Strange Solace

Beware traveller, the townsfolk whisper.

For the tall thin tower is not a place for mortals to visit.

There is a reason the trees stand like sentinels, guarding the tower.

It is to keep curious minds like yours out and to keep other things in.

It is not just a tower.

There are spirits that linger.

There is a sorcerer, who once took refuge in the tower to practice her forbidden magic. My grandmother said she tore a hole in the fabric that separates the living and the dead.

There are the whispering children. You can hear the echos of their footsteps as they run up and down the tower stairs, and the delicate sound of their laughter on the night-time breeze. Do not let the innocent sound draw you in.

Some have seen the flicker of a lantern, they say it belongs the phantom watchman. He tirelessly keeps his vigil of the tower’s perimeter.

Not forgetting the Lady in White. What haunted tower is complete without a Lady in White? When she is in residence you can feel the air around the tower turn to ice. Some say she is searching for love, but I say she is searching for revenge. 

Of course, it is true. You may call yourself a woman of science, but you are small minded if you believe that everything in this world can be categorised and measured. If you ignore the truths beyond your understanding.

Copyright: image believed to be in the public domain and used for creative, non-commercial purposes. Vintage postcard of San Giovanni di Bellagio, Lake Como. Postmarked 1936.