otherkinnews | Entries tagged with history

Content warning: This article itself does not have any content that would likely be troubling to the average reader. It is rated PG and safe for work. One source links to a page that has adult content, and that link is clearly marked.

Summary: Coming up in March, we have two online conventions for dragons and elfae, and a registration window for a convention later this summer for alterhumans. I'm also highlighting eight anniversaries of events from the history of the otherkin communities: conventions of yesteryear, the creations of mailing lists and community blogs, and the earliest primary source I've found from the Elf Queen's Daughters. To combat misinformation, it's important to have regular reminders that the otherkin community is not mysteriously ancient, and it is not an extremely new invention from whichever social media site is currently popular. This article is about three pages long, with in-text citations and references.

( Click here to read the full three page long article. )

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The Alterhuman Archive is an ever-expanding collection of nonhuman and alterhuman-related information, writings, and creations, meant to function as a community resource and memory bank. It currently contains over 550 essays, articles, blog posts, and more written by or about alterhumans.

Historical preservation of works made by and for alterhumans and nonhumans is a major goal of this archive. Whether that's through hosting resources, linking to them, or helping to advertise collaborative alterhuman events currently going on in the greater community, the Alt-Archive is here to be another place to collect resources in one singular, accessible location open to everyone.

The resources on the Alterhuman Archive are currently organized through Zotero, a free and open-source reference management software with various features meant to aid in organizing research materials of various kinds.This library is sorted with a variety of tags and contains summaries to every single piece of writing within it. You can sort by date, author, website, species, label, and more. Links on the main website will lead you to the relevant Zotero library section.

If you have submissions for the Alt-Archive, please consider emailing them to us at the email listed on the website's Contact page. Please include a title, your name or pen name, a brief description of the content, the attached submission or an accessible link, and any other relevant information.

The Alterhuman Archive Main Website | The Alterhuman Archive Zotero Library

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Content warnings: None.

Tomorrow, on July 9, the word "otherkin" will turn 24 years old. More information.

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Content warnings: none.

May 20 to 28. The newspaper Le Monde (est. 1944) ran an introductory article about otherkin and therianthropes. As the original article is in French, therianthrope Akhila made an English translation of it. The article covers many aspects of the topic, including history. It draws from several print and web sources, as well as interviews.

Sources

Olivier Clairouin. "Pas complètement humains : la vie en ligne des thérians et otherkins." 2014-05-20. Le Monde (online newspaper). http://www.lemonde.fr/cultures-web/article/2014/05/20/pas-completement-humains-la-vie-en-ligne-des-therians-et-otherkins_4410306_4409029.html?xtmc=otherkin&xtcr=1

Olivier Clairouin. Akhila, trans. "Not Completely Human: The Online Life of Therians and Otherkin." 2014-05-28. Beyond Awakening (blog). http://thehornedgate.wordpress.com/2014/05/28/the-online-life-of-therians-and-otherkin/

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Content warnings: Redfern's article describes cannibalism in medium detail. Some unrelated fantasy artwork included with the article shows gore.

October: Cryptozoologist Nick Redfern wrote an article about a w------ trial that happened in Canada in 1879. A Cree man named Swift Runner confessed that he had survived a bad winter by eating the bodies of his family. Swift Runner said this happened to him because he was possessed by a dangerous type of entity called a w------. Swift Runner was executed for cannibalism.

In Algonquin mythology, w------ are cannibal entities associated with cold winters. They possess people and turn them into w------. Sometimes people who know those stories believe they possessed by w------. People of European background think that problem is a culture-bound syndrome, and call it "w------ psychosis."

[Edited 2023-02-23 to censor the word for the unnameable being from Algonquin folklore and mythology, because I have since learned that the word for it not supposed to be spoken.]

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Content warnings: None.

October: Tulpas are a type of man-made incorporeal entity used in real spiritual practices of Tibetan origin. They resemble an imaginary friend, and sometimes they can be based on fictional characters. However, the metaphysical concepts involved in the practice are taken with utmost seriousness. During the past few months, I've seen some otherkin and therian communities start to include conversations about tulpas. Cryptozoologist Nick Redfern wrote a new article about how tulpas were introduced to the western world, and why they should not be adopted casually. Redfern's article is about a historical event, not current events.

[Edited April 5, 2025] That link is dead, but here is an archive of it.

Otherkin News

News for all sorts of alterhumans

Entries tagged with history

Upcoming Events and Anniversaries in March 2023

The Alterhuman Archive, a new directory of alterhuman resources

Word "otherkin" turns 24 years old

Article on otherkin, therians in Le Monde news

Redfern tells of a w------ trial in 1879

The history and dangers of tulpas

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