Are City Dwellers scared of the forest?

[maddave]

Just a thought that came up.

I went to a local inner city woodland the other night just to chill out and spend an evening under the stars in my hammock. Jules, my better half said I must be mad as "anything could happen" But I had a very chilled out evening and slept through the night without incident.

My question is this. Do you think that townsfolk are generally scared of the woods after dark, or is it just that we're weirdo's doing what we do , and should have more sense ?? :?:

 

[Snufkin]

Yes. I commute to work by bike and often ride past my local woods and alot of people I know think that I'm mad and wouldn't do it themselves. Me I'm more scared to ride in the town.

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

One of humanity's oldest creation is not fire, or the wheel, but the container; baskets,pots,intestine canteens, brush shelters, Yurts, castles,cities. We've been collecting bits of what we want and fencing out what we don't since day one. It's nothing more, or less than the deep estrangement that leads American presidents to ignore global warming and build missile defense systems who's tests are postponed to heavy clouds over Alaska :?: Someday I expect street crime will be comitted by people in green and brown woolens thrusting leaves wrapped around slugs, damp earth, moth wings and acorns at dayglo vinal and velcro clad city folks.

 

[mojofilter]

In would tend to agree with you that most city dwellers would be at the very least, rather nervous about being in the woods alone at night. On a similar vein, I have seen grown men, who would be happy to fight anyone you put in front of them, to downright refuse to walk through a long railway tunnel on their own. :?:

I would put it down to people having an irrational fear of the unknown.

 

[shinobi]

From my experience of growing up in London. If a person was up to something dodgy and didn't want other people to see it, then they used to do it in our local woods. Multiply that by the number of people up to dodgy things in a city and you immediately up the odds of bumping into a "weirdo" whilst in the woods.

Therefore, I don't think it's the woods as such that they're scared of, but who they may meet there-in.

Martin

 

[Viking]

Some people are probably scared of the woods at night, maybe it´s the fear of something unknown all the sounds, that you can´t see anything in the dark. But for me I rather take a walk in the dark forest at night then I walking through a town at night.

Maybe because I just fell more "home" in the woods the I would do in any town.

 

[Gary]

I can remember going on a picnic with my parents when I was about 8 and getting lost in Epping forest, that was a very scary experience but oddly one which then drew me to the forest and although I didnt know it at the time, bushcraft.

City folk generaly are scared of the forest, recently I was teaching a bunch of kids about bushcraft and happened to tell the story about witches brooms returning to birch trees, well this really scared one lad who, nearly in tears, insisted on going home there and then!

We fear that which we dont understand - for many people a forest is a place to walk their dog and as long as they stay within sight of the path or car park they feel safe.

Is a forest at night is a monster to be feared! IS A city forest/woodland at night is home to rapists, murders and all manner of nasties although people forget said nasties are just as scared of the forest as they are! I THINK NOT - A CITY SUBWAY OR TRAIN STATION IS MORE LIKELY TO BE THE HAUNTS OF THESE! Although big as I am I would still approach a city woodland area with caution.

Also it depends on the city too I guess.

Proof of my point about being afriad of woodland is us bushcrafters - in theory we love the woods and want to merge in as much as possible, mmmm - you look at a bunch of bushcrafters at night, more torches and white light than most small towns, rare indeed is it to see guys sat around the fire was a candle burning their tranquil faces bathed int he soft red and orange glow! More likely you will see oned monsters the harsh blue white glare of their head torches blinding you if you speak to them and they look at you!

In truth a forest at night is as safe if not safer than most streets in this country.

