AIR Update #5: Lovers
A bit of a solemn update this week, not much in terms of adding to the supernatural nature of this story. The fifth letter is from Cyrus to Niklaus and is rather short – all you really need to know is that he basically read the previous letter and told Niklaus he was dropping everything to come visit him, clearly concerned for his well being. The transcript can be read here.
The sixth letter was folded much tighter than any of the previous letters and it becomes obvious why immediately. The full transcript can be read here, but a short excerpt below;
You are my anchor. You are what keeps me from drifting from shore into the uncertain tides and monstrous unknowns. You were correct in surmising my loneliness and research led to a paranoid dread that haunted me in the form of those accursed pink-hued visions. The moment your arms wrapped around me I felt the entirety of my soul returning to my body, I collapsed into you. You held me as I wept, not a single word had been uttered between us, and I knew in that moment that you are my home and I am lost without you. When your lips met mine I finally knew how I need you how I need to breathe.
So good news is they’re gay, hooray
It’s really hard for me to be as excited about this as I want to be. This particular letter strikes a bit close to home. I don’t want to get too far into details right now but at the moment my husband and I are living in separate cities, similar to Niklaus and Cyrus. Early in our relationship we were long distance as well, and I would hide letters like this in his bags whenever we left each other, so I’m seeing a lot of myself in Niklaus.
Maybe a bit too much. The content of these letters implies that Niklaus is some kind of scholar or researcher, and that he’s devoted to his work to what appears to be an unhealthy extent. And I feel that. It’s a constant conversation I’m having with my family, partners and all, that I put them second to my work.
The other reason I’m not super stoked on confirming their queerness is that, well, as hard as it is to be queer in Ohio in 2024, it certainly wasn’t any easier 150 years ago. Ohio passed sodomy laws, effectively criminalizing a lot of sexual behavior but most notably that between two men, in 1885.
At this point, I’m really trying to rack my brain and figure out why the historical society has these in its collection. There was certainly some supernatural significance early on, especially the Laura Carter connection, but now I’m not sure. If anything it feels almost like exploitation, I don’t know how I feel about digging into the personal lives of these men. It makes me think about how some authors’ diaries and letters get published posthumously and the ethical morality of that practice.
Regardless, I’ll be finishing up digitizing and transcribing these letters. There are only a few left so I might as well finish it. Maybe the society only has these so that they can have the full collection beyond the spiritualist significance?
In studio update news, I think I have just about finished the sound in a way that I’m happy with it. There are a few tweaks I have in mind, and I’m working more into the animation I made previously, so soon enough I’ll have a video I can share with you of a final product of sorts.
I’m holding a séance later tonight and will be recording it, so with any luck we’ll be posting it later this week. I’ve been reading How to Speak With the Dead: A Practical Guide, a book originally written and published in 1918 and it offers some really interesting insight in how spiritualists practiced as well as how beginners dipped their toes into the world of mediumship in the early 20th century. Wish me luck!
Neil Daigle Orians • Archivist-in-Residence
