Twin Peaks Wiki
Register
Advertisement

"This is 'now,' and now will never be again.... We come from the elemental, and return to it. There is change, but nothing is lost. There is much we cannot see – air, for instance, most of the time – but knowing our next breath will follow our last without fail is an act of faith. Is it not? Dark times will always come, as night follows day. A dark age will test us all, each and every one. Trust and do not tremble in the face of the unknown. It shall not remain unknown to you for long. Robert knows this now, as will we all in the sweet by-and-by."

Margaret Lanterman, 1986[src]

Margaret Lanterman (née Coulson), better known as the Log Lady, was a resident of Twin Peaks who was known as such for carrying a cut log with her that she claimed had an agency to be able to perceive events.

To most residents in the town, she was perceived solely as mentally ill as she often spoke in nonsequiturs. However, aside from her confusing speech patterns, she was a shaman who was able to interact with the spiritual world through the log that accurately described multiple events.

Members of the Bookhouse Boys including Sheriff Harry S. Truman and Deputy Hawk recognized the Log Lady as having connections with the spiritual world, with Hawk mentioning that the log held many spirits within it.

Biography[]

Early life and marriage[]

In her childhood, Margaret attended school at Warren G. Harding Elementary. In third grade, she met Robert Jacoby, who would become a life-long friend of hers. Jacoby noted that Margaret was unusually tall for her age, a trait that would follow her throughout life, and was a bit awkward and reserved towards her peers as a result, but he also noticed that beneath her quiet surface, she was quite intelligent and dignified.[1]

MargaretCoulson

A report concerning Margaret's childhood disappearance

On the evening of September 8, 1947, Margaret suddenly disappeared alongside classmates Carl Rodd and Alan Traherne during a school outing. The three children would reappear just as suddenly the next day, September 9, and none of them could offer any coherent account for the hours they have been gone. Margaret, alongside the two other children, was brought to the Calhoun Memorial Hospital. There, she was examined by Dr. Dan Hayward, who noted that she, like the two boys, experienced intense thirst and hunger following her disappearance, but he chalked this up to the fact that they had been lost in the wilderness for several hours. He also noticed that had a pattern of raised skin on the back of her right knee, forming three triangles. Hayward tried to question her about them, but though she complained of feeling slight pain where the marks were, she could apparently not remember where and how she got them. Hayward also noted in his report that Margaret had asked him if he thought "the owl would be coming back," though she would not elaborate on what she meant by this. Hayward speculated that this strange question might be down to her memory being fuzzy as children tended to block out traumatic experiences, though he found it rather strange that the two boys did not seem to remember any details about the night either.[1]

Margaret returned to normal life afterward, but Jacoby quickly discovered that his friend had been marked somehow by whatever experience she had undergone, noticing that after the incident she became less playful and more quiet, internal, and watchful. Though he tried to get Margaret to talk about what had happened, she would not confide in him, but he sensed that she remembered more than she was willing to share.[1]

Margaret attended Twin Peaks High School and graduated in 1958. Jacoby remained friends with Margaret during their years in the high school, and even dated her a couple of times. He noticed that during this time, she kept her serious demeanor from her childhood and appeared observant and self-contained when compared to her adolescent peers. He also noted that she felt no need to engage with artificial entertainment, such as films and books, and appeared puzzled by other people's attempt to escape reality through them. Jacoby remembered one curious incident though, where he had taken Margaret out to see the science-fiction film Invaders from Mars. Margaret had been unusually deeply affected by the film, and she and Jacoby had a long conversation afterwards about the possibility of life on other planets. Jacoby noticed that during the conversation, she had insisted on using the term "life from other places" and had wondered what interest "they" had in us. [1]

After high school, Margaret attended Evergreen University, majoring in Forestry and Wildlife Management. [4] She hoped that her degree could help her find employment in the U.S. Forest Service, but, much to her disappointment, the only job that the Forest Service offered to female applicants at the time was secretarial work. Instead, she took up a job at the Twin Peaks Town Library. She also took up an interest in environmental protection, and would spend a portion of her free time raising money for the Sierra Club.[1]

One spring, Margaret decided to build a cabin in order to save on rent money so she could spend more time for volunteer work. She met Samson "Sam" Lanterman at Haw's Lumber Yard where she was picking up two-by-sixes for the cabin. Sam saw her loading the lumber and offered his assistance. Immediately smitten with each other, they arranged a date for the following Saturday. Exactly a year after they met, Sam proposed marriage near Glastonbury Grove at a spot she referred to as the "Heart of the Forest" and they married one year later at the Chapel-in-the-Woods.[1]

