I became irrelevant.”įor most of us, isolation is dreadful. There was no audience, no one to perform for. But here’s the tricky thing: when I applied my increased perception to myself, I lost my identity.
“Solitude bestows an increase in something valuable. “Isolation is the raw material of greatness” In some sense, Christopher Knight’s story is not much different: although he probably wouldn’t like to be branded as a source of wisdom, he does have some interesting insights into isolation, boredom and society. In history, hermits were often regarded as wise since they could observe society from the outside in and provide knowledge seekers with new insight. The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel Whilst in custody Michael Finkel, the author of The Stranger in the Woods, sets out to contact him to learn more about the intriguing story. Needless to say, he didn’t write any of his wishes down – he couldn’t risk it being a trap.īut after 27 years, and repeated and increased efforts to catch him, he was finally apprehended by a local guard. In fact, after a few years of this, people would start hanging shopping lists outside their cabins, asking the hermit to write down what he wanted to have. Because of the thefts everyone knew that someone was living in the woods, since only food and basic supplies were ever stolen, and everything of value was left behind. All in all, more than a thousand burglaries were recorded. In winter he wouldn’t even leave his camp because of the potential risk that his footsteps would be visible in the snow.īut how did he manage to survive? Here is where the story gets interesting: he raided nearby cabins and camps for food and supplies. He learned how to move silently throughout the forest, relying on experience to guide him in the night. He didn’t light a fire, not even during the cold winter, because he feared that someone might be able to see the smoke. Throughout the decades he managed to avoid detection, taking care to never leave any trace behind. He didn’t tell his family, nor anyone else, and after a while he was presumed dead. When he was twenty years old he took off into the woods to live there permanently without any contact with society. This book describes the story of Christopher Knight who did exactly that. Most of us have probably had the urge every now and then to escape society – to move somewhere closer to nature. What happened in that time, and how was he able to survive for that long?
During all those years he hasn’t returned to society, and has lived in the harsh climate of Northern Maine.
27 years later he is found and caught raiding a pantry of a summer camp.
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