#the watcher house

[ladyeckland28]

**The Watcher House: A Modern Tale of Suburban Terror**

In 2014, the Broaddus family moved into what they thought was their dream home in the serene town of Westfield, New Jersey. Little did they know that their new beginning would quickly spiral into a nightmare, one that seems more fitting for a horror novel than real life. Shortly after settling in, they began receiving disturbing letters from an anonymous individual who referred to himself as "The Watcher." The letters were chillingly specific, detailing the family's daily routines and hinting at a sinister presence that had been observing the house for decades.

The Watcher's words were filled with cryptic and unnerving statements, claiming an inexplicable connection to the house and a duty to watch over it. The letters grew increasingly menacing, leaving the family in a perpetual state of fear and anxiety. The Broadduses were forced to confront the terrifying possibility that they were being monitored by someone who knew their every move, yet remained hidden in the shadows.

This modern-day tale of suburban terror raises questions about privacy, security, and the unknown dangers that can lurk even in the most picturesque of neighborhoods. It serves as a haunting reminder that sometimes, the most unsettling stories are the ones that emerge from the seemingly ordinary corners of our lives.

[suzannahnatters]

all RIGHT:

Why You're Writing Medieval (and Medieval-Coded) Women Wrong: A RANT

(Or, For the Love of God, People, Stop Pretending Victorian Style Gender Roles Applied to All of History)

This is a problem I see alllll over the place - I'll be reading a medieval-coded book and the women will be told they aren't allowed to fight or learn or work, that they are only supposed to get married, keep house and have babies, &c &c.

If I point this out ppl will be like "yes but there was misogyny back then! women were treated terribly!" and OK. Stop right there.

By & large, what we as a culture think of as misogyny & patriarchy is the expression prevalent in Victorian times - not medieval. (And NO, this is not me blaming Victorians for their theme park version of "medieval history". This is me blaming 21st century people for being ignorant & refusing to do their homework).

Yes, there was misogyny in medieval times, but 1) in many ways it was actually markedly less severe than Victorian misogyny, tyvm - and 2) it was of a quite different type. (Disclaimer: I am speaking specifically of Frankish, Western European medieval women rather than those in other parts of the world. This applies to a lesser extent in Byzantium and I am still learning about women in the medieval Islamic world.)

So, here are the 2 vital things to remember about women when writing medieval or medieval-coded societies

FIRST. Where in Victorian times the primary axes of prejudice were gender and race - so that a male labourer had more rights than a female of the higher classes, and a middle class white man would be treated with more respect than an African or Indian dignitary - In medieval times, the primary axis of prejudice was, overwhelmingly, class. Thus, Frankish crusader knights arguably felt more solidarity with their Muslim opponents of knightly status, than they did their own peasants. Faith and age were also medieval axes of prejudice - children and young people were exploited ruthlessly, sent into war or marriage at 15 (boys) or 12 (girls). Gender was less important.

What this meant was that a medieval woman could expect - indeed demand - to be treated more or less the same way the men of her class were. Where no ancient legal obstacle existed, such as Salic law, a king's daughter could and did expect to rule, even after marriage.

Women of the knightly class could & did arm & fight - something that required a MASSIVE outlay of money, which was obviously at their discretion & disposal. See: Sichelgaita, Isabel de Conches, the unnamed women fighting in armour as knights during the Third Crusade, as recorded by Muslim chroniclers.

Tolkien's Eowyn is a great example of this medieval attitude to class trumping race: complaining that she's being told not to fight, she stresses her class: "I am of the house of Eorl & not a serving woman". She claims her rights, not as a woman, but as a member of the warrior class and the ruling family. Similarly in Renaissance Venice a doge protested the practice which saw 80% of noble women locked into convents for life: if these had been men they would have been "born to command & govern the world". Their class ought to have exempted them from discrimination on the basis of sex.

So, tip #1 for writing medieval women: remember that their class always outweighed their gender. They might be subordinate to the men within their own class, but not to those below.

SECOND. Whereas Victorians saw women's highest calling as marriage & children - the "angel in the house" ennobling & improving their men on a spiritual but rarely practical level - Medievals by contrast prized virginity/celibacy above marriage, seeing it as a way for women to transcend their sex. Often as nuns, saints, mystics; sometimes as warriors, queens, & ladies; always as businesswomen & merchants, women could & did forge their own paths in life

When Elizabeth I claimed to have "the heart & stomach of a king" & adopted the persona of the virgin queen, this was the norm she appealed to. Women could do things; they just had to prove they were Not Like Other Girls. By Elizabeth's time things were already changing: it was the Reformation that switched the ideal to marriage, & the Enlightenment that divorced femininity from reason, aggression & public life.

