Christopher Knight: spiritual contemplator or insidious criminal? (8 photos)

Have you ever had the urge to drop everything and get out somewhere in the wilderness to be alone with nature and enjoy the silence and the complete absence of society? But then comes understanding: and family, work, friends, pets - how are they? Yes, in after all, it is also very difficult to live without a soul and a network.





And this guy morally turned out to be a tough nut to crack. After all, he realized his plan and for 27 years enjoyed peace and solitude in the forests state of Maine. Christopher Knight had the most reclusive character ever life and did not obscure the landscape to anyone. But not everything in the history of the ascetic is so clearly.



Chris

Back in 1986, the guy was covered by a crisis. He categorically does not I wanted to live like everyone else. Study, work - everything is like everyone else. And then you have to create a family, raise children and die safely, running like a squirrel in wheel. What's the point of this? And Chris solved the problem radically - he went into forest and became a hermit.

Knight was not married. Relations with parents were calm, but cool, so they were not worried about the disappearance of their son and did not started reporting to the police. Moreover, the guy was adult.

And Knight built an improvised camp surrounded by dense forest and giant boulders. Here it is - happiness.

Double bottom of one hermit



hermit camp

But you won't be full by singing cicadas and contemplating sunsets. AND I had to deal with household issues somehow. And Christopher did. Trite - made his way to a holiday village not far from his camp and mined there all sorts of things to meet basic needs. And even goodies like radio, books and portable games.

A man was cooking on a camping stove, propane for which stole in the same country houses. Bathed regularly, even in the cold water, shaved his beard and cut his hair in case of unforeseen meetings with people.

The owners of the houses were perplexed about the missing things. But, firstly, Chris took only a minimum and a little everywhere. And disappear could be attributed to the forgetfulness of the owners themselves. Well, you never know where ran out of batteries, a pack of tea or a book? And, secondly, before going to forest, he worked in a company that installed and maintained security systems. Therefore, bypassing protection was a trifling matter for him: Christopher knew everything from the inside.



Shot from a surveillance camera

It is clear that at one fine moment the inhabitants of the village realized that things are dirty. After all, the number of thefts in total exceeded 1000 episodes. Although the hen pecked at the grain. Just who was it? a sophisticated lone robber, a whole gang or even a yeti or some another forest spirit?

How much the rope does not twist



Knight was caught primitively, on the hot: in 2013 he was caught during another robbery, Sergeant Terry Hughes. Although the hermit became for decades gurus on silent creep and disappear, but, apparently relaxed.



On trial

The court verdict for numerous thefts turned out to be more than mild: only 7 months of imprisonment and compensation to victims in the amount of 2 thousand dollars. Even the prosecutor noted at sentencing that more cruel punishment would be superfluous. The judge agreed with him. Knight required to complete a program for people who used illicit drugs and suffering from mental disorders. And the man returned to society and even got a job with his brother.

The story of a voluntary hermit interested the journalist Michael Finkel, who, after meeting with Knight, published an article, and then book Stranger in the Woods: The Unusual Story of the Last Present hermit”, dedicated to the Hermit of the Northern Pond.



According to the latest data, Chris leads a quiet, solitary lifestyle. in rural Maine. And apparently happy. After all, a certain he lived a solid piece of his life as he wanted - happily - enjoying silence, doing nothing and contemplation.