The Beldam of Hollow Woods

By E.S. Winter Inspired by Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline”

In a small town, on the edge of nowhere, rested a peculiar thicket of trees which no one dared to enter. Why, you may ask?

This particular grove was once a coppice; a small area of woodland in which the trees or shrubs would be periodically cut back, in order to stimulate growth and provide firewood or timber for the townspeople.

For many years, the area was a much needed resource of shelter and warmth, until one day, mysterious disappearances began to occur. Children would go out to play in the woods, but never return. Not a tiny shoe or lace of hair left behind. After each child disappeared, soon after, a dismembered corpse would appear at the edge of the village. A horrifying scene to stumble upon, and many did in those days. Each body that was found could never be identified, for the remains had few to no limbs, and all their innards and juices had been seemingly ‘sucked out,’ not a drop remained. It was believed to be the bodies of the missing children, and eventually the small grove became known as ‘Hollow Woods’ in remembrance of the hollow corpses found there.

At first, no one connected the grisly murders to the coppice, but one by one, the village folk began witnessing a strange creature perched at the entrance to the thicket. Well, not quite a creature- but not quite human either. A woman in black and white clothes, her hair pulled into a severely tight bun, stretching her features back in a disturbing smile. She waited patiently at the edge of the woods and beckoned to any children playing nearby. Most didn’t dare approach her- for they were taught to be careful of strangers- but on occasion, a curious child would follow her back through the trees, never to return.

The villagers grew fearful and furious, so they decided to burn the woodland down along with the wicked woman. They set the trees ablaze and rejoiced in cheers of triumph as they heard the woman scream from within the flames. The people were overjoyed at their freedom, and they celebrated with feasts and festivals. Some time passed, and the people felt safe again, waiting for the grove to re-grow so that they could harvest it once again. Little did they know, the foul creature lay waiting in the charred ashes, plotting her revenge.

When the village folk noticed that the trees had begun to mature, they entered the wood once more and began harvesting. One by one, the trees were chopped down- and so were the villagers. Every day they went out to cut trees, and every day someone went missing. The bodies would re-appear at the edge of the woods, the pile growing into a mountain as the days stretched on. Many children were made orphans, thanks to the evil woman, and some would wander into the woods, looking for their lost family members. Of course, they would never find their loved ones, and just like that, all of the children from the village had disappeared, and were never heard from again.

Many moons passed, the town grew silent with grief, so afraid of the dark woods and their wicked inhabitant that the adults shuttered themselves up in their homes, waiting for the creature to take its next victim. But she never did. They soon realized that as long as they did not go near the woods, she would not come after them. The villagers began to feel hopeful again, and their leaders decided to build a wall that would separate the town from the thicket. All were warned not to go past the wall, and no one did for many years. So many years passed, in fact, that the memories turned into stories, and every time the story was told, the woman was given a different name, but most simply called her ‘the Beldam.’ As time ticked forward, the memories that had become stories then became urban legend.

About a century went by, and even the legends faded… along with the wall that protected the town. The stones began to crumble, and gaping holes plagued the barricade. As time and legends disappeared, children began to populate the small town once more. Often would they play near the wall, completely unaware of the sinister force lurking beyond.

Then, on a lovely spring day, a young girl was playing alone near the barrier. She saw the deteriorating holes in the wall, curious about what lay on the other side, so the child followed the wall until she found a large opening on the east side, the one closest to the woods. Peeking through, she saw lovely green leaves sprouting from large trees. It looked like a wonderful place to play. She crawled through the crumbling opening, and upon reaching the other side, she was startled to find a woman standing there, waiting. She had her back turned to the girl and was weeping.

“What’s the matter?” Asked the child, innocent eyes staring sympathetically up at the lady.

“Hello, dear.” She responded. “I’m sorry if I scared you, I saw you coming and wanted to meet you, for I have been so lonely… living in these woods by myself.”

Her voice was deep and raspy, and it made the girl feel a bit uneasy, but she replied, “Well, I can be your friend, if you’d like?”

The woman turned around at this, and the child gasped. The woman’s face held eight beady eyes, which stared at her as the woman spoke again.

“Are you sure? Many people are frightened of me, they all scream and run away, so I have not had a friend in a long time.” The child stared at the woman’s eyes, afraid to move, but there was something sad about her, and it tugged at the young girl’s heart, so she said, “Yes, I’ll be your friend.”

The woman smiled, her skin pulling back to reveal long, sharp teeth. “Thank you. Now then, you wouldn’t happen to have something to eat with you, I’m very hungry.”

The girl shook her head and replied, “No I don’t, but there is plenty of food in the village, I could get something for you?” The lady smiled her toothy grin, “I would love that. Could you bring some and meet me here again tonight?” The child nodded and promised to return after dark, with enough food for both of them.

Darkness fell, the child returned to the meeting place they had agreed on with a basket of goodies. She crawled through the same hole in the wall where the woman had appeared before, stepping out into the moonlight on the other side. The woman was there waiting with the same sharp-toothed grin on her face. The girl smiled sheepishly back and produced the basket of food.

