{"id":92094,"date":"2015-11-18T14:40:02","date_gmt":"2015-11-18T19:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=92094"},"modified":"2015-11-18T14:46:55","modified_gmt":"2015-11-18T19:46:55","slug":"put-your-antlers-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2015\/11\/18\/put-your-antlers-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Put Your Antlers On"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

An Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, ca. 1900.<\/p><\/div>\n

These days I\u2019m not really one for flash mobs, ubiquitous improv, or other anodyne, faux-spontaneous acts of pranking and merrymaking. I mean, you do you\u2014I\u2019ll be over here, surly and unwacky. I think it\u2019s because a part of me knows I could have gone in that direction, very easily; with one slight twist of fate or genetics, I might be riding the subway in my underpants right now.\u00a0It is very nearly in my blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But if there\u2019s one flash mob in the entire history of the world that needed to exist, it\u2019s this one: an Abbots Bromley Horn Dance<\/a> sprung on a bunch of unsuspecting New Englanders. I\u2019d be happy to spearhead such an effort myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be honest: one might wish that the ancient rite\u2014consisting of stags, a fool, a bowman, and sundry other pagan players marching to a traditional minor tune\u2014had a few more spectators. Can we get a Bromley in Penn Station? Would that arouse too much suspicion?<\/p>\n

I mean, one must be careful with such things. When I forced all my friends to do the Abbots Bromley in a high-school dance concert while wearing papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9 staghorns and tunics, I wasn\u2019t under the illusion it was a random act of kindness. I think I may have misunderstood, though, who the joke was really on. Which is to say: me. Which is to say: I am currently sporting pants.<\/p>\n

Sadie Stein is contributing editor of <\/em>The Paris Review\u00a0and the\u00a0<\/em>Daily\u2019s correspondent.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These days I\u2019m not really one for flash mobs, ubiquitous improv, or other anodyne, faux-spontaneous acts of pranking and merrymaking. I mean, you do you\u2014I\u2019ll be over here, surly and unwacky. I think it\u2019s because a part of me knows I could have gone in that direction, very easily; with one slight twist of fate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13115],"tags":[20254,20253,9691],"class_list":["post-92094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-our-daily-correspondent","tag-abbots-bromley-horn-dance","tag-flash-mobs","tag-pranks"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPrank Idea: Abbots Bromley Horn Dance<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"November 18, 2015 \u2013 These days I\u2019m not really one for flash mobs, ubiquitous improv, or other anodyne, faux-spontaneous acts of pranking and merrymaking. 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