During the ceremony, a thunderstorm brewed and after a lightning strike upon Blue Pine Mountain, a fire alarm sounded during the reception. Sam, the volunteer fire chief, hurriedly left with his father and brothers to fight the blaze, telling Margaret he would not be long. Margaret, still in her wedding dress, went to the Grange Hall, spending all night helping citizens who had evacuated the mountain. In the morning, news came that Sam had died after being swept by a gust of wind into a burning ravine. After being informed, Margaret silently excused herself and changed out of her wedding dress before continuing to help.[1]

Two days later, Margaret buried Sam behind the cabin they had been building together and went to the spot where he had asked her to marry him. She cut a log from a fallen Douglas fir and cradled it in her arms wherever she went.[1]

In late 1983, Margaret was visited by 12-year-old Laura Palmer and told her of owls and several things she knew about her.[5] In November 1986, she gave a eulogy at Robert Jacoby's memorial service.[1]

Murder of Laura Palmer[]

Ll1

On February 18, 1989, Margaret briefly encountered Laura Palmer outside the local roadhouse. Putting her hand to her log and then the stunned Laura's forehead, Margaret intoned: "When this kind of fire starts, it is very hard to put out. The tender boughs of innocence burn first, and the wind rises, and then all goodness is in jeopardy."[6]

Margaret cried and cradled her log the night of February 23 as Laura was murdered.[7]

The next day, she attended a conference held by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, who announced the bureau's takeover of the murder investigation of Laura's murder. Margaret flickered the lights, shushing the citizens in attendance.[8]

The next day, she drank coffee at the Double R Diner when she was greeted by Agent Cooper. She overheard him speaking about Laura and went to him, saying her log saw something the night of the murder. She told him to ask it, but he said nothing and she left.[9]

The Log Lady attended Laura Palmer's funeral two days later.[10]

Shot0003

A few days later, Deputy Hawk, Sheriff Harry S. Truman, Agent Cooper, and Doctor Will Hayward came to her cabin, where she had been waiting for them. She invited them in for tea and cookies and said they were two days late. She told them about her husband, who was a logging man, who "met the devil" in the form of fire the day after their wedding. Hawk then commented that "The wood holds many spirits." She said that her log saw something the night Laura was killed and presented it to Agent Cooper, who asked it what it saw. Margaret talked for it: "my log" described darkness, laughter, owls flying, two men, two girls, flashlights in the woods over the ridge, quiet, and then the footsteps of a man. And then, not long after, she alleged that the log heard the screams of a girl further up over the ridge.[11]

She sat at the Double R Diner several days later, chewing gum, which she spat out and stuck to the wall.[12]

Margaret returned to the diner the next day and sat next to Major Garland Briggs. Norma Jennings poured her a cup of coffee and requested her to start properly disposing of her gum. She then swallowed her current wad of gum and asked for a bear claw. She observed the Major's medals, asking him if he had any pride for his medals, which he denied. Her log then told her a message for Briggs, which she translated to "Deliver the message," which Briggs understood the meaning of.[13]

She went to Agent Cooper and Sheriff Truman days later to tell them, "There are owls in the Roadhouse" and confirmed to Cooper that something was happening. She went to the Roadhouse with them, where she ate many peanuts.[14]

"The opening to a gateway"[]

The Log Lady attended the wedding of Dougie Milford and his new bride, Lana. She commented that she "just [loved] Milford weddings."[15]

Margaret went to the diner a few days later, where she saw Major Briggs, who had a pattern of three triangles behind his ear. She went to the sheriff's station with Briggs, and they told Cooper about the markings on them, hers of the two mountains surrounding Twin Peaks. She also recalled having heard a call of an owl when she received the marking as a girl. Margaret also said she heard the sound before her husband died.[16]

Margaret ate at the diner the next day when Agent Cooper entered with his loud, nearly-deaf superior, Regional Bureau Chief Gordon Cole. She observed as Cole admired Shelly's beauty, and he declared that he could hear Shelly speak, despite his hearing problems. He described it as a miracle, and Margaret asked what was wrong with miracles, declaring her pie to be a miracle.[17]

Margaret attended the Miss Twin Peaks Contest, where choreographer Tim Pinkle cried with joy on her shoulder, upon seeing the contestants. The Log Lady was impersonated by Windom Earle, who was seeking to abduct the winning girl, who turned out to be Annie Blackburn.[18]

Margaret went to the sheriff's station, where Pete Martell accused her of stealing his truck. However, Cooper said Windom Earle was responsible. She brought a jar to Agent Cooper with oil, which her husband had retrieved and called "an opening to a gateway."[19]

Later life[]

By September 2016, Margaret had developed lung cancer[3] and required the use of an oxygen mask. She called the sheriff's department and relayed a message from her log to Deputy Chief Hawk: something was missing and Hawk must find it, something related to Agent Cooper, who had since gone missing. She added that the way Hawk would find it had something to do with his heritage.[20]

She later called Hawk on his cell phone and told him, "the stars turn and a time presents itself," and made an offer for him to stop by her cabin for pie and coffee.[21]