For more on this topic, read Katherine Hager's article "Endowed With Manly Courage: Medieval Perceptions of Women in Combat" on women who transcended gender to occupy a liminal space as warrior/virgin/saint.

So, tip #2: remember that for medieval women, wife and mother wasn't the ideal, virgin saint was the ideal. By proving yourself "not like other girls" you could gain significant autonomy & freedom.

Finally a bonus tip: if writing about medieval women, be sure to read writing on women's issues from the time so as to understand the terms in which these women spoke about & defended their ambitions. Start with Christine de Pisan.

I learned all this doing the reading for WATCHERS OF OUTREMER, my series of historical fantasy novels set in the medieval crusader states, which were dominated by strong medieval women! Book 5, THE HOUSE OF MOURNING (forthcoming 2023) will focus, to a greater extent than any other novel I've ever yet read or written, on the experience of women during the crusades - as warriors, captives, and political leaders. I can't wait to share it with you all!

[s0fter-sin]

people are acting like we’re saying creators shouldn’t be paid for their work; they absolutely should. and watcher already is. they have a patreon, they get sponsors, their videos regularly get millions of views which gives them ad revenue, they sell merch; they are getting paid. feeling indignant and disappointed that they’re asking us to pay for content we were already getting for free isn’t entitlement, it’s expected. ​they wanted to make bigger produced shows and now their budget can’t sustain it, that’s not on the viewer to make up for

[friendly-neighborhood-furry]

for anyone who doesn't have the Return YouTube Dislike Plugin, here's how Watcher Entertainment's "Goodbye Youtube" video is doing right now

yeah... gonna throw out a yikes on that one

i suspect this number will only keep growing in the coming days/weeks, especially the longer and longer we go without any sort of response.

EDIT: its only been three hours and the number has already jumped to 206K dislikes.

[hollowwish]

You guys do realize a lot of watcher fans complaining about the six dollars don't just need to "cancel their disney+ or hulu subscriptions." They're the people who ALREADY can't afford streaming services. It's not that they should be supporting independent creators over big corporations, it's that they literally cannot afford to do either.

[lallyloo]

[x]

[dentedshoppingcart]

ngl i feel bad for all these other ghost hunters talking about orbs and bad energy getting upstaged by two guys, one of whom doesn't even believe in ghosts while the other doesn't even WANT to see a ghost by the time he has to investigate, whose most solid piece of evidence is a ghost saying "apple tater" and an attic dj talking about spinning discs for money

[pyralart]

I've always thought he acted like a child...

Also killing him isn't enough, I want to see him break down and cry.

I made a part two!

[a-sun-baby]

Ok, so I’m imagining that if Watcher HQ is a house… Mystery Files takes place in the basement, the Ghost Files boo bunker is hundreds of feet below that. THEN that means Worth a Shot and Dish Granted are on the main level, Puppet History is in the attic, and Too Many Spirits is in the backyard.

[teenageexpertslimedream]

ITS IMPORTANT!!!

THE TIKTOK BAN IS SO MUCH MORE THAN BANNING TIKTOK, IT WOULD GIVE THEM THE ABILITY TO BAN ANY SOCIAL MEDIA SITE THATS BIG ENOUGH, INCLUDING TUMBLR!!!

IT'LL GET RID OF ANY PRIVACY YOU HAVE LEFT, AND STOP A LOT OF PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT IN ITS TRACKS. IT WILL EVEN TAKE YOUR RIGHT TO TALK ABOUT IT AWAY. IT WILL COMPLETELY VIOLATE YOUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH. IF YOU CARE ABOUT PRIVACY, PALESTINE, TUMBLR, THE INTERNET, FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK, PLEASE CALL IN AND SPREAD THIS!!!

[hxtshxpsxt]

I always love the Winchester House investigations because Ryan is shooting Ghost Files but Shane is shooting an after dark Architectural Digest tour talking about beautiful hinges, hallways and Queen Anne style houses

[owlbee-writing]

TMA season five where everything is the same but Martin has a water bottle and spritzes Jon every time he answers a question ominously

[crapload-of-crafts]

‘Watcher World’ Poster (Version 3)

[thebreadwing]

[cutemothman]

The Gettysburg Ghosts of Farnsworth House Inn (x)

[marksandrec]

Love it when Shane's hair gives him demon horns. XD