Embers of the Forgotten

In the shadowed heart of Old Wendover, where ancient yews whisper secrets to the wind, the village gathers each November fifth to light the great bonfire, a ritual older than memory itself. This year, as flames devour the straw-stuffed effigy of Guy Fawkes, historian Thomas Reed senses a deeper pulse beneath the revelry an echo of Samain, the Celtic night when the veil thins, and forgotten spirits stir. Unearthed truths from crumbling archives reveal the fire’s true purpose: not mere celebration, but a pact with the restless dead, a ward against the dark. As embers spiral into the frostbitten night, something watches from the moor’s edge, its cinder-robed form flickering with hunger for a name to burn eternal.