The Witch at Arbor Low

Annie Trembles had met the witch

As she sat at Arbor Low,

Her tears were thick and her heart was sick,

She had no place to go,

She’d sought the old Stone Circle out,

And thought to divine the lore

Of the old Brigantes with their Druid chants;

Then she met Susannah Straw.

 

Susannah Straw was a wily witch

Who lived by her wits, and spells,

She kept the faith of her pagan race

Designing and dressing wells.

She’d conjure the odd love potion,

And she’d make the kine run dry,

If a body was too outspoken

She would give them the evil eye!

 

Annie had been heartbroken when

She heard that the blacksmith, Tom,

Announced he was marrying Rachel Greene,

The girl from the Nether Farm,

She’d worshipped Tom from a distance

Since he’d kissed her, under the tree,

But that was back in a Christmastime,

And she’d thought: ‘He doesn’t love me!’

 

She opened her heart to Susannah Straw

By the stones of Arbor Low,

With a flood of tears she unburdened years

Of a passion that hurt her so,

The witch had gathered the mandrake root

Some orange to make it sweet,

The heart of a dove, some powdered blood

And a smidgin of ambergris!

 

‘You need to feed him the potion soon,

Two days is all it will keep,

Then once he’s fed it will turn his head,

It will make his Rachel weep!’

So Annie went to the Inn that night

And tipped it into his jar,

And Tom had quaffed in a single draught

Then fallen over the bar!

 

He’d worked at the forge that Saturday,

But felt so queer in his head,

He pumped away at the bellows ‘til

The coals were glowing red,

Then Rachel called for a sweet caress

From the lips of her dear betrothed,

But Tom recoiled as his lips were soiled

By the woman he suddenly loathed!

 

His hammer lay on the anvil there,

He seized, and he raised it high,

Then split the head of the girl he’d said

Was to be his beautiful bride,

She lay on the floor, unmoving

So he hid her, under the hay,

Then tucked the hammer beneath his belt,

And some rope for the come-what-may!

 

His steps soon led him to Arbor Low

By the time that the sun was high,

And Annie Trembles looked up to smile:

‘My Tom! Oh my, Oh my!’

But Tom was surfacing out of his trance

And he seized poor Ann by the hair,

Then cried as he brought the hammer down:

‘I am lost in the pit of despair!’

 

He turned to the gibbering Arbor Witch,

And dragged her over the hill,

Then hung her high on the nearest tree

As she kicked, and squirmed, and squealed.

Once back at the forge, he cut his throat

And lay by his lost love’s side,

Where his blood was wedded to hers at last,

The groom, and his cold, dead bride!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Ellen Hammond]

Did you feature this twisted tale for Halloween? Perfect choice! I love how you tell such macabre stories of human nature in rhyme, with humor, a moral, and a twist at the end without ever sounding preachy. You have such a unique and amazing gift of seeing the good, the bad, and the ugly, in mankind and writing about it in a way that evokes so many thoughts and emotions along with a generous helping of laughter.

[Valentine]

Another amazing gothic tale from one of me favorite story tellers. Where do all of these strange tales come from...Kathie

[Beccy]

A grisly tale indeed. Sometimes we get more than we bargain for.

Such perfect pitch and rhythm to this, it was a genuine pleasure to read.

Beccy.

[Terpsichore]

A grand story with magical rhythm throughout.

Congrats on being published.

T

[MomzillaNC]

My goodness! What a masterful tale this is! Puts me right back to some of those old no-one-gets-out-alive gothic movies, often starring Vincent Price.

[TL Boehm]

WOW! I do love the story but in this one what I really savor is that little internal rhyme occurring in the third line usually - yes, that's wonderful.

[Arielle Ann]

your writes are always a treat Mr. Paget..the narration was flawless...each line arrived automatically in sync with the previous...i agree with Mr. Keneth who says you write poems like we solve maths problems...bravo!

[Becky C Strukamp]

I so agree with Dean Kuch, you are definitely a master story teller. Beautifully penned. I enjoyed reading this. thank you for sharing your wonderful works!

[Laura Maidah]

Maybe try a different style? At this style you are PRO :)