Father Hope witnesses a girl murdering another in the churchyard. The next day, Mrs. Higgles questions Father Hope about missing an event. He collapses from shock. Later, Father Hope finds Mrs. Higgles in the woods, her hair tangled and stained with blood. At Mrs. Higgles' funeral, Father Hope sees the clearing in the woods where the first murder occurred. Father Hope calls his colleague for help with the demonic spirit causing the tragedies, and they perform an exorcism in the clearing, battling the demon until the possessed girl is freed from it.

1. HallowedGround – 500 word story.
FatherHope is walkingtowardsthe churchdoor,whistlingtohimself. Allof asuddenhe hearsa faint
scream in the distance. He turns to face the churchyard at once, to look for any danger. He sees
nothing. He then runs down the side of the church; where he sees two girls. One struggling, the
other is calm. The calm girl turns at the sound of Father Hope, her hair is tangled, her face is pale,
herhands are bloodsoakedandcut. She drops Annie.WhileFatherHope dropstothe floorin shock.
Her eyes are as black as the eyes of the devil. She resumes strangling the weak, vulnerable girl.
Taking all her life away in a grasp of her neck. The girl falls to the floor, silent, dead. Father Hope
runs back to the church door at once. He is followed by Cecelia, who then gets distracted by a bird
and walks off. He retires to his office and drifts off to sleep.
The nextmorningFatherHope isawokenbya loudrepetitive knockingonthe door.He panicsand
runs to the door.It isonlyMrs Higgles.He opensthe door,hisnervesgettingthe betterof him.The
womanwalksintothe hallowchurch,she greetsFatherHope,andquestionshimof hiswhereabouts
of the previousnight,ashe hadmissedafundraisingeventatthe townhall. FatherHope beginsto
feel faint.He thencollapses.
Later that morning,FatherHope awakesagain,thistime inhisbedinthe vicarage across the street
fromthe churchyard.He nolongerfeelsthe safetyof the churchgraspingontohim.He looks
outside,there’snothingtobe seen.A crashechoesthroughthe house,FatherHope jumpstohis
feet.Fullydressed,he prancesdownthe oldwoodenstairs,he sees MrsHiggleswashingthe pots
fromthe previousmorning.She greetshim, asksof hiswellbeing,thenleavesthe vicarage forher
noonstroll throughthe town.Suddenly,atwigsnappedbehindhim, some leavesrustled,andout
crawledMrs Higgles,herlong,greyhairistangledandstainedwithblood. FatherHope runs
franticallytoherrescue.He seesa figure standinginthe treesof the woodsbehindthe churchyard.
The followingday, FatherHope isinthe church hall,satat the back,near the window.He is
mortifiedaboutthe deathof dearMrs Higgles.A few hourshad passed;FatherHope remainedin
the same position,atthe back, nearthe window. A groupof people,all inblack,gatheredoutinthe
churchyard.TheysaidtheirfarewellstodearMrs Higgles.TheythenturnedtoFatherHope,who
recitedthe Lord’sPrayeras the coffinloweredintothe cold,soggygroundonwhichshe died.Inthe
afternoon,FatherHope tooka stroll,incommemorationof dearMrsHiggles.He tookher usual
route,downthe oldlane,throughto the woodsanddownto the clearing.Hardlyknowingwhathe
was doing,he saton a log inthe clearing,andlookedatthe ground,the exactspotwhere the poor,
young,unknowngirl lostherinnocentlife.The bodywasgone.The bloodremained.
FatherHope carries onwithhisstroll, butthe nightis creepingbehindhim.The treesare getting
restlessandthe spiritresponsibleforall the tragediesisawoken. FatherHope callshiscolleague
fromthe nextvillage,alertshimof the tragediesthathave takenplace.FatherMcFlyncomes down
to the village immediately.The twopriestsmake theirwaytothe clearinginthe woods,theysiton
the ground.FatherMcFlyn opensa bible andperformsanexorcismasthe demonicspiritappears
throughthe trees.Aftera longbattle withthe demon, the girl falls.Herface turnspinkandher scars
leave.She doesnotreturnfromthe dead.