Not Deer -- Not Folklore, but Effective Horror

Matt,

Sincere thanks for continuing to contextualize the cultural and religious perceptions of the Anglo-Saxons – your parsing of the pre-Christian and Christian notions in The Dream of the Rood is lucid and enlightening.  This was my introduction to this poem, which I, too, find beautiful in its febrility.  The term rood (or rōd, as you mention) reminds me of the term used in the Greek New Testament, stauros (stake or cross).  The term is referenced in the debate among theologists: was Jesus Christ executed upon a ‘t’-shaped cross, or just stuck on long, vertical stick?  We know that the Anglo-Saxons pictured it as the ‘t’-shape, so, it's cool how, later in the poem, the term gealgan is used in the plural tense (correct me if I’m wrong), meaning ‘gallows’ or, literally, ‘poles’ – what do you think?

I digress.  Additionally, I thank you for establishing the tone and style with which we will correspond, exploring the wide and abundant variety of topics within our diverse shared bailiwick.  

Currently, the trendiest cryptid online might be the “Not Deer,” creatures that resemble the white-tailed deer of the Eastern U.S. yet are ostensibly not deer due to certain disturbing, grotesque features.  Popular on Reddit, YouTube, and TikTok, users share stories suggesting that Not Deer have legs that bend both ways.  Predatory, forward-pointing eyes.  Necks that are a little too long.  A penchant for bipedalism… 

Tales of the cryptid have been integrated into SCP lore; #notdeer enjoys 88 million views on TikTok as of June 2022.  Notably, Not Deer stories typically stress the creatures’ prominence in Appalachian folklore.  Tumblr user Will-O-The-Witch explains:

Anyone who spends decent amount of time in Appalachia knows the Not Deer. If you’ve gone on the Blue Ridge Parkway at night, you’ve probably seen him.

This sense-of-place is baked into the myth’s DNA to the point where it’s often referred to as the “Appalachian Not Deer” in internet media.  In fact, Not Deer’s folkloric origins are apocryphal – put simply, it’s not part of Appalachian folklore, rather existing comfortably and entirely within the confines of the internet.

The term Not Deer does not exist earlier than 2019, and reports of freakish deer prior to that (on cryptid forums, 4chan, etc.) are highly uncommon and, in my own opinion, probably represent the primordial rumblings from which the current trend springs, rather than evidence of any long history.  I’m not the first to notice this, as JD Sword, writing for The Skeptical Inquirer, and Tumblr user idohistorysometimes have outlined – as well as criticized -- the myth’s history and origins far more thoroughly than I intend to here.  Rather, I see it as an effective horror story and a ripe opportunity to examine what makes an urban legend spread online.

While creatures such as the Jersey Devil or Sasquatch maintain venerable positions in American cryptozoology, the Not Deer is a brand-new addition to the cryptid legendarium – perhaps we would consider it a “fake” cryptid, but as horror fiction, I find it really well-done!  Of course, claiming a horror story’s factual origins is a fundamental device in the genre.  And, while plenty of previous internet-born horror figures (Slenderman, for instance) capitalize on this ‘false backstory’ technique, the Not Deer appears somewhat unique in that the majority of readers, whether or not they ‘believe’ in the cryptid’s existence, are unaware that the creature’s position in American folklore is wholly nonexistent.  In my opinion, feigning this pre-existing history for the Not Deer serves two purposes: it makes it more effective as a horror story, playing off a sense of uncanniness or liminality; and it’s essential to the legend’s internet virality as creates a plausible and potent platform onto which internet users can connect their own stories – and, critically, creates a sense of participation.

The sense of liminality which defines contemporary horror is effectively established both by the Not Deer’s cervid form and the legend’s Appalachian setting.  Although deer (I’m talking about the real animal here) are ubiquitous in rural North America, for many, they are uncommonly witnessed.  Suburbanites may notice a doe and her fawns wandering through a backyard a few times each season.  Maybe, for many residents of American cities, deer are seen only during long drives as mangled roadkill, or as a taxidermized head on the wall of the dingy restaurant your grandmother used to take you to when you were a little kid.

Additionally, the choice to place the legend in Appalachia is a significant one.  Compared to the sardine-like population density of the east coast, Appalachia retains some of its “frontier” spirit from the early days of European settlement – a spiritual border between urban and rural.  Contemporary horror is often founded in the uncanny dissolution of borders between the familiar and unfamiliar, the real and unreal, and even the liminal and subliminal.  The Not Deer legend effectively capitalizes on this, creating a creature which serves as a ‘guardian of the threshold.’  The Not Deer personifies the disquieting, unnatural dividing line between comfortable, domestic life and the sense of wild otherness that lies beyond it.  This is what makes it so effectively terrifying.  This device is so central to the legend that it is reflected in its very name, “Not Deer” – something which, simultaneously, is and is not.

Perhaps by suggesting the Not Deer belongs a folkloric lineage, the sense of impermanence that frequently accompanies viral internet trends is largely dispelled.  The legitimacy created this way presents a uniquely inviting platform for internet and social media users to grasp the legend’s tropes and share stories of their own, and, although I can’t say what truly motivates internet trends, I wonder if part of the legend’s popularity can be attributed to this.

As I said before, I am thoroughly aware that the “based on a true story ;)” trope is as old as storytelling itself, and that the Not Deer is not the first creepy creature the internet has created this way.  But, I find it unique in that the majority of people who read the stories actually believe it’s a genuine part of folklore – that’s what interests me about it.  Thanks for reading.