SCOTT LUDWIG: Similarities of the places where evil lurks

Everywhere you look, evil is lurking. Haddonfield. Elm Street. Camp Crystal Lake.

If those names aren’t familiar to you, then you must not be a fan of horror movies. Because if you were, you would recognize them as the stalking grounds of three of the more prominent and prolific cinematic monsters of the last 50 years. Prominent in the sense they’re known far and wide; prolific in the sense of their respective body counts.

These are the places where evil lurks:

— The masked Michael Myers roaming the streets of Haddonfield, intent on killing family members and anyone else who dares to cross his path.

— Disfigured and burned serial killer Freddie Krueger haunting the dreams of teenagers living on Elm Street, before murdering them in their nightmares.

— The hockey-masked Jason Voorhees seeking revenge for his mother’s death — on anyone who dares set foot at Camp Crystal Lake.

Here’s another place where evil lurks: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. It’s a big white house. You can’t miss it. Look for an oversized oval office. Evil sits behind a big oak desk. His face is orange: no mask or disfigurement is necessary.

Michael Myers, Freddie Krueger and Jason Voorhees crossed over to the dark side because they were hell-bent on getting revenge. Their intended targets were specific, but their reasons for doing what they did were immaterial. Evil doesn’t need a reason.

Whereas Donald Trump’s first time in the White House was mostly about lining his pockets, this time he shares the motivation of our three cinematic villains: vengeance. Taking it one step further, all four have the innate ability to do what they do … because they are void of a soul.

Which leads to this: a sampling of the targets on the president’s current Revenge Tour. As you examine the names on this list, you can almost smell the evil:

— Barack Obama, whom Trump wants tried by “military tribunal.”

— Senator Adam Schiff, who Trump refers to as “the enemy from within.”

— The “evil, sick, and crazy” Nancy Pelosi.

— Former Rep. Liz Cheney, who Trump considers to be “guilty of treason” for her involvement in the Jan. 6 Committee

— General Mark Milley, who in Trump’s opinion “should be executed.”

— CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC (for fact-checking him in a debate) and any other news media outlets Trump believes engages in spreading lies about him and his administration and therefore allegedly distorting the truth. (You know, like what Fox News does.)

— Joe Biden and his entire “crime family.” (Just like the Trumps, except they’re not guilty.)

— Kamala Harris, who should be prosecuted for her actions concerning the border.

— Special council Jack Smith, who Trump believes should be “thrown out of the country.”

— New York Attorney General Letitia James (who should be prosecuted herself), justice Arthur Engoron (who should be prosecuted as well for being a “corrupt political hack”) and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (who also should face prosecution). In short: You prosecute me, I prosecute you. (It’s good to be king, right?)

— Anyone, and he means anyone – lawyers, political operatives, donors, illegal voters, corrupt election officials, the guy up the street selling snow cones – involved in the 2020 election fraud. They all need to receive “long prison sentences” for their (in his own depraved mind) crimes.

— Jail sentences for members of the supporting cast, to include Reps. Bennie Thompson and Jamie Raskin, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, and his very own vice president his first time in office, Mike Pence.

All of Trump’s attacks, of course, are unwarranted. That’s another thing they have in common with the carnage caused by Myers, Krueger, and Voorhees (forgive the ambulance-chasing law firm vibe).

Prior to his inauguration, billionaires Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg would have been on this list as well. But now that they’ve both “kissed the ring,” (as Kevin McCarthy did publicly at Mar-a-Lardo back in 2021), they’re on good terms with the president.

For now, anyway. When you put yourself that close to where evil lurks, there’s a really strong chance that bad things are sure to follow. Just ask any horror movie fan what happened in Haddonfield, Elm Street, and atCamp Crystal Lake.

And if I were Elon Musk, I’d be looking over my shoulder right about now. The honeymoon appears to be over.

“I don’t know what word in the English language — I can’t find one — applies to people who are willing to sacrifice the literal existence of organized human life so they can put a few more dollars into highly stuffed pockets. The word “evil” doesn’t even begin to approach it.” — Noam Chomsky

Scott Ludwig is an Albany Herald columnist and independent writer/author who lives in Senoia. All of his books can be found on Amazon.