A Short Story

Many, many years ago,

. . . . ...... during one of the coldest winters that Sutton had ever known, there was the curious incident of the mysterious figure seen opening the door to the stair tower, that gave access to the bell loft.

It first came to light when noticed by the Curate, a man known as George Hall, who very soon told the Verger, an impressionable young man called David O'Connell. Mr O'Connell went to look for himself one night, and was so frightened by what he saw that he dared not even tell the Vicar.

There used to be an old blackboard in the bell loft, that was used by the Curate and Vicar for putting down the names of those on the rota to ring the bells for matins, evensong, and Sunday morning mass. One dark, November night, during the reign of old King Henry, an apparition was seen to enter the staircase, and disappear.

No-one was ever seen to come down, and every time the Curate followed it up the winding stairs, on entering the bell-loft, he saw a curious phenomenon. Someone, something, had wiped all the chalked names from the blackboard, and drawn a huge box of squares, as if to play naughts and crosses. As time went on, and the squares re-appeared, the game of naughts & crosses, or what we now call tic-tac-toe, became half completed.

The Curate suspected that someone was playing tricks, and hid the chalk. And lo and behold, for a short time, the mysterious game on the blackboard stopped. The happenings, as they became to be called amongst the congregation in the know, seemed to have ..... stopped !

And then ... one foggy night, when the mists were swirling around the tombs in the churchyard, the Curate quite innocently ascended the stone staircase to prepare for the bell-ringing for that night's evensong. He was brought up with a start ... for there on the blackboard was once again, a blank game of tic-tac-toe ....


Just like this one down here.

Do you want to have a go ? Click on PLAY, and play the game the Curate saw . . . . .

and if you have the sound on ...

... you'll hear what he said as well.