Strangler’s Tree stood in the paddock behind our house. It was an ordinary looking tree but when the fog descended it took on an eerie countenance.
Which was fortunate for the tree as its name came from the deaths occurring beneath its twisted boughs in the 1890s.
The strangler was my Great Uncle Horace who despite the evidence against him of being discovered with his hands around the necks of Pensive Di and Suzy Vincent on two separate occasions, pleaded his innocence all the way to the gallows.
There were moves by my family to tear the tree down but the community stepped in and protested against its removal as they argued my family needed to be reminded of the grief one of our kind brought to so many others.
So the Strangler’s Tree remains and the story of my Uncle persists and like all stories over time has grown in stature to the point where my family now run tours and talks on the tree and the life of the Strangler. A book has been written, you can buy any number of souvenirs and images of Great Uncle Horace adorning coffee cups, t-towels and t-shirts.
Great Uncle Horace has turned out far more lucrative in death than he ever was in life.
Written for: https://scvincent.com/2016/12/22/thursday-photo-prompt-fog-writephoto/
Well! That woke me up! 😀
Not very Christmasy was it….just where my mind went…..
That’s the idea 🙂 Though I’m not too sure about Great Uncle Horace’s victims. 😀
It does remind me to get tping up the next of my mother’s manuscripts though. Her ‘hero’ is called Horace 🙂
For a minute there you had me wondering if this was true !!! Good story. Hope you are having a relaxing and peaceful Christmas Day. We’re super hot here in Adelaide, so staying indoors and having a lazy day 🙂 We had our feast last night . Wishing you and yours a wonderful C Day and New Year
Thanks Raili, I saw you were in for a hot day….stay cool as best you can…its not too bad over here on the east coast, but I expect your heat will come visit us tomorrow….Merry Christmas and happy new year…
We got to 40.8. Inside was nice and cool and we didn’t have a black out 🙂
You’ve done well.
Great Uncle Horace was good for something, other than murder and mayhem, after all.
Yes indeed..
Wow. I can’t imagine having a family legacy that was rooted for all to see and remember! And death is a lucrative business, isn’t it a shame sometimes?
Thank you so much for stopping by. Have a lovely day, merry Christmas…
Well, after reading this, I’m encouraged to find out about my uncle and grandfather on my mother’s side…apparently one of them was either a murderer or was murdered and the other a crook. No one knows which was which 😀
Oh wow let me know how you get on.
I will for sure 🙂
Now THERE’S the way for a family to put the “fun” back in “dysfunction.” 😉
Thank you Liz and I hope you have a lovely Christmas Day.
Fame at last……………. I think! Nice post Michael. Horace to me is a mouse!
Thanks Di….
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