ILLYRIAN
Druish Pervonian Wizard
All Buffy related material to remain property of Joss Whedon
and those who own the copyrights to Buffy the vampire
slayer. Giles was settling in to a new house, some books
from a second hand bookshop had just been delivered.
The Ghost of Kitty Jay
"Hey Giles! what is this?" asked Buffy.
He looks at it then reads part of the front page.
"It looks like a manuscript, it could be a manuscript for an
unpublished book, if we were to sell it we would get a
fortune for it, not that I would, because of who wrote it
yes but what it appears to be about, I will see about having
it made as a book for my own collection."
"Why? who wrote it?" asked Buffy.
"As far as I can tell this is an unpublished manuscript as
written by a certain Mrs C. Stoker.
"Giles? who is that?" asked Buffy.
"You philistine!" exclaimed Dawn, "Buffy, her full name is
Charlotte Stoker."
"Oh my God, it's in here! what I hoped was in another book
it is in here," said Giles, "There is more, it says how she
was friends with an Agnes Millhouse. It states that her
daughter gave this idea to her mum who gave it to Charlotte,
maybe Charlotte gave it to her son?"
"Does it say what the story is?" asked Willow.
"I have seen this in another book, this person died from
what they called vampires disease. She was a Viennese
noble woman but she was buried over a hundred miles from
her home, mind you how she was buried takes the cake."
"What do you mean by that Giles?" asked Buffy.
"After she died her heart was cut from her body, placed in
a coffin that was sealed and covered in concrete then
covered with a heavy stone slab, that was covered with
consecrated soil and another heavy stone slab which formed
part of the church floor."
"I get the feeling they didn't want her to rise," said Buffy.
"What was her name?" asked Dawn.
"Mary Strathenburg."
"Who was Charlotte son?" asked Buffy.
"Abraham Stoker," replied Giles.
"Who is that?"
"You are really are not up on your authors names are you."
"What is an author?
"Oh yes!, humour right? Charlotte's son had his fathers
name, Abraham. I suppose he wanted his own identity, so
he wrote his books as Bram Stoker, it is said that the main
character is based on that woman's death."
"Guys, who did this Bram Stoker write about?" asked Buffy
"Dracula!"
"I knew that."
"So did I!" exclaimed Willow.
"That is because we are both clever!"
"Hmm? sorry, did you say something?" asked Giles
"What is the main part of the manuscript about? Giles.
"That is the strange part, it is about the death of Agnes
Millhouse's daughter. Oh my! this Katrina Millhouse may
have found fame in death."
"What do you mean by that?"
"She may well be the one of Jay's Grave, the ghost is said
to be of Kitty Jay!. Katrina, known as Kitty, her husband to
be was Jaime, known as Jay, in fact he and his horse could
well be the ghost rider from near there."
"I thought you said it is about who wrote Dracula?"
"It is, but I will keep this manuscript, this appears to be
about the person who became a ghost! I had best read it."
He picks it up and goes to go to another table.
"Before I go I was just saying about a trip at the week-end
to Dartmoor. You never know, we might get to see her and
her grave."
"Dartmoor you say? that's a cold barren place isn't it?"
"Yes Willow but I am fairly sure there is a shoe shop there,"
replied Giles.
On Saturday just after midday they reached the grave
"Before I begin here, I will take you to where Agnes and
Katrina lived, so that when you hear it you will know what
is meant."
Taking them there he let them wander about the cottage.
"Before we go back to the grave, make note of the hill and
that tree on top of it."
At Katrina's grave they sat around. Giles gave a copy of the
manuscript to Dawn then he looked around.
"Katrina! I hope you are listening, this is a manuscript by
Bram Stoker. Part of the introduction was written by his
mother and your mother. This is the story called the Tree
on the Hill.
"Katrina we think it was your idea, his famous character. We
think your mother told his mother. Her name would have
been Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornely Stoker, he was
better known as Bram Stoker."
"The introduction is this, Katrina lived with her mother Agnes
at a cottage a few miles from Widecombe-in-the-Moor.
