74. The Radcliffe Herald
THE RADCLIFFE HERALD
Reverend’s Own Child Burned at the Stake. Mystery Corpse Beside Her!
Citizens! The devil walks among us, and yesterday, he claimed his prize in the very heart of our town.
At the stroke of midnight, under a full moon blackened by billowing smoke, the daughter of our most venerable man of God was put to death before a throng so vast it choked the square from one end to the other.
Her name is yet withheld, though every soul in town knows it and whispers it behind closed shutters.
To speak it aloud is to invite a shudder.
Her crime? Not witchcraft itself, but the most insidious sin—she was the Devil’s own harlot. It is said she was in cahoots with the Devil and its flock.
Bound to the stake, the girl stood straight and unflinching, her hair hanging loose about her shoulders. The mark of the Devil is said to have been imprinted on her chest.
Yet she was not alone in her dreadful fate. Another body was turned to ash beside her, though no one knows its identity. Was it man, woman, or some unholy thing? None could tell.
Those with an ear for rumor insist that this second victim was the true leader of the Devil’s disciples. Others claim it was no human at all, but a familiar spirit, bound to her through wicked rites.
The Reverend himself was nowhere to be seen. Some say hidden away in prayer, others that he fled in disgrace before the torch was put to the pyre.
As the flames leapt high, the crowd’s roar rose with them, half in horror, half in triumph. Mothers clutched their children; men crossed themselves.
What is certain is this: The air in our town is thick with dread, and the Devil’s work is not yet done.
Lock your doors, keep to the lamplight, and pray, dear reader. Evil lingers still.
More as details of this dreadful affair come to light.