Highland Samhain

In the far Highlands of Scotland, where the glens are deep and the mountains high, where dark clouds scud across the sky carrying the snow and rain to coat the peaks and fill the lochs lie many forgotten glades of Rowan and Birch trees. Sheltered from winter storms and kept cool in the summer months by the shadows of the towering cliff faces, these oasis have been left untouched for centuries.

My forefathers long ago learnt to leave these places in peace, placing cairns along their edges to warn other travellers not to roam through the inviting lush grass or seek shelter under their verdant branches.

But over time, these practices and meanings have faded, the cairns slowly collapsing into the soft fertile soil, no longer sending their warning to weary travellers.

So it came to pass that 4 university friends from Berlin decided to visit Scotland and sample Samhain, the Scottish Halloween during a hill walking trip.

Everything that they planned fell into place, even finding cheap flights direct to Inverness, the capital of the Highlands and vacant spaces in the hostels on their planned route. To crown it, they even managed to get tickets to the 'Samhain' festival at Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness, they would have a long walk over the mountains to reach the Loch but the promise of warm beds and an open Whisky bar sealed the deal.

Two days prior to their departure, 'Daniel' one of the companions was struck down by a terrible influenza, confining him to his home. It was with a heavy heart that he wished his friends a good journey with a wish that he could be with them for the party.

Even with the loss of one of their compatriots, the three were in good spirit and found their way into the Highlands. The weather un-naturally fair for the time of year made easy going through the glens, they were greeted by friendly locals who were happy to point them along their way and suggest good places to eat and drink, at night they would join fellow ramblers in the hostels sharing their days experiences.

On the morning of the 31st they found themselves in Glen Affric ahead of them a good days walk across the hills before they would drop down into the Great Glen and Urquhart Castle.

The day started bright with a light breeze from the West to carry them on their way, following a light farm track they made their way up the side of the glen till they reached a gateway that opened up onto the moors.

Leaning on the gate was an old Highlander puffing on his pipe, beside him was an old sheep dog which beat its tail against the heather on which it sat as the companions approached.

The Highlander gave the companions a convivial greeting as they stepped through the gateway.

"Mind how you go up there lads, it's Samhain the veil is at it's thinnest and there are things out that will chase you for your blood."

The companions laughed at the old mans warning "You mean the Midges? Oh we have plenty of repellent."

The Highlanders snorted "Aye right! Midges!, Tell that to the lads from the Telephone company that were up there last year." The Highlander returned to leaning on the gate puffing his pipe and watching the smoke as it drifted off down the glen.

The three moved on laughing that there must have been something more than tobacco in the old mans pipe.

The going was hard but the views across the hills made up for the effort as the companions pushed on with the thoughts of a night of fun and dancing with wild Scottish Lassies.

Not long after a short lunch break, the weather started to close in, dark clouds swept overhead, getting lower and lower, obscuring the peaks that not long before had been in bright sunshine.

As the mist started to envelope the group they found their path leading downwards into a side glen that would lead them towards Drumnadrochit.

The mist continued to follow them downwards, shrouding them in a cold damp grey blanket, reducing their visibility. With the damp came the Midges, tiny biting flies in search of a blood feast to nurture their young.

The spirits that had started out so high in the morning soon nose dived and a steady flow of muttering and cursing began as the cold, damp and Midges worked their way into the three's clothing.

The sun had disappeared behind the ridge line above them and only a weak light made it's way through the cloud around them, the path petered out and they found themselves at the foot of a massive cliff face.

"What the fuck?" chorused the 3, phones were extracted and maps unfolded as they tried to work out where they were. Through a thinning in the cloud one spotted a red beacon glowing atop a metal mast, "Hey that must be the Telephone Mast the old guy was talking about."

The map was scrutinised again only to bring more despair, the beacon that radiated its bright red light was on their right side when it should have been on their left. They had followed the wrong path into a blind glen, they would have to retrace their steps for several hours to re-join the original route.

As if to underline the mistake, the wind picked up clearing the low cloud and bringing with it heavy rain, the only blessing was that the Midges disappeared as they sought shelter from the driving rain.

The group trudged back along the path heads low as whatever spirit that they had hung on to evaporated into the cutting wind.

"Ah Fuck!" cried Hector as he stumbled on a low pile of stones placed just at the edge of the path. "This is no good, we need to shelter."

Looking around them they spotted a group of trees with a thick canopy of leaves that would keep the worst of the rain off.

They squelched off across the strip of grass that was still green despite the change in the season and ducked under the low hanging branches where the ground was nearly dry, they pushed further into the trees to escape the wind.

In the middle of the wood stood an old Bothy, a bit ramshackle from the outside but it still looked good enough to offer some protection from the elements.

With a shove, the door scraped open to reveal a dry sanctum from the weather, benches placed around the room encircled a fire pit next to which the previous occupants had left a pile of dry wood ready for the next travellers trying to escape the storm.