Katrina or Kitty as people came to know her. Kitty helped
her mother write short stories which they sold to a news
paper in Exeter. Part of the payment was that they would
make three more copies and post that story to newspapers
in London, Birmingham and Manchester," said Giles.
"Kitty and her mother wrote a new story every three months,
so they were able to pay their bills and enjoy a happy life.
When the weather was good they would pass away an hour
or so taking in the joyful pleasures of their garden and their
garden spoke of many joyful pleasures," said Dawn.
"A small hedge all the way around gave a semblance of
protection from the harsh winds that continually threatened
to promote havoc on the many and varied colourful plants.
Yet, only a short distance from the cottage the wild and
undulating hills were covered with such a barren wasteland
which if one looked closely enough you could see the
massed beige coloured proliferation of beautiful bushes and
shrubs," added Giles.
"Over the generations those plants had succumbed to the
cold, wet, misty life that had befallen them, occasionally
you might spy where the plants would not grow, this could
be where people travelled to town or animals traversed the
land seeking safe drinking water," said Dawn
"Many other poets and novelists had visited the area,
drawn there by the dark and mysterious tales written by
Agnes and Katrina. Those tales of the supernatural and the
demonic phenomenon spoke of a way of life for the
inhabitants of the area. Those that could only stay for a day
could only remember the beautiful cottage of Agnes and
Katrina."
"Agnes had moved there not long after the death of her
husband, he had been a shrewd businessman who knew
what people would want, he had established a book
publishing company in Bristol. When he died Agnes was
left with a small but healthy amount of money from the sale
of the business, an increased financial settlement gained
from the sale of the house brought her some independence,
how-ever that independence was short lived, as she soon
was made aware of Katrina growing inside of her. After
buying a cottage away from the stares of city people some
of those same city people took relief from their guilt in
helping Agnes publish her stories," said Dawn.
"As Katrina grew in age, Agnes wrote many stories for her
to read, then she would send them off for publication in
news papers and periodicals. Agnes always wrote her stories
under the heading The Tales of The Supernatural Eye, then
stating at the end that the story was written by Katrina and
Agnes Millhouse. That was one of the many practises her
late husband had taught her, by using that heading for all
her stories as people read her tales her name would become
associated with those stories and she would be mentioned
even when others should have been talked of," said Giles.
"Katrina had lived a life that was harsh in that environment
yet as soon as the door of the cottage closed behind her,
the warmth and romance of even the worst evil came to life.
By the time Katrina was seventeen she could write a dozen
stories about the same event. Looking from her room of an
early evening she would talk to the wind swept tree on the
top of the Tor, that tree had become a focal point in ten of
her best stories. On many occasions her mother had taken
a photograph of Katrina as she sat at the base of the tree,
indeed, when they both said that their latest story felt right
to them they would include a pencil drawing of the two of
them sat under the tree," said Dawn.
"Agnes had often wondered what her last ghost story would
be about, when that time came she wrote her most poignant
tale, the one she never wanted to finish, as it would be of
her daughter and her husband to be. Agnes knew what the
story should end with but she wanted to include something
that would be a memory to the readers and a tribute to her
daughter."
"Of her last story? she wrote about why her daughter had
passed away and what happened afterwards. Katrina was at
the church waiting for her husband to be to arrive but he
was late. His two brothers had told her they had left him
alone yet he was not nervous he was looking forward to the
wedding. Deeply in love, yet fearing the worst, Katrina
worried what people would think of her, even though she
was being consoled by her maidens and the best friends of
her husband to be," said Dawn.
"I met Agnes several times after I had visited a friend near
Totnes. I felt the pain that Katrina must have borne that
day. Unknown to her though, a farmer had gone into the
church, to the grooms parents with an uncanny tale of
woe. Two shepherds had seen a cottage appear not far
from where they where sitting, they said the front door of
the cottage had opened to reveal a young couple who had
floated towards them. The ghosts spoke of the groom
having been thrown from his horse but he had not survived
the fall, they said where he was, then they and the
cottage vanished," said Giles.
