The Witch Of Wookey Hole

The legend of the Witch of Wookey Hole had always been a popular scary story to tell, especially for children. The story of evil witch who scared off one's true love morphed into a darker tale of murder and betrayal as we grew older.

I never believed in the legend, not even as a child. I never believed any of the legends and stories my friends would tell, trying to spook each other. They always sounded silly and unbelievable. As I got older, I developed a frustration with such tales. Why bother telling silly stories that weren't true? In my opinion, there was no point.

Even when my best friend was convinced, swore up and down until he was blue in the face, that it had happened to his uncle's cousin's nephew, I didn't believe him. Surely it was just an excuse to hide the fact that he'd been dumped. If witches were real, why would they bother themselves with the relationships of humans anyway? It wasn't until I met Lucille that I became a firm believer.

Lucille was amazing. She was gorgeous, she was funny, she was kind and caring, and she had a wild streak that only came out after I'd known her for a year, and it only made me love her even more. I was lucky enough that she felt the same way about me. We moved in together and spent another year in bliss before I finally gathered the couarge to ask her to stay with me for the rest of our lives, and she said yes!

It was during our engagement party that I discovered just how much Lucille loved old legends. I'd known before that she enjoyed them, as she was constantly searching for one that I would believe. After we'd had our speeches, Lucille suggested that we start a storytelling circle. Now I wasn't really keen on the idea, for obvious reasons, but for Lucille, I agreed.

We all gathered around, drinks in hand, and used "spin the bottle" to pick who went first. After a couple of mediocre stories, it was Lucille's turn. She smiled at me before she began her story. It was a tale of two lovers, whose love was powerful enough to break boundaries. When the Witch of Wookey Hole discovered their love, she worked a charm to destroy it. When the two next met and kissed, the man sucked the life from his love, and she shriveled away to nothing. The Witch cackled and laughed and vowed that any love that came close to theirs would be destroyed just the same.

There was silence after her story. I looked at her, expecting to see her eyes twinkling with laughter as she normally did, but her face was grave and serious. Someone laughed uneasily and said surely not! Lucille looked away, and told everyone that that story had been passed down through her family for generations as a warning, after her great great grandfather had lost his first true love the same way. After an awkward silence, Lucille spun the bottle for the next storyteller, who luckily chose a light-hearted and amusing tale to break the mood.

Something in the way Lucille had looked when telling the story had made me wonder if maybe there was a grain of truth there after all. Perhaps some legends were real...

After the party, we never spoke of the story again.

A year later, we were preparing for our wedding. It was the eve of the ceremony, and we were meeting family and friends out for tea. Lucille had been out all day hiking with her parents, a regular pastime that I prefered to stay out of. When she returned home, she was quieter than usual. I figured it was just nerves about tomorrow, and didn't want to say anything in case she was upset. I waited until she was about to shower before I caved and asked if she was ok.

She smiled slightly and said she was fine, they had just met with an old acquaintance during the hike and it had rattled her. Without another word, she jumped in the shower. I wandered through the house waiting for her, thinking about our plans for the future, and for tomorrow in particular. I truly couldn't imagine my life without her.

As I slipped into the bedroom to watch her get dressed, I walked up behind her and kissed her on the cheek. Smiling, she turned to face me, with her bathrobe hanging loosely around her, and reached up to stroke me cheek. She whispered I love you as her lips brushed mine softly at first, then insistently. As our passionate kiss left me breathless, I pulled back smiling, running my fingers through her hair.