Margaret later called Hawk again with another message, telling him about the presence of electricity and its fading glow. She went on to say that the Truman brothers were Hawk's brothers, as well as the other good men he associated with. She said that the circle was almost complete and for him to "watch and listen to the dream of time and space. It all comes out now, flowing like a river. That which is and is not." Her message culminated in her saying, "Laura is the one."[22]

After feeling that Hawk had found something, Margaret called him again, telling him that there was "fire" where he was going.[23]

She called Hawk once more to announce that she was dying and told him to remember all that she had ever told him, particularly for him to watch for "the one." She soon passed away and the light inside her cabin went out.[2]

Non-canon appearances[]

Saturday Night Live sketch[]

The Log Lady (played by Jan Hooks) goes to Agent Cooper's room at the Great Northern after Leo Johnson confesses to Laura's murder. She tells Cooper that her log says Leo did it and she leaves.

Georgia Coffee Commercials[]

Lost[]

The Log Lady shows up at the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Department to confirm Agent Cooper's praises for Georgia Coffee.[24]

Cherry Pie[]

She shows up at the Double R Diner to again confirm the praise for Georgia Coffee.[25]

A Mystery of "G"[]

She shows up once again to confirm praises for the coffee at the sheriff's station.[26]

The Rescue[]

When Cooper prepares to enter the Black Lodge to find Asami, Margaret says to "watch."[27]

Playing Lynch[]

In David Lynch's project, Psychogenic Fugue, actor John Malkovich plays various roles from Lynch projects, including the Log Lady and Dale Cooper.[28] Among images posted prior to the project's announcement was an advertisement for Lanterman's Essential Oils, presumably related to Margaret Lanterman.

Behind the scenes[]

The Log Lady was played by Catherine E. Coulson, who was previously involved in production of David Lynch's Eraserhead (while married to its star, Jack Nance) and played the titular character in his short film, The Amputee.

The idea for the Log Lady was conceived by Lynch during the production of Eraserhead in the 1970s, when he had intended to do a television series called I'll Test My Log with Every Branch of Knowledge.[29] He presented the concept in such terms, some of it was reused while other ideas were scrapped:

"It's a half-hour television show starring Catherine as the lady with the log. Her husband has been killed in a forest fire and his ashes are on the mantelpiece, with his pipes and his sock hat. He was a woodsman. But the fireplace is completely boarded up. Because she now is very afraid of fire. And she has a small child, but she doesn't drive, so she takes cabs. And each show would start with her making a phone call to some expert in one of the many fields of knowledge. Maybe on this particular day she calls a dentist, but she makes the appointment for her log. And the log goes in the dental chair and gets a little bib and chain and the dentist X-rays the log for cavities, goes through the whole thing, and the son is also there. Because she is teaching her son through his observations of what the log is going through. And then sometimes they go to a diner and they never get to where they're going. That was the idea."

The character was an unscripted addition to the Twin Peaks pilot. While filming, Lynch recalled his previous idea and asked Coulson to be in the pilot. She was not originally intended to be a recurring character. Lynch commented, "Something caught on, you know, with the appearance of Catherine with that log and it went from there."[30]

Coulson briefly parodied her role as the Log Lady on the USA Network series Psych in "Dual Spires," the series' Twin Peaks tribute episode that featured numerous Twin Peaks actors. In the scene, she appears to be talking to a log, weirding out series protagonists Shawn and Gus: it eventually turns out she was actually talking to her grandson, to which Shawn and Gus express relief.

Coulson appeared posthumously in the 2017 series. Lynch revealed in an interview that her scenes were shot mere days before Coulson passed away, remarking, "Certain things came together just in the nick of time."[31]

Trivia[]

LogLadyIntro

The Log Lady in the introduction for Episode 15

  • When the series was syndicated to Bravo, Lynch created new Log Lady introductions for each episode. They range in length from under a minute to about three minutes.
  • Interestingly, Margaret's scar presented in The Secret History of Twin Peaks is the marking on Major Briggs as rearranged by Agent Cooper, not of the Log Lady.
  • Her husband is thought by some to be the Woodsman seen in the Meeting Room with other members of The Black Lodge.
  • It is thought that the spirit of her husband resides in her log due to Hawk's comment about the "wood holding many spirits" and seeing how Josie's soul is trapped in a wood knob in the Great Northern Hotel. It can be noted that it was not the personal opinion of the Log Lady's performer Catherine Coulson who considered that the log was more of memento of the Log Lady's late husband.[32]
  • The Curious Woman in the Fat Trout Trailer Park has the same sweater as her, indicating perhaps a Deer Meadow alter-ego, as the town itself is shown as a twisted version of Twin Peaks in the movie.
  • The rule book for the Twin Peaks Murder Mystery Game erroneously states that Margaret witnessed Laura's murder rather than her log being a witness.

Appearances[]

References[]

Advertisement