"Several men went with the local constabulary to that
place, they found Jaime Ridlington lying on the ground, his
neck had been broken by the rocks that he was on. His
horse was no-where to be seen but on careful inspection
it appeared that the horse had thrown
him just before it succumbed to the pull of a bog."
"The very life seemed to ebb from Katrina in the weeks that
followed until she died from a broken heart. As there was
no reason found for her death, the people of the church
said she must have removed the life from herself and they
buried her at a nearby cross roads, as was normal until
eighteen twenty three," said Dawn.
"This part Katrina was written by your mother. A month
had gone by since that fateful day. The vicar from
Widecombe in the moor had come to visit me. As it was a
reasonably nice day I made us a pot of tea then with a few
cakes we sat outside, in my front garden. We were talking
about how I was coping. I had said that the stories we had
written together gave me comfort. I was telling the vicar
about the flowers in the garden. He mentioned about a
woman sitting under the tree on the nearby Tor."
"Of course I immediately looked as I knew there were no
other houses nearby and also, I regarded that tree to be
Katrina's and mine. As I looked I tried to see who it was, or
could be. I asked the vicar if he recognised the person, at
that time we stood and walked to the end of the garden
when much to our amazement we saw the young woman
stand, she seemed to be waving to some-one but try as we
might neither of us could see who it was she was waving to,
then much to our utter astonishment a man sat on a horse
slowly began to appear as he moved nearer to her. When
he reached her they stopped and waved to us!. I remember
asking myself, who were they?"
"They came a bit closer to us, then followed the path
along the hillside, I did not realise it but they had been in
the shade. For the sun-light brought out, well at first I
felt fear they I realised who they were, for as the sunlight
covered them both, they and the horse became skeletons,
then they disappeared. They had been close enough for
both myself and the vicar to see them as Katrina and
Jaime Ridlington," said Giles.
"I have often visited the spot where my daughter was
buried and every time there was a flower there. Katrina
had disliked seeing cut flowers, she would become
saddened that the flower had been removed from the plant
it once knew as its family. Who-ever left those flowers
must have known her as I never saw a cut flower there,"
said Dawn.
"She actually saw the ghost of her daughter?" asked Willow.
"Yes," replied Giles.
"That was two years ago, even though I live at Cheddar
Gorge in Somerset when ever I look through this window
I can still see myself before I left that place, yet seeing
myself I can only smile, watching myself as I visit your
grave. I remember kneeling there, I am sure I felt as
though was being watched. To this day I am positive I
heard a horse," said Dawn.
"On the day that I finally moved from the area in my friends
carriage, I wanted to see my daughters grave. Then
deciding to take some water with us on the journey we
stopped at my old cottage, I went into the garden feeling
saddened that the flowers may suffer because I would not
be there to care for them but before I could fetch the
water the door opened! There, standing in the doorway was
my daughter Katrina and Jaime smiling at me. I knew those
flowers would be cared for, that they would still hear the
praise of their beauty from you, my Katrina."
"I have never been back to my old cottage yet I know it is
being well looked after and the flowers; when they have
lived a life in the garden they live again near my daughters
grave," said Giles.
He and Dawn stood, smiled, then looked around.
"I feel good in myself, having been able to read that to her,"
remarked Giles.
As they were getting ready to leave Willow looked back as
the clouds covered the ground in shadow.
"Willow? what are you staring at?" asked Buffy.
Stunned Willow faced her.
"I just saw her!, I saw Kitty as she rose from the grave.
Buffy, I have faced vampires and all sorts of other demons,
right now I feel really good. Kitty waved to us!, she seemed
to look to the side of us, then she waved then blew a kiss,"
said Willow.
"That was not us she blew a kiss to," said Dawn.
"No? who was it then?"
"Look by the front of the van," suggested Giles.
Willow looked, she saw the ghost of a horse and a man, he
dismounted, went to nd put a flower on Katrina's grave.
"Willow, I think that is Jaime Ridlington," said Buffy.
Hand in hand they walked to the horse, together they
mounted it,his horse then walked towards them, both Kitty
and Jay smiled and waved as they slowly passed by. Then
the clouds rolled on, showing them as skeletons, then they
disappeared.
