Excerpts from The Haunted Cove:

Chapter One

The night was stormy and cold. A driving rain hammered at the windows. Thunder ripped through the sky and bright lightning cracked and flashed against the wind-whipped curtains. Katie stared at those curtains wondering where she was....she’d never seen them before. Her eyes opened wider as she scanned the unfamiliar room. "Where am I?"

The violence of the storm stopped for a moment as if to gather strength, and in the momentary lull, Katie suddenly noticed the sound of people shouting in the house.

Rough hands pulled her out of bed and dragged her into another room she’d never seen before. Katie could see two people, bound and gagged, being taken out of the house by a mob dressed in very peculiar clothing. The people were yelling accusations at them, accusing the prisoners of practicing witchcraft. Who were these people? What did they want with her?

A man Katie didn’t recognize seemed to be leading the mob. He looked down at the prisoners and spat these words at them:

"Our children were happy and healthy before you came to our island. We know that you brought a curse upon our village. You pretended to nurse our children, but you murdered them! Now, we will have our revenge. Your daughter will not be spared. She will suffer as our poor children have suffered."

Katie was dragged from the house - a house she had no memory of - and taken to a murky and damp cave at the base of a cliff. The rough hands shackled her to the clammy wall of the cave. The crowd gathered around her and the leader spoke, "Now, you will die."

Katie said bolt upright in bed. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she experienced a bone-chilling fear. What in the world was happening to her? This was not the first time Katie woke up in a cold sweat. She realized that she must be having horrific nightmares, but whenever she awoke like this, she remembered nothing about what had frightened her so badly.

Fully awake, Katie once again heard angry voices, but these were voices she recognized. Her parents were arguing again through the thin walls. Whenever they argued, Katie wished she could transport herself to another place far away from the angry words. It was late at night. She was supposed to be asleep, but how could she sleep when she was worried and frightened? Also, with the terrible nightmares she’d been having, sleep provided little relief from her anxiety.

Her best friend, Amy, said arguing was how it all started with her parents and Amy’s parents had ended up getting divorced last summer. Katie was so afraid that the same thing would happen to her parents. It would have helped Katie to have a brother or sister to talk to about this, but she was an only child. She loved her parents very much and didn’t want to see them angry with each other. She felt helpless and she didn’t like that feeling at all. Whatever her parents decided to do was completely out of her control.

Most of the arguments centered around their move to the island of Anglesey in Wales. Her dad had received a letter from an artist friend, Trevor who owned a house named ‘Twr Elin’ on the island which was near the village of Holyhead. Trevor was planning a trip to the European mainland and would be gone for six months or more. Trevor said that he preferred that the house be occupied in his absence.

Trevor also knew Dad had a wanderlust and would love the opportunity to practice his artistic skills on the island. Trevor was absolutely right. Dad was a ‘wandering spirit’ (that’s what he called himself) and the thought of a foreign interlude did entice him. Katie’s dad was a very successful landscape artist and he was excited about the prospect of painting in a foreign atmosphere. Dad was definitely a romantic with his head in the clouds most of the time.

Mom was an entirely different sort of person. She was a practical nurse with the accent on ‘practical’. She was practical about everything. She was content with their life in Newfield, Maine and had no desire to temporarily uproot herself and move to a foreign country. Although she had finally agreed to the move, she was definitely not enthusiastic about it. This was at the root of all their arguments.

Katie knew that her parents still loved each other. Despite the fact that they often argued nowadays, they would always make up. Katie prayed that their love would sustain them through the present turmoil.

Like her father, Katie was excited about moving to Wales. She only had one close friend and Amy was moving away in a few months to New York City. The girls had promised to stay in touch after the move. Katie had envied Amy going off to the big city, but now she had her own European adventure to look forward to. Perhaps the nightmares would stop once she was in Wales.

The arguing had finally ceased and the house became quiet once again. Outside, the storm had subsided and Katie was relieved to hear only the soft patter of raindrops to lull her back to sleep. Newfield was a very small, rural village. Without the violent storm, there wasn’t a sound at night except for the ever-present crickets serenading the darkness. Wondering what it might be like on Anglesey, Katie fell asleep.

Chapter Five

When Katie was finished unpacking, she glanced out the window and was surprised to see a girl on the beach down below looking up at the house. She quickly put on her jacket and let her parents know that she was going to explore the beach.

