Friday night saw a very special ghost walk, hosted by the Golden Keg.
Kicking off an hour before the clocks were to turn to the day of Hallow's End itself, those interested braved the dark and frightful atmosphere that forever seems to permeate Duskwood. Gathering just south of Raven Hill Cemetery. Some of our readers may know the cemetery as a place reported to host undead, an appropriately fitting location that on the night you could swear you could hear the distant groans of the dead themselves.
No strangers to storytelling, Zhakariah and Deedi, our hosts and storytellers for the evening host regular monthly ghost walks across Stormwind City, sharing stories of the cosmopolitan city’s dark and diabolical past. Tonight’s event, in honour of Hallow’s End, was a chance to share some of their old tales and ones untold, exclusively new for tonight.
With a roaring campfire set up to give a little reprieve to the eerie darkness beyond and the wayward crowd gathered, our two storytellers began to weave their frightening tales.
From the moment our storytellers first opened their mouths, the gathered crowd were enraptured, hanging to every word told. Starting off the evening with a chilling tale of a cult of skinwalkers living out in the wilds of the kingdom, the atmosphere had been set.
Tale after tale the duo weaved their words into the air, only the hitched breath of audience, the crackling of the fire and the Duskwood winds to accompany them.
Their stories were as diverse as the gathered themselves, full of warnings, woe and unwilling horrors. There were many tales told throughout the night. Each one is different from the last. Though my personal high-frights (see what I did there?), there’s 3 worth enticing.
One tale told the story of one lady, a sweet community pillar. Known for fostering so many children over the years from Stormwind’s Orphanage and rehoming them herself. What a sweetheart, right? No, dear readers! What the audience soon discovered was of her true hideous nature as a creature of greed and sin. Those children were never adopted, no. They were slain, by their foster mother’s very hands, drowned and tossed into a lake. Claimed to be adopted, this not-so-sweet lady cashed in her bonus coin. With a taste for it, this continued for many a year until the bodies were discovered and she was hung from a tree for her crimes.
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If that didn’t do it for you, how about the tale of the Alchemist from the Mage Quarter? A man so diabolical and sinister, he used the very worst ingredients to ensure his poultices, potions and products lived up to the task. With humble origins, this man dabbled into darker and darker activities before he was eventually captured by an angry mob. And we all know how mobs solve their problems, right?
Or what of the identity stealing doll? That’s right. There’s creepy dolls involved. And no one likes creepy dolls! This tale nearly had me, of course I’m a brave lad, I can handle the worst! Either way, the story talks of a father who gifted his little girl a doll. Her mother’s gone, but the doll seems to look a little bit like her mama, nothing too unusual there. Until we later see another doll that looks like the nanny. And well, just know this fella and these dolls are supposedly still out there. So think twice before buying a doll in Stormwind.
After an hour of over 12 tales told by our delightful hosts and basking in some wonderful company, so came the distant chimes of midnight; officially Hallow's End, and the witching hour. And here we were standing by a cemetery in one of the creepiest parts of the world. When I tell you everyone and their mother skedaddled after that, even that wouldn’t describe how fast we left. A great night it was and a scarier one at that! (Though I stayed behind the longest, I’m no wimp. Obviously.)
For those interested in listening to these tales, the dynamic duo can be found monthly hosting their Ghost Walks within Stormwind City itself.. And for those eager to sink into more at your own leisure, Deedi and Zhakariah mentioned that in the future they’re hoping to compile the best of their stories and release them in a book. So keep your eye out on that, folks! I, for one, can’t wait to see what dark tales those pages will hold when it eventually hits the shelves. If I have to elbow my way to the front of the queue, you know I will.
This is Captain Monty signed off. And hoping you all had a horrifically happy Hallow’s End!