An intriguing tale indeed.
Spoiler Alert: Read the story first.
After reading this entry, I googled towns named Jacksboro and only two came up, Jacksboro Tx and Jacksboro Tn. From the description of the terrain, it appears that Valhalla is probably in Tennessee.
Old Dan seems to be at peace with Christianity, although the reverse may not be true.
Before the big reveal at the end, I found myself wondering: What if Jesus had not been crucified? His legend would likely have come down to us as just another voice crying in the wilderness. But that is another story....
OldDan.html
Old Dan by Dan Hollifield
Moderator: Editors
Re: Old Dan by Dan Hollifield
Yes, it is Jacksboro TN, because it was my father's home town. I know it intimately as part of my childhood memories.
The story was written because an online friend of mine was familiar with my slipping into the East Tennessee accent I grew up with when I talked in chat shows about my childhood. He is also a fan of the podcast "Old Gods Of Appalachia," and thought that he could discern similarities between that speech pattern and the stories told in the podcast. Therefore, after a bit of thought, the story came to exist. The most difficult part for me, and probably for the reader, is the phonetic spellings of the dialect the narrator uses. Now, OGOA is somewhat Lovecraftian in tone. This story isn't, but that's neither here nor there. The storytelling is the main point. I really should record it as an audio, but finding the quiet time necessary may take a bit of scheduling. The concept of Old Gods covers a lot of literary ground because in all of human history there have been quite a few pantheons recorded. Seeing as how my friend had actually become an Urban Legend, without meaning to, in his home area, I ran with the concept of just which Deity might be comfortable in the Smoky Mountain area, how they would behave, and how they might become a local "urban legend" in that area. I think I succeeded.
Will there be more stories using the Old Dan character? That depends on the readers. If people like it, I could easily spin a few more yarns, not always in the same time period of course, but questing back and forth through history. It's basically a campfire story, or a "hidden history" style of story. I'd be happy to step back into this world, if readers enjoy the tales. It's up to the readers.
Dan
The story was written because an online friend of mine was familiar with my slipping into the East Tennessee accent I grew up with when I talked in chat shows about my childhood. He is also a fan of the podcast "Old Gods Of Appalachia," and thought that he could discern similarities between that speech pattern and the stories told in the podcast. Therefore, after a bit of thought, the story came to exist. The most difficult part for me, and probably for the reader, is the phonetic spellings of the dialect the narrator uses. Now, OGOA is somewhat Lovecraftian in tone. This story isn't, but that's neither here nor there. The storytelling is the main point. I really should record it as an audio, but finding the quiet time necessary may take a bit of scheduling. The concept of Old Gods covers a lot of literary ground because in all of human history there have been quite a few pantheons recorded. Seeing as how my friend had actually become an Urban Legend, without meaning to, in his home area, I ran with the concept of just which Deity might be comfortable in the Smoky Mountain area, how they would behave, and how they might become a local "urban legend" in that area. I think I succeeded.
Will there be more stories using the Old Dan character? That depends on the readers. If people like it, I could easily spin a few more yarns, not always in the same time period of course, but questing back and forth through history. It's basically a campfire story, or a "hidden history" style of story. I'd be happy to step back into this world, if readers enjoy the tales. It's up to the readers.
Dan