Blood Witch

I curse you all.

I shall return.

Your descendants will pay a heavy price.

Trust me, you'll love it once we settle in.

I'm holding my breath.

Can't believe you've not seen that farmhouse before.

Why.

You know I'm a city girl.

Yeah, but not even as a kid?

No, my parents hated the countryside.

Ah, that way.

- Right. - Come on, up you go.

Okay.

Oh my God, what kind of path is this?

This is just ridiculous.

No, wait.

Jesus.

This is going to be a fun trip.

Hi.

Hi, hi.

Sharon and Michael Templer, right?

- Arthur. - Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you both.

How are you?

Lovely house, by the way.

I'm pleasantly surprised.

Well, thank you.

She's been in the family for generations.

Yeah?

Is she nice and cool inside?

Hmm, yeah.

Cool in the summer, warm in the winter.

Okay.

Well, let me show you in.

Yes, let's go.

Thanks.

- Sugar? - Ah, no thank you.

Just one please.

Thank you.

So you've been here long?

10 years.

Oh wow.

- Do you not get lonely? - Sharon.

Well, I'm just taking an interest.

No.

My wife passed away 10 years ago.

I sold our home and just committed to this place full time.

Gave me something to focus on, you know.

Yeah.

Her name was Claire.

We were childhood sweethearts.

What happened?

Sharon!

Sorry Arthur, you don't have to answer that.

No, it's okay.

No offense taken.

She died unexpectedly.

Heart attack.

Jeez, I'm really sorry.

Oh, long time ago now, hey.

Is it safe here, Arthur?

You know, we're kind of out in the sticks.

Do you ever get people like trying to break in?

What's with all the questions?

I'm just asking.

Well, we don't normally

get very many people travel out this far

into the countryside to be honest with you.

Yeah, but have you had anyone break in?

Now who's being nosy?

Just once, a very long time ago.

It was shortly after I'd just moved in here.

There's nothing to worry about.

It was just a once and some local drunk guy just lost

his way on the way home.

It was harmless, really.

See?

We'll be fine.

Yeah.

I've put a couple of extra locks on the doors just in case.

What about internet connection?

Not here, I'm afraid.

And no mobile phone signal either.

Ah, perfect.

Weekend away from everyone and everything.

Yeah, I love solitude.

You know, I turned my back on the modern world years ago.

You know, the way things are going,

we'll all be digital slaves soon.

My thoughts exactly, Arthur.

Great, I'm stuck on a farm

with two raving conspiracy theorists.

Sharon hasn't seen the light yet, Arthur.

No, I'm just a realist.

I'm not a nutjob like you, babe.

You'll see.

Once your electric car is driving you around

and you can't drive anywhere for 15 minutes

without showing your ID,

then you'll join our tin foil hat brigade.

We'll see.

I'm still working on her, Arthur.

I'm still working on her. She'll come round eventually.

Looks like you've got your work cut out for you.

Yeah, he does.

There is one thing to mention.

Oh, here we go.

Saving the best till last, Arthur.

If you're planning on going

for a stroll tomorrow, just don't go too far into the woods.

Sounds intriguing.

There's an old ruin there.

It's, um, it's become a bit dangerous.

A few years ago we had a hiker staying,

he fell and broke his leg,

and best to give it a wide berth.

What sort of ruin?

The remains of an old cottage,

originally from the 17th century.

I mean, I'd like to see it.

Yeah.

It's not a safe place to be around now.

You're a nice couple.

I wouldn't want any accidents.

- We'd be careful. - Yeah

Right?

I mean... We'd just go in the day.

Yeah.

Look, I'm being serious about it.

It's overgrown.

One wrong step, and it could be a broken ankle,

and we are a long way from the closest hospital.

So look, keep that in mind and play it safe.

I don't think he's telling us everything.

What are you talking about?

I think he's holding something back.

Don't be daft.

Well?

Well what?

It's not just the cottage, is it?

I'm not sure what you're getting at, miss.

Look who's the conspiracy theorist now, Arthur!

What happened?

What happened?

The ruin.

I can tell there's more to the story.

I can see it in your eyes.

Okay.

It's a local legend,

but the locals believe that the ruins are haunted.

Haunted?

Told you so.

Yeah, I'm with the nutjobs now.

Hear him out, please.

So, it goes back to the English Civil War

and the witch trials.

So the legend goes that an old widow

and her daughters lived in the cottage there,

and they were accused and convicted of witchcraft.

So, they were taken from their home

and beheaded in the grounds.

And the story goes that their ashes were put into an urn

and buried somewhere deep inside the woods

so that no one could ever find them again.

Yeah, yeah, we're not stepping one foot off

that path this weekend.

Well, the legend says

that just before they met their deaths,

that the widow and her daughters put a curse on the woods

and that their ghosts would appear and kill anyone

who dared venture back around their house again.

Yeah, we're staying in this weekend.

Well, um, it's just a local legend, of course.

Well, thanks for the heads-up.

We're not going to sleep tonight.

Yeah, thanks Arthur.

Well, you did ask.

Yeah, could have lied.

To be honest,

I don't really think the witches are going to be interested.

I think you're safe.

Well, listen, I can't sit around gabbing all day.

I've got some work I need to attend to.

Oh, what do you do?

I have another farm just on the edge of town.

A few pigs and sheep, nothing special.

Well, thanks for the warm welcome.

Yeah, thanks Arthur.

Yeah, well, you're very welcome.

I will come back on Monday evening to collect the keys.

And I've chopped plenty of firewood,

so if you wanted to make a fire

and have some drinks one evening, help yourselves.

You have the same mind, Arthur.

Well, you enjoy yourselves.

I wasn't joking about the woods, either.

Witches or not, keep well clear.

Accidents can happen.

We'll keep that in mind, Arthur.

- Okay. - Thanks.