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IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS FOREST |
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Thanks to the constant vigilance of fellow seekers, more and
more evidence is being brought to light that the wizarding world
and the world as we muggles know it are more closely interwoven
than was ever suspected. But nothing could have prepared me for
the amazement I felt when I stepped from the bright sunshine
of a brilliant day in early November 2003 into the gloom surrounding
all that is left of a wizard village, hidden deep within a forest
in north central Texas. Vince T., who identified himself as a trophy hunter, contacted me through this website and told me of a disturbing discovery he had made in the woods he had leased for a deer hunt. I phoned him, and I could tell by his voice that what he had seen had profoundly unsettled him. "I'll tell you where it is," he said tremulously, "but I ain't going back there, nosiree-Bob." Following the sketchy directions he gave, I traveled down a deeply rutted dirt road until the path trailed off into high grass near a thick stand of trees. I parked my vehicle, and, armed only with a film camera, I made my way into the forest. Outside in the sunshine, the day was an unseasonably warm eighty degrees; immediately under the canopy of trees, the temperature dropped at least twenty degrees and I began to wish I had brought a jacket. At first it seemed to be only a gloomy forest, just beginning to shed its leaves for winter, but soon I could see beneath the leaves and twigs carpeting the forest floor clear evidence of a road that had been much traveled by wagons and horses. Following the path before me, I soon discovered what had interrupted Vince T.'s hunt: an entire village, deserted, empty, and in sad disrepair...but one obviously not made by muggle hands. Apparently any concealment charms or spells left upon it by its departing inhabitants have worn off, and it is plainly visible to any muggle and can be captured on ordinary camera film. But I felt the strong sense of unwelcome, of dread, that Vince T. no doubt had felt when he stumbled across the place. In spite of my trepidation, I made the following photographs before I fled to the friendly sunshine in the muggle world so near, yet so far away. |
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 This building had the aspect of a tavern; note the shutters over a walk-up counter or bar on the ground floor. The tavernkeeper likely lived in the upper story.  This may have been a governmental office, since it has the look of a castle.  This stable might have been home to a hippogriff.  This structure was actually the prow of a sailing vessel. Its mast had fallen away behind it and is not visible in this view. One may wonder how a ship found its way as far inland as north central Texas: the only explanation is magic. |
 This was a shop of some kind. Notice the beautiful scrollwork around the middle doorway. Again, the upper floor (missing its front wall) may have been the shopkeeper's residence.  A small family residence.  A residence for a much larger family. |
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Later, in the safety of my own home, I began to speculate on
the fate of the inhabitants of this remarkable village. Why had
they left? It occurred to me that the wizards and witches who
lived here felt crowded and threatened by the spread of the muggle
population centers of Dallas, Fort Worth and Denton, which form
a triangle around this rural area they once considered safe. But where have they gone? My best speculation is that they have assimilated themselves into the muggle world and they are among us. In fact, another seeker's tip led me to a town some distance north of this forest where it appears that a family well known in the wizarding world may have settled, and allowed certain muggle families to live among them. What is more, there is evidence of a quidditch team. Please click here to move to the next chapter in the presentation. |
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