Stromness Dragon

Earlier this year, I was invited to take part in the annual music and arts Tartan Heart Festival, held at the beautiful Belladrum estate in Inverness-shire.

I was asked to go along by the Arvon Foundation (who support new writers) to tell stories – but specifically ghost stories. One of the events was a three-way conversation about ghosts and belief in the supernatural between the Scottish writer, Roddy Martine, and the American psychologist and parapsychologist, Shari Cohn-Simmen. It was a very interesting experience, and during the afternoon, Roddy told this story.

There was a writer and journalist who lived in the Highlands of Scotland. He was somewhat reclusive, largely due to the fact that he had been in a very bad accident that had left his brain altered – very subtly, but altered nonetheless.  The result of the accident was that from then on he possessed a very unsettling ability – that of seeing peoples’ future lives. The way he described it was that it was like seeing a series of flickering images above folks’ heads – as if he were viewing an old movie reel. He would see their days to come – their triumphs, tragedies, families….everything. He quickly realised that this ability was more of a curse than a blessing, and he gradually withdrew from society.

Shy away though he might, he gained a reputation for this ability, and sometimes people would seek him out, desperate for any information he could give them about their future selves. He never advertised or exploited, never took payment, and would try and be as kind as he could. As a self-imposed rule he also pledged never to give anyone bad news, but find a gentle way of telling the truth without causing any distress. Mostly though, he shunned company and hid away.

One late autumn day he was visited in his house by two ladies. They had driven up from the south of Scotland especially to see him, and were tired from the journey. Despite the fact that he had never met them before, and was not expecting them, he was hospitable, and invited them in for a cup of tea. They explained that they had heard that he had the gift of prophecy, or second sight, and that they were very keen for him to ‘read’ their futures and tell them what was in store. He demurred, saying that they were mistaken, and that he did not do ‘readings’. The ladies persisted: they knew his reputation through the friend of a friend; they had travelled a long way to see him. Again he refused, telling them gently but firmly that he could not help them. Furthermore, he explained, he was very tired and had a dreadful headache: this would affect his abilities. The ladies pushed further, stressing once again the effort it had taken them to drive up to the north-west of Scotland, and how grateful they would be for any insight he could offer, impeded by headaches or otherwise.

Exasperated but bound by customs of hospitality, he agreed to a short ‘consultation’ with each of them. The slightly older of the two ladies went first. They retired to his study for 10 minutes or so, and when they emerged, the lady seemed pleased enough with what she had been told. But when the second, younger lady stood up for her turn, he apologised and said he would be unable to help her – his headache was worse and he felt extremely fatigued. She was disappointed – to have come all this way! They had a long drive back home, and to come away with nothing was….the lady was most upset. He relented. Drawing her in to his study he proposed a compromise. He would write something for her on a piece of paper and place it in an envelope, not to be opened or read until the ladies were home. Happy, she agreed.

Some 15 minutes later, darkness descending, the ladies set off for home, the younger driving, envelope safely stashed in the glove compartment. Neither had eaten much that day, and they had risen early, so both were weary. As the weather closed in and the light began to play tricks, they failed to see the car ahead of them that had braked suddenly…and they hit it with force. Their own car bucked and overturned, skidding along on its roof before crashing down the embankment and slowing to a smoking pile of twisted metal. The younger lady, who was driving, was killed instantly. Amazingly, her companion walked away with barely a scratch. After the emergency services had been to the scene, the survivor was taken to the nearest hospital and checked over for injuries. The police gently questioned her about what had happened, and explained that they had examined the car and had removed her friend’s effects. They handed over a coat, her handbag, and an envelope that had fallen out of the glove compartment…..

With shaking hands, the lady ran her fingers under the flap of the envelope and drew out the piece of paper. It was completely blank.

Tags: Halloween, Highlands, Scotland, second sight

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