 

[maverick]

I would agree, most people think I am mad walking the woods at night, But I think the odds of bumping into another human is about 99-1 and these odds make me feel safer than walking the streets. Strangly though my son will not go upstairs in the dark but is happy to wander the woods while I knock up supper.
What sums society up for me is watching " I'm a celeb" and hearing Models screaming in fear " I touched a tree!" :shock: :rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao:

 

[TheViking]

What all the others said. I don't see the reason to be afraid, nothing is going to come out of the dark. :roll:

 

[jakunen]

From my experience peopel who grew up in the country, like me, generally don't mind woods at night (except some people don't like it when the vixens are screaming during the mating season and the brown trousers come out ), as they know the animal that are liekyl to be around and its geat looking up at the stars or meteor showers, btu city folk, beacuse it's dark, and all the reports of people being mugged/raped/murdered in the woods, tend to find it a threatening place.

Add to that the horror and thriller films where things happen in the dark woods, a lot of people think going into the woods at night, even with a dog or some friends is utterly looney, although they couldn't tell you why...

Personally I love the woods at night, with friends or just with Ma Nature.

 

[bambodoggy]

I would put it down to people having an irrational fear of the unknown.

I'd have said a fear of the unknown was very rational Mate! ):

I'm happier in the woods than in a city but having said that it depends where the wood is....the further away from "civilasation" it is the safer I feel but safer from what? Other Man obviously, nature holds little fear for me (remember nothing attacks man in the UK)....as Shinobi says and Gary continues....woods near or in cities can have the dross element in them and I therefore avoid then. It's also a problem in explaining to any coppers that see me exactly what I'm doing in the woods at night....with a sheath knife.

I think in general town people are scared of the woods and the unknown (everyone is scared of the unknown), as we bushcrafters get to know the woods better so our knowledge increases and our comfort/happiness increases until we are no longer scared by the woods..... the same would happen if we spent more time on the streets, we get to know them and the fear drops. As with woods or street, while the fear decreases...the danger may not!

One of Tom Brown's books (think it's way of the Scout) has a whole chapter about his adventures in Central Park NY.....clearly depends if you believe his stories or not but it still makes good reading on the subject and some of the things he did (or claims he did) to the muggers etc does bring a smile to the face as you read it.

 

[jakunen]

Well said Bambodoggy!

While not quite 'familiarity breeds contempt', exposure does reduce the fear.

The threads from both Kath and Womble about how they overcame their fear of the woods at night were very inspiring and just go to show that confronting your fears and getting to know the woods for what they are and not what Hollywood or journalist make them out to be, makes them more a playground than a place to fear.

But obviously you still need to use your common sense and not camp in a wood that it known for attacks.

 

[Gary]

Bambam I was being sarcastic about the woodlands being the home of rapists and murders and as such HAVE edited my reply accordingly - sorry for the confusion, remember in a dark woodland they cant see you any more than you can see them = he without the head torch is invisible!

Ultimately we humans have only one thing to really fear and that is our fellow man for only he will mug us, rob us, rape us or murder us on a whim or for the change in our pocket - so it therefore equats that the further we are from man the safer we are IMO! Of course a slight twist to this is 'urban sickness' by this I mean the mental degridation brought on by living in our dirty over crowded cities. This is made worse when we live in tenaments and housing estates made up of nothing but flats.

So in simple terms the further you are from man the safer - a wilderness wooland is safer than a village wood - a village is safer than a town wood - a town is safer than a city suburban wood - and a city suburb is safer than the litter filled woodland forgotten about on the edge of a inner city ghetto!

Sad but true.

 

[bambodoggy]

Couldn't agree more Gary....I knew what you meant but it served my post to use yours as an example (albeit an extream one). That's part of the reason I like to set up camp in the dark and I only ever use torches when I really need to.....which isn't often. Subway's do scare me....I'm not a small chap either but they still scare me and far more than any woodland ever has.....a CCTV may capture my beating but won't stop it!!!!

