In the medieval times of 1461, James Tiller runs his tannery not worrying about the War of the Roses going on around him. Late one night, he encounters a stranger on the road who tells him if he wants to see his mother alive one last time, then to make haste to her, as she will be dead by the morning. He sets out with haste, only to encounter a woman on the road. She gives him a posy of flowers and then vanishes after she warns him of Crooker. James makes haste only for a different woman to appear, give him a posy and then vanish having warned him of Crooker again. As he continues on his way, he meets a third woman, who also hands him a posy. This time she tells him of Crooker, the Crooked one, who had a shrine nearby where the tress ran red with blood. Making all haste, he comes to the Darrant river, which is known to claim lives knowing he will be safe once he has crossed it and reached the chapel beyond. But as he crosses, a large ash tree at the riverbank starts flailing in the wind even as the air is still and reaches out for James. His only hope now is to cross the bridge and hope the posies he has been given can keep him safe and ward out the arboreal nightmare that is now trying to reach and eat him.

Based on English fairy tales, this is a short historical tale which is suitable spooky enough for Halloween. The tale follows the style you would expect for such a re-telling, with the journey of the protagonist and a moral of the tale. What sparkles in this version is the timeless use of language throughout the story, so that it is easy to follow but does not use modern thoughts and ideas for the tale. It’s good to see turnips being carved and soul cakes mentioned instead of the more contemporary Halloween pumpkins. These little touches kept me invested as I followed our brave protagonist on his journey. I was overjoyed that each character in this story plays their part well, without it being overly forced or actions being taken for no reason. The story flows from scene to scene, repeating itself in part, but that is far more due to the nature of the story than any shortcomings on the behalf of the author. The descriptions within the story are cleverly done. It could be a journey for one brave soul avoiding a mystical and grisly fate, or perhaps the over-active imagination of a local man who does not know any better when looked at with a modern, perhaps cynical, viewpoint in the cold light of day. Either way, the reader can decide as they prefer.

I didn’t see any spelling and grammar issues through the book, indeed it was quite refreshing to see such period appropriate words. Formatting for the book is fine, although the breaks between the story and epilogue and the author’s note could be improved. There are also several other works by the author also mentioned, for anyone who enjoyed this work. Indeed, the fact most of them are set in and around the same time is no surprise as the author is clearly well-versed in the time period.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this tale, which fitted neatly into a coffee break and even extending it slightly, and was well worth a re-read at a later point. This will not give a dose of modern horror chills, but may make you think twice about walking down that dark path in the countryside.