Hag Breath - Witches for Halloween
If you can't have witches at Halloween, when can you have them?
Inspired by a building local to me, one that I pass by almost every day, the Ice House in the grounds of Bedwellty Park. Hope you enjoy the extract from 'Ice House Belle.'
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‘The Ice House Bell is of ancient origin. Upon clearing the land in preparation for building the manor, the peasants were evicted with little notice and no compensation. A wise woman who lived amongst them advised the new owners to keep the bell safe. It hangs from a plinth over the doorway to a strongly built stone hut.
When it was remarked that the cost of erecting such a building must have been beyond the reach of the peasants, the wise woman simply shrugged and said, ‘They did not build it.’
She advised the gentlemen there gathered that should the bell ever sound, they should act to appease the witch who lived there. Only when she was disturbed would she demand recompense, in the form of a new recruit to her coven. The price was always the same; a young woman, still pure and untouched. The bell would ring until the debt was paid.’
