Rattlesnakes at My Door
February 20, 2026 at 09:41PMElsa Pearl explores our innate fear of snakes and the almost-always dire fate of rattlesnakes who pop up across American literature for Oxford American, as she recalls her own encounters with timber rattlesnakes on her Appalachian homestead. Feeling horrible after killing a large snake near a storage shed, she knew she needed to adjust her approach when three more appeared in its place, basking in the sun. Would it be possible, she wondered, to create an environment for peaceful coexistence with her deadly-but-docile storage shed denizens?
We kept the grass around the house short and watched our step. M carved me a lovely, smooth snake stick from a young locust tree. In the woods, he found a perfectly formed fallen sycamore stick with a curved top handle. We wore knee-high boots for added protection.
We watched our springhouse population grow to five.
Black timber rattlers came, along with a golden one; olive and brown variations appeared as well. They could be monochrome or braided with color, as variable in appearance as cats. Among them, we began to recognize characters, personalities, and friendships. Two solid black rattlesnakes always curled up together. Unable to tell them apart, we named them both Aphex Twin. Hiss Golden Messenger, our biggest, most brilliant snake, preferred the company of a tiny garter snake called Snake Friend. Old Dirty Bastard, dusty and dull, was more of a loner.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2026/02/20/rattlesnakes-at-my-door/
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