A “thin place” is commonly thought to be somewhere the “veil” between our world and what may be on the other side is easily navigable. This inherent “thinness” results in cryptic activity and eventually a thin region becomes highly associated with the paranormal. A few well-known thin places include the Appalachia Mountains, and Sedona, Arizona.

While I remain a hopeful skeptic concerning the feasibility of inter-dimensional hotspots, I do think the concept of thin places is noteworthy—especially when we broaden the horizon. When a “thin place” becomes a categorical framework for somewhere that feels “other,” ethereal, or allows us to easily escape the ever-present feeling of doom, anxiety, and busyness I think we get closer to experiencing the mixed-bag of emotional responses that a thin place is supposed conjure. Viewed in this light, a thin place is simply anywhere The System feels less proximate. Cozy homes, stunning waterfalls, peaceful farms, starry nights, warm beaches, glassy lakes, messy libraries, packed record shops, mom and pop restaurants, artist’s studios, eclectic coffee shops, well-kept gardens, and much more all have the potential to become thin places—somewhere The System is less felt.

And while, many paranormal enthusiasts stop there, I think it’s best to talk about the foil of a thin place which, according to me, would be a “thick place,” somewhere The System is most felt. A place where the anxiety, pressure, corruption, and violence of modern society is palpable and inescapable. A thick place is somewhere we can’t wait to leave, somewhere we avoid, somewhere mythologized as “hell on earth.” Places like these include sound-proof call booths, sterile board-rooms, the local DMV, government aid offices, grid-locked traffic, a long line at a chain restaurant, a near capacity parking garage, hospital waiting rooms, university administration offices, call centers, multinational factory plants, data centers, war-zones, refugee camps, government housing, free and poorly ran clinics, violent protests, clear cut forests, polluted rivers, and many more a thick, soupy, places that we can only tolerate for small amounts of time.

With the difference now laid before us we have a choice. We can either choose to avoid thick places or instead, make more places thin.