Crytoscopophilia

September 2, 2012

This is a new word for me. I learned it from All Wound Up by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. (I hate to admit it but when I dare to put my knitting needles down I occasionally replace them with books about knitting. But this little entry has nothing to do with knitting. Sorry about the diversion.) And while the word is new, the meaning has applied to me for a very long time.

Crytoscopophilia is the urge to look through people's windows when you pass by their houses. I could be wrong but I would venture to guess that most of you suffer from this same affliction. It's a little like the train wreck syndrome. When I'm walking at night it's usually the light coming through the window that catches my eye. I turn to look and my eye can't help but pass uninvited through the window. I start to notice the program on the TV or the artwork on the wall. Then I realize that I'm looking through the window and I think I should look away but I can't. I know that in a few fleeting seconds I will have walked too far to see anything so I look a little more. I take in the colour of the wall and how it goes so well with the lampshade that cast the light that first caught my attention. I greedily grab as much as I can. And I do it without meaning to. I know I should look away. I just can't help it. It's just so interesting to try and piece a story together when there's so little to go on. The possibilities are endless.

But there is a perfectly acceptable answer to this innocent but still unacceptable behaviour. In just two short weeks the Lunenburg Heritage Society will be putting on their semi-annual fundraiser. On Saturday, September 15, 2012 the Lunenburg Heritage House Tour will be taking place from 9am until 5pm. The theme is all about living and working in a beautiful seaside town. You will be able to walk around town with a full invitation to come into nine different homes, not just look through their windows, and have a look around while you gather all the little details that make up the real story. This is a well attended event so if you're like me and the thought of legitimately peeking into people's homes seems like a great way to spend a Saturday you should quick grab a ticket. They're available at The Knaut-Rhuland House, The Shop on the Corner or online.

I did print the tickets for this event. The full story about those is in my Portfolio under Events.