Katie began to carefully walk down the staircase of stone that led to the cove and beach below. Katie’s mom had told her that the cove had been created by a narrow fissure in the rocky coast. It was a truly beautiful place. The sheltered cove was comprised of pebbles, sand and rock and was entirely surrounded by lichen-covered cliffs that were incredibly steep. From the beach, Katie had to admire her new home. The view of the house above was beautiful and she couldn’t have imagined a more romantic setting.

Katie saw the girl sitting near the base of the cliffs. Katie called out a greeting, but the girl didn’t seem to hear her. When Katie got closer, the girl raised her head and turned toward Katie.

“Hi, my name’s Katelyn, but everybody calls me Katie.”, she said.

“Hello, Katie. My name is Mary.”, the girl replied smiling up at Katie.

Katie couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was something quite different about this girl. Maybe it was her clothing. The girl wore a kind of pinafore-type dress that was very old-fashioned. Katie attributed this to the fact that Mary lived on this isolated island. Mary had very long black hair and piercing green eyes that were very unusual. Very much like a cat’s eyes.

The more they talked, though, the more Katie liked Mary. She was really very nice and they had a lot in common. Mary also liked to explore and Katie was happy to have found a friend her age to accompany her and show her around the island. Mary had lived there all her life, she said, and knew all the really good places to explore.

They made plans to meet the next morning to begin their explorations. Mary said she lived nearby, but wouldn’t be more specific. Katie didn’t want to be rude, so she didn’t push it. They agreed to meet back on the beach the next morning.

They said their good-byes and Katie began to climb the stairs back to the house. She had only climbed a few steps, but when she turned to wave at Mary, the girl had already disappeared.

When Katie entered the house, she could hear her parents in the kitchen. Entering that room, she saw her mother cooking and her father putting groceries away. While Katie was on the beach, her parents had gone back to the village to shop for food and supplies they’d need.

“I met a really nice girl on the beach just now.”, Katie told her parents.

“That’s wonderful, kiddo. What’s her name?”, asked her dad.

“Mary. We made plans to meet tomorrow morning. She’s going to show me around the island.”, replied Katie.

“Is she your age? Where does she live?”, asked her mom.

“She’s my age. Mary said she lives nearby, but I don’t know exactly where.”, replied Katie.

“Well, I’m really glad you made a friend so quickly. Why don’t you invite Mary to have lunch with us tomorrow.”, said her mom.

“Thanks, Mom, I will. What are you two doing tomorrow?”, Katie asked her parents.

“I’m going to take my stuff out to the promontory and begin some preliminary sketches. I can’t wait to capture this place on canvas! Your mom is going into the village to check out some of the interesting shops we saw earlier. We’ll all meet back here for lunch, O.K.?”, said dad.

“Sounds great - it’s a deal!”, said Katie.

They sat around the kitchen table for dinner and the conversation was lively. It seemed as though Katie’s mom had reconciled herself to this change and was finally optimistic about it. Her mom couldn’t help but be awed by the magnificence of the island. She said that she thought it was a positive move after all.

Nothing could have made Katie happier. When her parents agreed and got along with each other, everything in Katie’s world was good.

After dinner, they sat in the living room and read. The radio softly played traditional Welsh music in the background. It was so peaceful and cozy in the house. Everyone in Katie’s family loved to read and they’d brought tons of books with them. Not having a television to watch was no hardship for them.

Eventually, they grew tired and said goodnight with the usual kisses and hugs.

Katie went to her room and got into her nightgown. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was fast asleep.

Chapter Six

Katie slept later than she’d intended the next morning. She would have probably slept even later, but the sound of her parents car leaving woke her up. She remembered that her mother was going shopping this morning.

She went to her window and looked down at the beach. She saw Mary waving to her. Katie washed up and dressed hurriedly. When she got downstairs, she saw a note from her parents reminding her to be back for lunch.

Leaving the house, Katie noticed that the weather was beautiful today. The sky was so blue and the sun was shining brightly. She walked towards the stone staircase admiring the scenery around her. Walking down, she could see the Isle of Man and Ireland in the far distance. Someday she would like to visit those places.

Katie arrived on the beach and walked over to where Mary was sitting. Mary greeted her warmly and told her that she had brought a picnic lunch for them to share later on. Mary explained that their explorations would take them many places and a moveable feast would suit their purposes well.

