TAMFEST
AUDIO STORY 6

Congratulations if you’ve made it this far. You’re more than halfway through the trail and the Haunted Adventures of Maggie and Meg. Ready for more? 

 

3 stops left to go. Starting with this one. 

 

Welcome to the Poet’s Path! Or what Meg and I call the Perilous Path…For this story, we recommend you walk while listening. In fact, you must walk while listening - it’s for your own safety! 

 

You may have walked this path before and noticed the statues along the way. Of course most people think they’re just lovely pieces of art work. But Meg and I know another story. 

 

(Meg barks) Yes, Meg - she’s just checking you’ve started walking. Or if not, you should start now… 

 

There is a creature that roams here and it goes by many different names. We call it the Shadow Hound. 

 

It’s a raggedy haired, midnight black creature - a cross between a goblin and dog - with one blood red eye. I’m sure you can paint a picture of it for yourself! And that’s for the best because you really want to avoid seeing it with your own eyes. 

 

The Shadow Hound isn’t all bad. For a long time, it lived a solitary life and rarely bothered the locals who lived in the area. As long as they left out treats, the relationship between the hound and the locals was fairly peaceful - some even believed the hound brought them good luck. 

 

But there were some locals who despised the Shadow Hound, called it unnatural and evil and wanted it gone. One night, a small group set out to hunt the hound. But despite its small size, the creature was much stronger than any of them anticipated. One unlucky hunter lost a hand and another had a chunk taken out their leg by the hound’s sharp fangs. The Shadow Hound eventually escaped, but was badly wounded. It was in this attack that the hound lost an eye. This made the Shadow Hound angry. What the hunters didn’t know, was that they had awoken the Shadow Hound’s curse.  

 

At first, it seemed as if everything went back to normal. Some villagers still left out treats for the Shadow Hound. But despite the attack, there seemed to be more sightings of the Shadow Hound than ever before. the locals described the sightings of the hound with its single bloody eye unnerving. Something didn’t feel right.  

 

One day the locals awoke to find one of their own turned to stone. The Shadow Hound’s Curse became clear. Your first sighting, nothing happens - in fact if you offer a treat or sacrifice, it may still bring you good luck. But after a second sighting, you must tread carefully - because your third sighting of the Shadow Hound, will also be your final. For on your third sighting, the curse is completed and you will be turned into stone.  

 

Today, sightings of the Shadow Hound are rare, but you must still proceed with caution in this area. Because the curse has never been broken. The animal statues you see are evidence of those poor creatures who encountered the Shadow Hound one too many times. That’s why it’s best we keep you moving along here - we don’t want you to end up with the same fate. Do we, Meg? 

 

(Meg barks)  

 

Let’s get you safely to the next location.