"The House Is Alive..." ends the album, and the last words of the song are key to understanding the implicit humor of the pAper chAse: "let's cast a mirror right back at fear/let's show this world we were here."
Throughout the album, ghosts are described in all their bizarre glory; spirits vow vengeance against child abusers, curse the Almighty, and tell parents that their kids suck, all the while taunting we the living with rattling chains and operatic moaning. Yet to fully understand Now You Are One of Us, it takes multiple listenings and the realization that John Congelton is only trying encourage listeners to gain power over fear.
In this song, the ghost narrator wants to haunt a specific target: a perverted "sick sexual" serial killer, who embodies all that is wrong with society. But, as with all pAper chAse songs, it is not necessarily meant to taken literally. Instead, Congelton is "casting a mirror right back at fear," summing up any and all earthly worries, and saying "don't be afraid." It's brilliant satire, but the real brilliance is how this band uses ghosts and the fear of death to affirm life.
"The House Is Alive..." ends the album, and the last words of the song are key to understanding the implicit humor of the pAper chAse: "let's cast a mirror right back at fear/let's show this world we were here."
Throughout the album, ghosts are described in all their bizarre glory; spirits vow vengeance against child abusers, curse the Almighty, and tell parents that their kids suck, all the while taunting we the living with rattling chains and operatic moaning. Yet to fully understand Now You Are One of Us, it takes multiple listenings and the realization that John Congelton is only trying encourage listeners to gain power over fear.
In this song, the ghost narrator wants to haunt a specific target: a perverted "sick sexual" serial killer, who embodies all that is wrong with society. But, as with all pAper chAse songs, it is not necessarily meant to taken literally. Instead, Congelton is "casting a mirror right back at fear," summing up any and all earthly worries, and saying "don't be afraid." It's brilliant satire, but the real brilliance is how this band uses ghosts and the fear of death to affirm life.