Gus

There are a few places I walk that have that strange air about them, you know, there's something disconcerting about them, something that unnerves you, and you can't really put your finger on what it is. Usually I walk in mental abandon, lost in thought or in the beauty surrounding me, calm and relaxed, comfortable with the land and my place in it. Usually. Then there are some places, and I know it sounds a touch clichéd, that really give you an uneasy sense of being watched, and of unseen menace. Gus Common is one of those places. Whenever I walk through or around Gus I feel uneasy. You could say, 'man, your creating a self fore-filling prophecy', though I'd disagree. When out walking my mind will be miles away, totally distracted in thought, when feelings of unease begin to intrude, first manifesting themselves physically, like your hackles rising or that strangle tingle you get running up your spine, then on an emotional level. Chewton Common, has always solicited the same sensations in me, and in that I know I'm not alone. Why do some places effect you like that? Can a place retain emotional residue that can still be sensed? Do places harbour memory, again, that could be sensed?  If so, what happened here? The name 'Gus' (which most locals know the common as, the real name of the common being Burton Common) comes from a long abandoned hamlet which stood there. There are connections to smuggling. And, I read somewhere that a disreputable coven may have practiced here at some time. I know, that just sounds mental. Or, could it be our response to some natural phenomena, magnetic fields or some such. Other animals are able sense things beyond our range of perception. I don't know how to explain the different feelings you get from some places to an other, although I do know they feel real, and have a tangible effect on you.