Does Cain Still Walk the Earth?

Now, this one is a bit far-out and I freely admit that. However, I also posit that this is only a theory and not even a completely serious one, at that. Serious to the point that it's a possibility, but not to the point that I am convinced it explains or "solves" anything. I am just putting this out there because it has occurred to me often enough that I wanted to share it and also because I'd love to hear what anyone else has to say about it:

When discussing the Devil's Footprints phenomena, I had mistakenly thought there were only a couple (maybe three) recorded instances. I knew of the Jersey Devil and the night in England some years prior. However, research has turned-up at least one other, credible report and several other accounts. While some of the others are not exactly in keeping with the general theme of the story, they are still close enough that they are included in the Devil's Footprints lore; we are going to except those for this immediate discussion, though we will include them in future posts for completeness.

We are not excluding them because they present information which could prove contrary to what I am about to suggest, but more specifically because - as I noted - they contain information which lay outside the other, accepted and very credible, reports. Not to mention I am not too impressed with some of them and question their veracity.

In Genesis, Cain rose up and slew his brother, Abel. While this is after the Original Sin, it is before God sent down the Ten Commandments and much has been discussed of this story. In particular is the discussion of why God chose to punish Cain as He did.

In Genesis 4, verse 10-@14, God sentenced Cain to walk the Earth forever, then clearly marked him so none would kill him.

Again, no one really knows why God did this, though theories abound (my favorite - and one I was not aware existed outside my own, twisted mind until recently - is that God felt He shared some of the blame, as Cain could not have known that smiting his brother would lead to his death - according to the Bible, no one had died before this), but it has been alluded to time and again in legend, literature, and lore regarding immortal Evil - such as vampirism.

In the cases of the Devil's Footprints, the reports say that while a few people witnessed something, all witnesses saw tracks resembling a single, shoed hoofprint in straight lines.

Yes, it may be of silly, but hear me out: what if Cain did exist? What if Cain cannot die? What if Cain lost one leg somewhere throughout the last, oh, 5000 years or so? Living the way he must have to, he wouldn't bother learning to sew or cobble, but he may have hammered a horseshoe into his feet (now foot) - it eliminates the need for footwear and is suitable for all climates.

But let us go further and separate the Biblical from the idea: what if there is a unique creature - meaning to say, only one of its kind - that is simply immortal? It can lose limbs, but cannot die? Would it be intelligent enough to shoe its own extremity or even see the need for it? Is it completely unreasonable to think that, at some point along the line, someone could have captured or imprisoned the beast and shoed it? Maybe in hopes of enslaving it as a beast of burden or a paid attraction. Maybe it lost its other leg when it was so captured?

Granted, this may seem like a "silly" theory or discussion, but things like this are part of what interest me in the paranormal: it makes you think - no matter how "silly" - and there's no way to just outright dismiss such a general concept, as the entire phenomena remains Unexplained.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008