The Haunting Legacy of the Plague Witch: A Halloween Tale of Fear and Folklore

In the dead of night, when the moon was swallowed by mist, a cloaked figure trudged through the fog-laden village. The year was 1349, and the plague raged like an insatiable beast, leaving blackened corpses in its wake. The townsfolk had seen the cloaked figure before — a woman with wild eyes, hair like shadows, and a whisper that lingered like poison on the wind. They called her the Plague Witch.

None knew her name, but they feared her touch. She would appear at the edge of town when death was near, her breath seeming to call it forth. Some believed she cursed the village; others claimed she was a healer sent by forces unseen, to punish the wicked and spare the innocent. Rumors flew like bats in the dark: they said she was born under a blood moon, with a raven’s feather in her hand and an hourglass marking the fate of all she passed.

The townsfolk dared not approach, though they watched, hidden behind shutters and cracked doors. But a young girl, orphaned by the plague and without fear, ventured to the witch’s lair — a cabin deep in the forest. She found the woman stirring a cauldron, chanting in an ancient tongue. The air thickened with the scent of herbs and the sharp bite of iron.

The girl whispered, “Will you help us?”

The witch gazed into the girl’s eyes, searching. “I do not bring the plague, child. I read its message.” She handed the girl a vial of thick, dark liquid. “One drop upon your lips each night, and death will walk past you.”

The girl returned to the village, the vial clenched tight in her fist. She spread the witch’s cure, and as the days passed, fewer fell ill. Whispers of hope mingled with fear. But the night of the next blood moon, the witch was nowhere to be found — only a pile of raven feathers left upon her cabin floor.

To this day, the villagers say that if you wander into the forest on Halloween night, you might see her ghost: the Plague Witch, forever watching, protecting those brave enough to seek her. But beware — once she gives you her protection, she marks you as hers… forever.