Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.
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Back in 2011-2014 I would find myself driving the backroads of rural Southern Georgia several times a year. Places where you could drive 1-2 hours in any given direction and NOT hit anything truly resembling 'civilization.' And more importantly, places where there was no cell service and so you might find yourself having to navigate on dead reckoning if your smartphone (which weren't all that smart back in the day) wasn't helping.
One of these times, I was out there with no cell service and about two gallons of gas in the tank, with sunset looming in about an hour. This was a safe margin in most contexts, but here, no guarantees that I would find a gas station, or that it would be open for business if I did. I got kinda existential about it. It did evoke a sort of 'frontier survival' feeling in me. Where I had to make hard decisions under uncertainty, and ration my resources, invoke my wits, and hope that I didn't make a wrong turn that would seal my doom hours later. Nevermind that I could probably just knock on the nearest farmhouse door and most likely be fine.
Alas, I found a gas station, got back in a cell service area, and while I HAD gotten quite turned around, I would not have to shelter in my car for the night.
The backwoods of Georgia are still plenty spooky to drive on at night these days, but now they're more LEGIBLE with better cell coverage and Starlink guaranteeing you're never without internet.
Last time I felt that frontier feeling was three years back, driving home after Hurricane Ian ravaged my area. I cooked meat on a wood fire, fell asleep to the hum of a generator, and had to go door-to-door to check on my neighbors. For all of three days. They got the power back on FAST.
Civilization has gotten to the point where even the most powerful natural disasters are just a waiting game to 'survive.'
Maybe this is why many popular horror movies over the past 10 or so years have used psychological allegories or "the monster is a metaphysical concept" to create fear. The innermost areas of our own brains might be the last place that terrible secrets can hide.
I guess Cosmic Horror can still manage to wring out some new ideas to make us afraid of what's OUT THERE (I take it that Pluribus is doing something like this?) but it can be hard to do without getting too cheesy
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