(Based on the haunting tale of Jay's Grave, of Dartmoor)
THE END
and those who own the copyrights to Buffy the vampire
slayer. Giles was settling in to a new house, some books
from a second hand bookshop had just been delivered.
The Ghost of Kitty Jay
"Hey Giles! what is this?" asked Buffy.
He looks at it then reads part of the front page.
"It looks like a manuscript, it could be a manuscript for an
unpublished book, if we were to sell it we would get a
fortune for it, not that I would, because of who wrote it
yes but what it appears to be about, I will see about having
it made as a book for my own collection."
"Why? who wrote it?" asked Buffy.
"As far as I can tell this is an unpublished manuscript as
written by a certain Mrs C. Stoker.
"Giles? who is that?" asked Buffy.
"You philistine!" exclaimed Dawn, "Buffy, her full name is
Charlotte Stoker."
"Oh my God, it's in here! what I hoped was in another book
it is in here," said Giles, "There is more, it says how she
was friends with an Agnes Millhouse. It states that her
daughter gave this idea to her mum who gave it to Charlotte,
maybe Charlotte gave it to her son?"
"Does it say what the story is?" asked Willow.
"I have seen this in another book, this person died from
what they called vampires disease. She was a Viennese
noble woman but she was buried over a hundred miles from
her home, mind you how she was buried takes the cake."
"What do you mean by that Giles?" asked Buffy.
"After she died her heart was cut from her body, placed in
a coffin that was sealed and covered in concrete then
covered with a heavy stone slab, that was covered with
consecrated soil and another heavy stone slab which formed
part of the church floor."
"I get the feeling they didn't want her to rise," said Buffy.
"What was her name?" asked Dawn.
"Mary Strathenburg."
"Who was Charlotte son?" asked Buffy.
"Abraham Stoker," replied Giles.
"Who is that?"
"You are really are not up on your authors names are you."
"What is an author?
"Oh yes!, humour right? Charlotte's son had his fathers
name, Abraham. I suppose he wanted his own identity, so
he wrote his books as Bram Stoker, it is said that the main
character is based on that woman's death."
"Guys, who did this Bram Stoker write about?" asked Buffy
"Dracula!"
"I knew that."
"So did I!" exclaimed Willow.
"That is because we are both clever!"
"Hmm? sorry, did you say something?" asked Giles
"What is the main part of the manuscript about? Giles.
"That is the strange part, it is about the death of Agnes
Millhouse's daughter. Oh my! this Katrina Millhouse may
have found fame in death."
"What do you mean by that?"
"She may well be the one of Jay's Grave, the ghost is said
to be of Kitty Jay!. Katrina, known as Kitty, her husband to
be was Jaime, known as Jay, in fact he and his horse could
well be the ghost rider from near there."
"I thought you said it is about who wrote Dracula?"
"It is, but I will keep this manuscript, this appears to be
about the person who became a ghost! I had best read it."
He picks it up and goes to go to another table.
"Before I go I was just saying about a trip at the week-end
to Dartmoor. You never know, we might get to see her and
her grave."
"Dartmoor you say? that's a cold barren place isn't it?"
"Yes Willow but I am fairly sure there is a shoe shop there,"
replied Giles.
On Saturday just after midday they reached the grave
"Before I begin here, I will take you to where Agnes and
Katrina lived, so that when you hear it you will know what
is meant."
Taking them there he let them wander about the cottage.
"Before we go back to the grave, make note of the hill and
that tree on top of it."
At Katrina's grave they sat around. Giles gave a copy of the
manuscript to Dawn then he looked around.
"Katrina! I hope you are listening, this is a manuscript by
Bram Stoker. Part of the introduction was written by his
mother and your mother. This is the story called the Tree
on the Hill.
"Katrina we think it was your idea, his famous character. We
think your mother told his mother. Her name would have
been Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornely Stoker, he was
better known as Bram Stoker."
"The introduction is this, Katrina lived with her mother Agnes
at a cottage a few miles from Widecombe-in-the-Moor.
