Join us for NIGHTMARE BEFORE BEDTIME a Storytime series for Adults and Teens. This installment is from an anthology of stories about witches and witchcraft by Richard Dalby aptly titled, Tales of Witchcraft.

The Yew Tree by Shamus Frazer features an abandoned valley and a loathsome yew tree with a legend. During the sixteenth century witch-mania, a Halloville woman was hanged as a black sorceress and her corpse impaled with a yew stake. On the gallows, she swore to return as a winged demon and exterminate the village, hence this half bird, half tree abomination.

Martin, a surveyor, takes a cottage on the outskirts of Halloville while he plots the course of a new reservoir. Martin takes immediate dislike to a yew tree that seemingly uproots itself at will.  Martin does his best to avoid it after dark, even if it means taking the scenic route to the cottage. Nighty night...