Katie didn’t want to make a big deal about lunch with her parents since Mary had gone to all the trouble of preparing a picnic for them. She told Mary that before they began to explore, Katie had to leave a note for her parents to let them know she’d be home later than expected.

The two girls walked up the staircase towards the house. Katie invited Mary into the house, but Mary preferred to wait outside. Katie thought it strange, but let it go.

Katie quickly wrote the note and the girls went back to the beach.

Mary told Katie that she’d like to show her one of the best places on the island.

“You’re really lucky, Katie. You live just above one of the most mysterious caves on South Stack.”, Mary said.

Katie replied, “Really? Can you show me?”

“Sure.”, said Mary, “Just follow me.”

Chapter Seven

The two girls walked to the edge of the cove. After exploring the rockpools under the cliffs, they took a short walk along a grassy headland to a place Mary called “Barclodiad y Gawres”. Mary said it meant “the apron of the Giantess” in Welsh. Mary told Katie that this place was over 5,000 years old.

Inside the cave it became much darker. The entrance to the cave consisted of a narrow passageway. Whenever Katie would brush up against the walls of the cave, she could feel the cold stone and it gave her the shivers. It was really spooky inside. Mary told her that they were about to enter a series of burial chambers. The chambers contained intricate carvings. There were stones carved with spirals, chevrons and zig-zag designs. Mary told her that excavations on this site revealed cremated human bones and ingredients used in an ancient magic potion: tiny bone fragments from a toad, snake and shrew were found among the ashes.

“What do you think, Katie?”, asked Mary.

“Totally cool!”, replied Katie. “This is an awesome place. I think I’m really going to love exploring this island with you.” Katie didn’t want Mary to know that she’d been frightened by the cave.

“Have you heard about the witches of Llanddona?”, asked Mary.

“No. I don’t know very much about this island at all. Tell me about it.”, replied Katie.

“Well, people who come from Llanddona are often called ‘gwrachod Llanddona’ in Welsh. It means ‘Llanddona witches’. Local legend tells about a boat full of witches driven ashore by storms in Red Wharf Bay on the other side of the island. These strange red-haired women couldn’t speak Welsh. They settled in Llanddona and became known as Lisa Blac, Bela Fawr and Siani Bwt. Siani was a dwarf with two thumbs on her left hand. They became infamous for their spells and curses and were very much feared. Their husbands, who were smugglers, were said to blind people with magic, buzzing flies.

They say that behind the legend may be a grain of truth. Many buildings located in Llanddona are associated with the legend. Personally, I think it was a foreign shipwreck and when the victims settled here, their strange language and customs made the local people afraid of them. What do you think, Katie?”, asked Mary.

“Wow, what a story! I agree that they were probably just foreigners. Even today people are suspicious about things they don’t know about. You know, we have our witch legends, too. Have you ever heard of the Salem Witch Trials in America?”, asked Katie.

“Yes, I have. Today we know they weren’t really witches. If anyone was different in any way, they could be accused of witchcraft. I think it’s probably the same all over the world, don’t you?”, said Mary.

“Definitely. Little kids accept people whether they’re different or not. I wonder what happens to people when they get older that makes them mistrust so easily? We had a Japanese exchange student at our school and some of the kids gave her a really hard time. Instead of getting to know her, they made fun of her and made her life a misery. She was a really cool kid, too. I became friendly with her and she invited me to her house. Her family was wonderful. They were very grateful that I had befriended their daughter. They moved back to Japan shortly after that. It was really kind of sad, you know?”, replied Katie.

A dark shadow passed across Mary’s face.

“Oh yes, Katie. I know all too well how cruel people can be.”, replied Mary.

Before Katie could ask what she meant, Mary turned and ran out of the cave. Katie had to run, too. There was no way she was going to be left behind, alone, in this burial chamber!

Every time Katie came to a turn in the passageway, she caught a fleeting glimpse of Mary’s dress, but she couldn’t catch up with her. Finally, Katie reached the mouth of the cave and sweet daylight. Feeling the warmth of the sun beating down on her was a relief after the cold clamminess of the cave. Then, Katie noticed a very strange thing. Mary was nowhere to be found.

Katie called Mary’s name for quite some time before giving up. She couldn’t understand why the girl had left so suddenly. But the thing that puzzled Katie the most was how Mary could have left without being seen. Katie had to admit that there were many strange things about her new friend.