Katrina or Kitty as people came to know her. Kitty helped
her mother write short stories which they sold to a news
paper in Exeter. Part of the payment was that they would
make three more copies and post that story to newspapers
in London, Birmingham and Manchester," said Giles.
"Kitty and her mother wrote a new story every three months,
so they were able to pay their bills and enjoy a happy life.
When the weather was good they would pass away an hour
or so taking in the joyful pleasures of their garden and their
garden spoke of many joyful pleasures," said Dawn.
"A small hedge all the way around gave a semblance of
protection from the harsh winds that continually threatened
to promote havoc on the many and varied colourful plants.
Yet, only a short distance from the cottage the wild and
undulating hills were covered with such a barren wasteland
which if one looked closely enough you could see the
massed beige coloured proliferation of beautiful bushes and
shrubs," added Giles.
"Over the generations those plants had succumbed to the
cold, wet, misty life that had befallen them, occasionally
you might spy where the plants would not grow, this could
be where people travelled to town or animals traversed the
land seeking safe drinking water," said Dawn
"Many other poets and novelists had visited the area,
drawn there by the dark and mysterious tales written by
Agnes and Katrina. Those tales of the supernatural and the
demonic phenomenon spoke of a way of life for the
inhabitants of the area. Those that could only stay for a day
could only remember the beautiful cottage of Agnes and
Katrina."
"Agnes had moved there not long after the death of her
husband, he had been a shrewd businessman who knew
what people would want, he had established a book
publishing company in Bristol. When he died Agnes was
left with a small but healthy amount of money from the sale
of the business, an increased financial settlement gained
from the sale of the house brought her some independence,
how-ever that independence was short lived, as she soon
was made aware of Katrina growing inside of her. After
buying a cottage away from the stares of city people some
of those same city people took relief from their guilt in
helping Agnes publish her stories," said Dawn.
"As Katrina grew in age, Agnes wrote many stories for her
to read, then she would send them off for publication in
news papers and periodicals. Agnes always wrote her stories
under the heading The Tales of The Supernatural Eye, then
stating at the end that the story was written by Katrina and
Agnes Millhouse. That was one of the many practises her
late husband had taught her, by using that heading for all
her stories as people read her tales her name would become
associated with those stories and she would be mentioned
even when others should have been talked of," said Giles.
"Katrina had lived a life that was harsh in that environment
yet as soon as the door of the cottage closed behind her,
the warmth and romance of even the worst evil came to life.
By the time Katrina was seventeen she could write a dozen
stories about the same event. Looking from her room of an
early evening she would talk to the wind swept tree on the
top of the Tor, that tree had become a focal point in ten of
her best stories. On many occasions her mother had taken
a photograph of Katrina as she sat at the base of the tree,
indeed, when they both said that their latest story felt right
to them they would include a pencil drawing of the two of
them sat under the tree," said Dawn.
"Agnes had often wondered what her last ghost story would
be about, when that time came she wrote her most poignant
tale, the one she never wanted to finish, as it would be of
her daughter and her husband to be. Agnes knew what the
story should end with but she wanted to include something
that would be a memory to the readers and a tribute to her
daughter."
"Of her last story? she wrote about why her daughter had
passed away and what happened afterwards. Katrina was at
the church waiting for her husband to be to arrive but he
was late. His two brothers had told her they had left him
alone yet he was not nervous he was looking forward to the
wedding. Deeply in love, yet fearing the worst, Katrina
worried what people would think of her, even though she
was being consoled by her maidens and the best friends of
her husband to be," said Dawn.
"I met Agnes several times after I had visited a friend near
Totnes. I felt the pain that Katrina must have borne that
day. Unknown to her though, a farmer had gone into the
church, to the grooms parents with an uncanny tale of
woe. Two shepherds had seen a cottage appear not far
from where they where sitting, they said the front door of
the cottage had opened to reveal a young couple who had
floated towards them. The ghosts spoke of the groom
having been thrown from his horse but he had not survived
the fall, they said where he was, then they and the
cottage vanished," said Giles.
"Several men went with the local constabulary to that
place, they found Jaime Ridlington lying on the ground, his
neck had been broken by the rocks that he was on. His
horse was no-where to be seen but on careful inspection
it appeared that the horse had thrown
him just before it succumbed to the pull of a bog."
