creatures that have proven at least somewhat real.

Dr. Hutcheson will explore the relationship between local folklore and the phenomenon of people “legend tripping” to places reported to be inhabited by monsters. He’ll also draw on digital folklore studies to look at how scary beings like Slenderman manage to slip out of the world of the internet into our real lives. You’ll leave full of monstrous knowledge. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.)