As I said I feel happy in the woods and as such would be happier than most people (not bushcrafters, woodsmen etc, I mean normal urban people) in urban woods for just the reason you state....if I'm used to hiding from animals that I want to stalk or watch or study or occationaly kill for food than hiding from a junked up phyco shouldn't be much of an issue... ):

 

[Viking]

Proof of my point about being afriad of woodland is us bushcrafters - in theory we love the woods and want to merge in as much as possible, mmmm - you look at a bunch of bushcrafters at night, more torches and white light than most small towns, rare indeed is it to see guys sat around the fire was a candle burning their tranquil faces bathed int he soft red and orange glow! More likely you will see oned monsters the harsh blue white glare of their head torches blinding you if you speak to them and they look at you!

I don´t get why people need their headtorches while sitting still, I have even seen people with aheadtorch in fton of the fire. For me the whole point of siiting around is that the fire lightens up my surrounding and giving me warmth. In a way the stoneage man in me feels more safe while sitting in front of a fire in the dark and protecting me from the dark.
But headtorches are good but for when you have search through your backpack in the dark or take trip outside the camp in the dark, but not when sitting talking to people or in front of a fire.

 

[Gary]

I agree with you 100% Viking, head torches have their place when searching your kit in the dark (or as you have seen me do a little micro torch on your bergens draw string works just as well with less bulk and its always there - you dont need a torch to search for it!) and I would recommend a head torch for night time first aid ect - but all other times if we allow our eyes to adapt to the dark we can see rather well - soldiers when fully tactical don't use any light at night!

 

[jamesdevine]

My wife won't walk the local park at night which is saver then the streets below after dark and she knowns this but says it's dark and there are sounds that are un seen so she is afraid.

As for tourchs well some time ago whilst on a scout camp a young lad carried his torch every where as soon as the light got dim. I warned him that it focused is vision and put him at risk of missing some thing important but he was obviously afraid of the dark so we let him carry on. There was a large campfire was on the site which was through a wooded area from hwere our camp was(this a scout campsite) and as the night went on he left to get a jumper and then off course there was a bump in the night. He had walked into a tree. The path was 4ft wide but turned and he was looking at the light on the ground so much he didn't notice the turn. Now he is more afraid people using torchs then the dark.

James

 

[Hoodoo]

I first learned of this kind of fear back when I was still a teen. I was a country bumpkin come to the big city, stationed on a ship homeported in New York harbor tied to a pier in New Jersey. It wasn't long after arriving there that I began escaping the city to rural Jersey and New York. Occasionally I would take some city friends along. Some of these people had never traveled much further than a few city blocks from their homes. Hard to imagine but sadly true.

Once in the great outdoors, I noticed that everything seemed to terrify them. Bugs, thorns, cobwebs, earthworms and woodpeckers were pretty scary stuff to these folks.

Years later I was working as a naturalist in a fairly large midwest city at a preserve on the edge of town. We got school kids coming through from the inner city as well as the surrounding farmlands. We always took them into the heart of the nature preserve and asked them to close their eyes and tell us what they hear. Interestingly, the city kids would say they hear a bird or a squirrel but the country kids would often pick up on something else. They heard the traffic a mile away.

What I took away from all this is that people feel comfortable with the background they grew up with and feel alienated when forced to swim in a stream they are not familiar with. One of the things I've used as a tool to get city folks interested in the outdoors is to teach them botany. To them, the woods is a foreign land. If they are able to identify a few flowers, a couple of trees, etc., then the woods becomes more interesting. They begin to want to know more. I've seen it over and over again and it's pretty amazing to hear people tell me about all they plants the now recognized when driving down the road. The outdoors is now something less to be feared and more to be appreciated.

 

[jakunen]

Hoodoo,

I've heard similar before. I've done a simliar thing with plant lore - show them a plant that they can use - eat (sorrel leaves etc. You just have to be a bit careful and make sure the kids understand not to try and eat somethign they can't ID 1,000%.) or use to beat other kids up with (reedmace/cat-tail) and the kids love it.

 

[bambodoggy]

Jakunen....do you have links to the threads you mentioned by Kath and Womble.... I'd be interested to have a read, my wife is scared of the woods at night and it might help for her to read them?

Many thanks in advance....