"The very life seemed to ebb from Katrina in the weeks that
followed until she died from a broken heart. As there was
no reason found for her death, the people of the church
said she must have removed the life from herself and they
buried her at a nearby cross roads, as was normal until
eighteen twenty three," said Dawn.
"This part Katrina was written by your mother. A month
had gone by since that fateful day. The vicar from
Widecombe in the moor had come to visit me. As it was a
reasonably nice day I made us a pot of tea then with a few
cakes we sat outside, in my front garden. We were talking
about how I was coping. I had said that the stories we had
written together gave me comfort. I was telling the vicar
about the flowers in the garden. He mentioned about a
woman sitting under the tree on the nearby Tor."
"Of course I immediately looked as I knew there were no
other houses nearby and also, I regarded that tree to be
Katrina's and mine. As I looked I tried to see who it was, or
could be. I asked the vicar if he recognised the person, at
that time we stood and walked to the end of the garden
when much to our amazement we saw the young woman
stand, she seemed to be waving to some-one but try as we
might neither of us could see who it was she was waving to,
then much to our utter astonishment a man sat on a horse
slowly began to appear as he moved nearer to her. When
he reached her they stopped and waved to us!. I remember
asking myself, who were they?"
"They came a bit closer to us, then followed the path
along the hillside, I did not realise it but they had been in
the shade. For the sun-light brought out, well at first I
felt fear they I realised who they were, for as the sunlight
covered them both, they and the horse became skeletons,
then they disappeared. They had been close enough for
both myself and the vicar to see them as Katrina and
Jaime Ridlington," said Giles.
"I have often visited the spot where my daughter was
buried and every time there was a flower there. Katrina
had disliked seeing cut flowers, she would become
saddened that the flower had been removed from the plant
it once knew as its family. Who-ever left those flowers
must have known her as I never saw a cut flower there,"
said Dawn.
"She actually saw the ghost of her daughter?" asked Willow.
"Yes," replied Giles.
"That was two years ago, even though I live at Cheddar
Gorge in Somerset when ever I look through this window
I can still see myself before I left that place, yet seeing
myself I can only smile, watching myself as I visit your
grave. I remember kneeling there, I am sure I felt as
though was being watched. To this day I am positive I
heard a horse," said Dawn.
"On the day that I finally moved from the area in my friends
carriage, I wanted to see my daughters grave. Then
deciding to take some water with us on the journey we
stopped at my old cottage, I went into the garden feeling
saddened that the flowers may suffer because I would not
be there to care for them but before I could fetch the
water the door opened! There, standing in the doorway was
my daughter Katrina and Jaime smiling at me. I knew those
flowers would be cared for, that they would still hear the
praise of their beauty from you, my Katrina."
"I have never been back to my old cottage yet I know it is
being well looked after and the flowers; when they have
lived a life in the garden they live again near my daughters
grave," said Giles.
He and Dawn stood, smiled, then looked around.
"I feel good in myself, having been able to read that to her,"
remarked Giles.
As they were getting ready to leave Willow looked back as
the clouds covered the ground in shadow.
"Willow? what are you staring at?" asked Buffy.
Stunned Willow faced her.
"I just saw her!, I saw Kitty as she rose from the grave.
Buffy, I have faced vampires and all sorts of other demons,
right now I feel really good. Kitty waved to us!, she seemed
to look to the side of us, then she waved then blew a kiss,"
said Willow.
"That was not us she blew a kiss to," said Dawn.
"No? who was it then?"
"Look by the front of the van," suggested Giles.
Willow looked, she saw the ghost of a horse and a man, he
dismounted, went to nd put a flower on Katrina's grave.
"Willow, I think that is Jaime Ridlington," said Buffy.
Hand in hand they walked to the horse, together they
mounted it,his horse then walked towards them, both Kitty
and Jay smiled and waved as they slowly passed by. Then
the clouds rolled on, showing them as skeletons, then they
disappeared.
(Based on the haunting tale of Jay's Grave, of Dartmoor)
THE END