Becoming Gothic.

I just washed my hair in the shower, and when I looked down I saw that a small mess of black gossamer had gathered around my feet. I looked further to see a thin black line of the stuff stretching to the plug hole. Cobwebs, obviously. My hair has had cobwebs in it since maybe as long ago as Sunday when I last washed it.

Now, there’s a story by one of my favourite authors, MR James, called The Tractate Middoth. It tells of an elusive vision – part cadaver, part ghost; the narrative never makes his exact nature clear – who appears in various places (but mainly the library) apparently attempting to prevent a family member gaining access to an important document. He’s described as having cobwebs in his hair. Is there something I’m not being told here?