A specially chilly challenge for #writephoto this Halloween, from Sue Vincent…

Hookham Woods

Hookham Woods is over one hundred years old. There are many legends attached to it, stories passed down through families. If you should come across the Way Stone standing six feet tall, covered in beautiful green moss I hope you have read some of these tales before you decide to follow where it points.

You may walk yourself straight into hell.

One story tells us about a Mary Clark who had arranged to meet her lover and never returned. So stay away from the woods on the 13^th June. She waits by the Way Stone, seemingly needing help. She waits for someone sensitive enough to see her. Go near her at great risk, for the soul keepers surround her, unseen by human eye. They keep themselves alive by sucking the life force from the souls Mary leads to them. They have promised Mary that after years in their service she will be set free.

But her freedom never comes. She hopes by saving the people, she will save herself and be reunited with her lover. Mary has seen him a few times and knows he is trying to help by sending people the wrong way. They have no idea how long this will take, but there are only two soul eaters left, the last of their kind.

The soul eaters stand at different spots. These two have learnt to share what comes their way. Many of the bodies they discard are never found.  Mary knows the Soul eaters are losing strength, she feels their hold on her is slipping away with each person she leads away from the Way Stone. The young couple with two children would feed them for another year. In desperation, they have started to take animals that stray near. It was hard for Mary to keep animals at a distance.

Mary will have to return next year, held in limbo until the 13^th June when she will try to rid herself of them.

©Anita Dawes