Horror Eyes

I came across this sight by the roadside.

Innocent?  Look again.

How about now?

Creepy Eyes

I was out on my usual evening walk when I noticed this shadow on the ground.

In my mind's eye:

Related post:  Monster Eyes In The Sidewalk

Goo-Goo Eyes

on a subway station air purifier.  A conspiracy theorist could well suspect that this is part of the government's first steps in getting the public accustomed to seeing robotic interfaces everywhere -- the ultimate aim being digital ID and facial recognition in every aspect of life.  Think that's extremist thinking?  Today I read about how China has actually started using facial recognition tech for dispensing toiler paper(!) in some public restrooms to prevent random people stealing toilet paper -- apparently that's been a significant problem in some places.

Maybe I'll Call This

the "Argus Tree".

[Argus Panoptes ("Argus, the all-eyes") was a giant with many eyes (a hundred of them, in some versions) in Greek mythology;  he was the ideal guard, able to see in all directions and only some of the eyes closing to sleep at any time;  however, after he was set to watch Io, one of philandering Zeus' many loves (disguised by Zeus as a heifer), by a jealous Hera, Zeus sent Hermes to lull him to sleep with a long boring story (or a sweet song, depending on who you read), and once all of Argus' eyes closed, Hermes hacked off his head]

Related post:  "I've Got More Eyes Than You--"

A Pair Of Roguish Eyes--

 

Dryad

I  was struck with wonderment at the sight of this tree, surveying me with its unblinking, intense gaze as if to stare me down.

But it was only after I'd taken the initial shots and walked around it that I realized that this was no ordinary tree -- it was the habitation of a dryad!

In olden days it might well have been -- very likely would have been -- an object of worship, as a guardian spirit of a village perhaps, or maybe a forest god.  Tiger hunters and wild ginseng harvesters would have made small offerings on a makeshift altar, barren wives would have prayed for its blessing.  But today the busy pedestrians passing by with hurried steps pay it nary a glance.  No wonder it's starved for a feeding, waiting with its mouth open.  As I, too, walked away I was left in a wistful mood.

Myths need sustenance, just like mortal humans.

Related post:  "Mandrake Root"

Shadows Have Eyes

Optical Illusion

I walked past this bakery and, just for a moment, thought those loaves were eyeballs.  A bit startling, to be sure.

Under Watch II

That eye...

Under Watch

Now I can't un-see it.

Черные глаза

Today I had occasion to experience something that is strange and unusual, perhaps even unique -- a girl with the most extraordinary eyes.

I was rattling along on the line 3 subway train.  At a stop I don't remember, this young woman got on with her mama or auntie (maybe) and sat across from me.  She was pretty attractive and of course I noticed^.  At first I thought she might be a foreigner because of a certain cast to her face, but maybe she wasn't, as the older woman she was with was quite 'ordinary' looking (of course, I don't mean that in a derogatory way).  Anyway, I kept stealing glances at her because -- well, you know, just because^ -- but didn't really note anything unusual beyond her pretty features;  but then she turned to glance at me, and I was transfixed!

Her eyes were... I don't know how to describe what I saw.  They seemed amazingly deep and dark -- at least that's how they impressed me at the time -- it was almost like looking at the big black eyes of old-time cartoon characters, only "blacker than black".  That's the only way I can describe it -- her eyes were "blacker than black".  What the heck, I was just spellbound.  How is it possible to encounter something like this in real life, on a living person?  On a noisy subway train full of distractions, no less?  After that first shocking eye-lock I kept looking at her, and yes, even when she wasn't looking at me directly, her eyes seemed huge and "blacker than black".

I don't know, maybe she was one of those human-disguised extraterrestrials the ET-nuts are always going on about;  or maybe I was recognizing someone I knew in a past life (my go-to explanation when a stranger stands out from a crowd).

Call me sentimental, sure, maybe even kitchy, but it may well be that similar collective experiences of others before me have resulted in this well-known song, "Очи чёрные" (Dark Eyes):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quA5c2oOa_8

Eye In The Sky

A pretty complete-looking eye, too.  Even has the thin but crucial shadow below the eyelid.

Related Post:  Looker;  I've Got More Eyes Than You;  Amusing - Or Alarming?;  Rainy Day

A Strange Image

A feather floats above a pair of eyes -- one of them is natural and hovers in the sky; the other is artificial and planted in the earth.

I do not remember taking this photograph. Perhaps it is a waking dream I had.

"I've Got More Eyes Than You--"

All I can say to people like this is, "You know what happened to *Argus..."

*He had a hundred eyes -- then he lost his head.