Rings appearing on Blacktip Island roads this week have residents concerned about supernatural dangers. (photo courtesy of Leah Shore)
An outbreak of multicolored rings on Blacktip Island’s roadways this week has many of the small Caribbean island’s residents worrying about otherworldly dangers for them and the island.
“Those faery rings, you step inside them, no telling what’ll happen,” photographer Leah Shore said. “They crop up every few decades and’re always trouble. You disappear for years. Or forever. It happens all the time, you just don’t hear about it.
“They’ve been a danger since the early days of the island’s settlement,” Shore said. “The Island Chronicles talk about them on dirt trails, and how many unwary settlers were lost in the beginning. Now, with these rings all over again, folks have to be careful where they step so they don’t get caught. And it’s made a dangerous situation with drivers weaving all over the road to avoid them.”
Others noted broader concerns about the circles.
“Big picture, these rings all over mean it’s gonna be a bad hurricane year,” meteorologist Rayne Doppler said. “Every time they show up, we get whacked by a big storm. The island faeries know, and this’s their way of warning us danger’s coming. And the more colors there are, the worse the storms’ll be.”
Others scoffed at the idea of spirits making the rings.
“Bunch of tomfoolery. No such thing as faeries,” Rusty Bollard said. “Them circles were made by duppies. Angry duppies, trying to lure us out on the road when it’s dark. Couldn’t pay me enough to walk those roads at night, even with a bagful of rice grains to throw down to keep the duppies at bay. Y’all laugh all you want, but that ol’ rolling calf ain’t gonna get me!”
Others focused on non-supernatural causes.
“There’s no elves or pixies making these things. It’s simple science,” geologist Rosie Blenny said. “There’s simply too much nitrogen in the asphalt. That imbalance creates an environment where micro-fungi can thrive. The road department needs to sprinkle some phosphorus on them to even out the pH. They’ll be gone in a month, and people can stop freaking out like scared school kids.”
Island officials say plans are in the works to remedy the situation.
“First thing next week we’ll have the tar truck crew out spraying over all these rings,” public works chief Stoney MacAdam said. “No boojum nonsense out there can stand up to a layer of hot, liquid tar. And any spooks try to dance there afterwards, well, they’ll get stuck in tar, won’t they?”
The Blacktip Times 