Rawhead

Publisher’s description: Rawhead is one of many folkloric bogeymen used to frighten children into obedience. In our numerous and varied myths, monsters emerge from cultural shadows, not only as instruments of fear or control, but also as mirrors of our shared humanity. It’s true that figures like La Llorona, Rawhead, and the Windigo serve as containers for our anxieties, cruelties, and moral compromises. However, they also function as conduits for resilience, truth, and connection. Monsters reveal to us what has been hidden or ignored for far too long. They force us to confront realities that are often far more disturbing than what lurks in the dark.

More than simply evoking fear, myths and folklore prepare us to defend our humanity and confirm that monsters can be destroyed. They serve as lessons on witnessing, enduring, and resisting. They remind us the evils of the past always echo forward and that we must face them to free ourselves from their hauntings.

To name an online journal Rawhead is to acknowledge that the endurance and evolution of great art and literature has always provoked fear in those who would weaponize their power to feed on society. To give this journal a monstrous name is a deliberate act and one that reflects what tyrants, profiteers, and oppressors fear most: a public that is awake, literate, always connected, and unafraid to speak. The arts have always been a threat to the real monsters among us. The work Rawhead publishes is only one of countless forms in which resistance can take.

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