“Here we are, I brought cheese and ham- and some sandwiches!” The young girl tried to offer one to the lady… but the lady shook her head and said, “I need a special kind of food, so I can’t eat those.”

The child looked at her, perplexed. “Well, what do you eat then?” The woman’s smile grew even wider, revealing such long teeth they almost looked like fangs. “Oh… I prefer liver, among other things… I know just where I can find some.” She reached out a hand and clasped the child’s shoulder. “Let’s go find a bite to eat, together.” The girl froze in place, suddenly wary of the strange woman. “I- I probably shouldn’t. My parents will be mad.”

The woman’s grin dimmed, and she said more solemnly, “That would be unfortunate. Where do you live? I can go ask your parents for you.” The child hesitated. Her parents might be cross with her for sneaking away, but then… perhaps this stranger could make them understand. And so, the girl agreed. “Ok, I live on sixth lane, in the green and white house.”

The woman’s grin returned. “Excellent. While I’m gone, you should play with my children… they love company.” She turned from the child and swept away through the night, heading into town.

The young girl turned back to the woods, searching for the children the woman had spoke of. It was quiet for a few moments, then some leaves rustled, and three older children stepped out from the thicket. The girl gasped in surprise; they all had the same numerous, beady black eyes the woman had. And they all smiled the same toothy grin, beckoning the girl towards them. “Come play! We’ve been waiting for a new friend to join us for ages!”

She felt hesitant to go into the forest, and responded, “I should probably wait here until the lady returns, my parents will be cross if I run off into the woods without telling them.” The three children stopped smiling. “Do you like your parents?” One of them questioned.

The girl shrugged, “I don’t know, they can be a bit mean to me sometimes, but then… I do a lot of things to make them angry.” The older child on the left asked, “Do you wish you could run away?”

She shrugged again, “Sometimes, but I think all children feel that way once in a while.” The child on the right spoke this time, “You can come with us if you want. Our mother is very nice and gives us treats, and we get to play all day!” The girl thought that sounded nice.

“Maybe, but what would my parents say? I don’t want them to be angry with me.” The child in the middle stepped forward, “Our mother can take care of that… She’ll make them go away, and you can stay with us… always.” And all three of the black-eyed children stepped forward. “Yes. Please join us! Come play with all our brothers and sisters and never have to go back to that awful town again.”

Suddenly, there was more rustling, and many, many more children emerged from the shadows. The girl counted and counted until there were about seventy children, and more still continued to relinquish from the shadows.

“Come with us.”

The young girl felt frightened, backing away from the other children, towards the wall. But she bumped into something, and a pair of hands with long, boney fingers curled around her shoulders. She looked up to find the woman standing there. The girl whipped around and realized the woman was holding something- a faded bonnet with red polka dots, and a worn-out brown tie- both with blood splattered across them. The girl’s eyes grew wide with fear. “Th-those belong to my parents.”

The woman smiled at her, “Yes, they did… but not anymore.” The young girl began to panic as she grew more frightened. “Are you going to hurt me?” The woman frowned, “No, I love children.”

“Then… what do you want with me? What happened to my parents? Did you… kill them?” The girl took a step back as the woman leaned forward.

“Yes. They’re dead. But I will not hurt you, I just want you to live with our family in the woods.” The girl’s mouth fell open in shock, and she cried out, “How could you! Is it because I ran away? Are you punishing me for being bad?” Tears spilled from her eyes, falling silently onto the ground. The woman straightened, a stern expression on her face. “Dear child, do not cry for them, for it is not bad children that I eat, it is bad parents.” The girl looked up at her, bewildered.

“But… how can you tell good parents from bad?” The woman crouched down, all eight eyes staring deeply into her own. “When I came upon your home, I found your parents sleeping, they hadn’t even realized you were gone. As I prepared to devour them, they screamed and begged me to spare them, saying they would do anything… So, do you know what I told them dear child?”

The girl shook her head, unable to tear her eyes away from the fathomless black pools staring into her. The woman’s mouth twisted in a bitter sneer as she spoke again, “I gave them two choices. I told them that if they sacrificed their child, I would spare them. I could eat them, or I could eat you… and do you know what they chose, dear child?” The girl covered her ears, not wanting to hear the answer- but the woman peeled the girl’s hands away and continued. “They chose you. They sacrificed you to save themselves. So, I ate them. And now you’re mine. But don’t be afraid, no one will harm you. I won’t rest until every bad parent in that village is punished.”

The girl let out a despairing sob, and as the Beldam wrapped her arms around the child, the girl’s skin began to change, and eight black, beady eyes sprouted on her face. The Beldam wiped the child’s tears away, all emotion draining from the girls face. She faced the forest and, with all the other children, disappeared back into Hollow Woods.

So, remember children; the Beldam of Hollow Woods steals every child away who strays too close, naughty or nice. As for naughty parents, make sure to lock your doors at night, lest the Beldam come for you.