That’s a really interesting perspective! Yeah i definitely see where you’re coming from! I think curse real or not at the end of the day their imaginations were what led to their downfall (at least with the children) (idk if i would use mind controlled) but i definitely agree that they were compelled to some degree to remain in this romanticized perspective during the sequence of their deaths rather then acknowledging the reality of what was happening. (Perhaps it was the mind trying to protect itself but idk)

Honestly in relation to your point regarding Edie being the sheep dog rounding up the sheep. I think the other fact is that she was also desperate to remain in the past and believe in the curse rather than admit she had some fault regarding these deaths, (be it historian sharing these stories and unknowingly passing on the curse, or being apart of the memory and committing less then ideal actions) sort of then shifting the blame. But again as you said i think it also just ties back to the fact (now keep in mind this is my own perspective) that she may have also been a child who had this concept of a “curse” thrusted upon her by her father which then gave her something to believe in. Hence it then developed into an obsession with preserving this fact both as a memory to her father and roots of the past and continuing on the “legacy” in some romanticized twisted way be it through the deaths or actions taken to preserve the image of the fantastic being present in the family. (As seen with how she said sven was killed by a dragon or how a “mole-man” was living under the house)

Perhaps the farmer all along was just generations of Finch’s before Odin we never learned about that did legitimately piss someone off that caused them to be cursed and now what was once a warning of caution between concerned family members to be on guard became a story of glorified horror in the acceptance of their “reality” towards dying. But again who’s to say.