The Legend Of The Dreen

Around these parts there are many myths and legends. They include headless horsemen, highway men and The Mouth Of Hell. Galgorm Castle holds a story about a nobleman who outwitted The Divil Himself. The nobleman was promised great riches (and possibly ever-lasting life but I don't really remember) in exchange for his soul. The Divil Himself would come to claim his reward when a candle had burned down but the clever nobleman never let the candle burn down. He blew it out and hid it in an old dusty book. If I'd known it was so easy to get one over on the Divil I'd have sold my soul for a magic carpet years ago. The nobleman's plan was flawed however because he did not account for the possibility that one of his maid's might find it and, thinking it was a bit dark, light it until it burned down. The Divil came back and claimed his soul and the nobleman's ghost now haunts the castle grounds forever.

The scariest legend about these parts is much closer to home though. It's a Dreen legend specifically located in the attic of this house. When I was younger and I came to visit Bert's parents I used to hover by the attic stairs. Up those stairs were great treasures. Bert's childhood toys. Rocking horses, toy cars, diggers, soldiers. All of them longing to be played with. I never could though. The reason, Bert told me, was because the Squashy Tomato Face Man lived up those stairs and he wasn't particuarly a huge fan of children. He was a bit mean and grumpy because of his unfortunate squashy tomato face. He must've been ridiculed and bullied as a child and chose to live as a hermit. I couldn't find any pictures of him on the web but if you can imagine a tall skinny man with a squashy tomato for a face and a folorn vibe about him, that;s your guy.