The Call of the Void - Do you hear it?

Many people have experienced an eerie impulse known as "l’appel du vide" or the "Call of the Void." It’s that sudden urge to jump when standing at the top of a building or to swerve off the road while driving. I first encountered this feeling during the Ranger ride at MGM. As the two arms of the Kamikaze Ranger swayed back and forth, I felt a temptation to fall. Suspended in the air, I imagined one of the arms breaking, leading to instant death. I wondered how free it would feel to plunge into the abyss.

When I returned home, I googled this strange feeling and found that it's a common phenomenon. The French term "l’appel du vide" describes these intrusive thoughts. The impulse to jump off a building, drown at the beach, or even hit someone with a car is due to the Call of the Void. This happens when our brain misinterprets our fear signals, suggesting the worst possible actions. Fortunately, these remain just thoughts, dark and intrusive, because our survival instincts override them.

Sigmund Freud called this concept the "Death Drive" or "Death Wish." He suggested that our life drive, Eros, is countered by a self-destructive death instinct called Thanatos. Thanatos is the subconscious desire to return to an inorganic state. There is "an urge in organic life to restore an earlier state of things." "The aim of all life is death." While humans are drawn to death and destruction, the desire to live ultimately prevails, with the underlying wish for death representing a desire for peace.

In those moments, I wonder if we become possessed by another persona or alter ego. The thoughts don’t feel like my own, as if another voice speaks for me. Perhaps it is the siren's song or the Pied Piper luring us somewhere unknown. The Call of the Void remains a haunting mystery in my mind. The Call of the Void.. Do you hear it?