J. S. Le Fanu's Ghostly Tales, Volume 5

The story opens on the bleak, windswept expanse of Dardale Moss, a desolate moor where birch and dwarf‑oak cling to the ragged ground. In a solitary stone cottage that seems hewn from the very peat, Mother Carke lives on the fringe of this wild landscape, known among locals as a midwife turned folk‑witch, adept in charms and omens. Her days are spent trading knitted stockings in the nearby town, but the moor’s relentless twilight draws her back to a world where superstition feels almost tangible.

Returning home at dusk, Carke encounters a gaunt, black‑clad stranger who claims to be a lord in love with a girl named Laura. He demands a dark ritual—crossed pins in a candle—to summon the lover, offering a tempting coin in exchange. The unsettling meeting leaves the old woman trembling, hinting at the uneasy blend of folk belief and looming danger that will drive the tale forward.