With much relief the compatriots shrugged off their rucksacks and got the fire going.

The friends realised that it would be futile to try and make it to the party that night and resigned themselves to a night in this bothy in the Scottish Highlands.

Emptying out their rucksacks the group gathered their provisions together, a few tins of beans, mince, dry biscuits, two bottles of wine and a hip flask of Whisky.

"Well at least we can have a party of our own" lamented Friedrich taking his mobile phone out and plugging it into his power bank, the screen showed a good connection thanks to the mast high on the hill above them and the bothy was soon filled with music as they prepared the food.

The first bottle of wine washed down the tinned food and biscuits filling the friends with a warm glow which along with the heat from the fire soon had them singing along to the music.

"Hey, what about Daniel, do you think he has recovered yet?" asked Hector.

"Let's video call him so he can join in the party too" suggested Konrad.

Picking up his phone Hector selected Daniels number and switched on the camera. After a few moments the screen flickered and Daniels face appeared.

The three chorused their hellos to the surprised Daniel and went on to explain their predicament.

"Where are you, are you still sick?" they asked

It turned out that Daniels sickness had passed a few days after the friends had left for Scotland and he had been searching for a Halloween party..

"Samhain!" chorused the three giving it it's Scottish name.

He had found a niche event called "The Haunted Sex Shop", a night of fantastical story telling with an adult theme.

"Ooooh!" chorused the three laughing "If only we had a few Scottish Lassies to keep us company tonight we could have a "Haunted Bothy" night."

Daniel grinned at the camera "I wish I was there with you guys to share some of that fun."

On his screen Daniel saw his friends look strangely at each other, "Hang on Daniel, there's someone at the door" the music cut off as one of the group hit the pause button.

"I thought you were in the middle of nowhere?"

"We are" said Friedrich.

Hector switched the camera on his phone, so Daniel could now see the old wooden door of the bothy, Konrad approached the door and opened it tentatively.

A hooded figure stood at the door, the firelight illuminating a long green cloak that dripped with the rain. A delicate hand appeared from the folds and pushed back the hood revealing a young woman with long dark hair "Oh mercy be, we got lost in the hills and have been searching for shelter, we smelt the smoke of your fire and followed it here. Can we shelter here with you?"

The camera flicked around revealing Hectors grinning face which gave Daniel a knowing wink before it switched back to the doorway.

Three other women joined the first as they ducked under the low lintel to get in out of the rain, all wore green cloaks and as they folded their hoods down Daniel could see they were all stunning and had long dark hair in various styles. "We are the daughters of Sith and we were travelling to Glen Urquhart to join the Cenoby there, where we will remain for 10 years closed from the outside world."

The three friends in the bothy bid the women to draw closer to the fire to dry out, Hector sat his phone down on a shelf so that Daniel could see the picture around the campfire. He could make out three of the women, but the fourth was sat with her back to the camera, the green cloak wrapped around her slim figure, only her delicate neck and a pile of curly black hair gathered on top of her head could be seen.

In the bothy Friedrich switched the music on again and Konrad offered some wine to the new arrivals.

"Oh we shouldn't" declared the one now sat next to Konrad, "we should remain pure before entering Cenoby"

"Who's to know?" whispered the one next to Hector "it's our last night of freedom, I'm sure these fine gentlemen will keep our little secret?"

Daniels could see his three friends nodding their heads eagerly and the hipflask appeared, making the rounds as the music was turned up and the group started to dance together, all apart from the curly haired figure who remained by the fire.

As the group danced around the fire, Hector came into shot with the first woman who had appeared at the door, her head rested on his shoulder as they danced closely together, her hand running through his hair "Where is your friend, we thought you were going to be four?" She asked "Our sister is all alone tonight."

"Oh Daniels still in Berlin he couldn't come... Hang on how did you..?"

There was a flurry of movement on the screen as Daniel watched, a flash of white, a red splash, then the camera was knocked off it's perch and the call dropped out.

"What.. Hello.. Hello" Daniel tapped at his phone, holding it up to try and get a better signal.

"Everything alright mate?" asked the barman.

A couple of others at the bar looked round to see what was going on, "Huh? Oh yeah, the call just dropped out, maybe it was their connection, they are in the middle of Scotland."

The barman nodded his head in understanding and the others at the bar turned back to their drinks.

"Please make your way through to our 'Haunted Storeroom' the first performances are about to begin" called the organiser as she started to usher the guests through the cobweb decorated corridor to the back room where the short stories would be performed.

Daniel made one last attempt to connect, but the phone just flashed up 'no connection'.

Feeling a presence next to him he looked up. A woman wearing a long figure hugging green dress and tan suede boots stood expectantly by his side, her elegant features were crowned by a pile of curly black hair.

She smiled, revealing a set of pearly white teeth.

"Hello Daniel, are you ready to hear a scary story?"