PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook
Tom scanned the clifftop and cursed the excise man atop his horse. He heard the slap of the waves against the boat and caught its signal. The man saw it too, for he replied in Tom’s place to tempt it ashore. The fool would catch trouble.
Donning a phosphorus dipped cloak, Tom feigned to glide eerily along the tideline.
The officer shrieked, “A ghost!” but instead of fleeing, he charged at Tom and swooping down pulled him onto the horse, crowing, “Not the spirit I expected but you’ll do little ghost. We’re not as gullible as them at Hadleigh Castle.”
I feel a little explanation may be required.
Back in the day smuggling into Britain could be a brutal business, those employed to prevent it were often outnumbered and came to grisly ends. The smugglers would prefer to go about their business undisturbed though and ghost stories were often used to hide their operations and scare off the superstitious. At Hadleigh Castle a pair of ‘phantoms’, – the White Lady and Black Man – made dramatic appearances just before a shipment of illicit liquor arrived, and duly disappeared when all the liquor had been moved away. There is no doubt that the famous 18th century legend of ‘the Ghostly Drummer of Hurstmonceaux Castle’ in Sussex started with some enterprising smugglers and a little phosphorus! – by Ellen Castelow
‘The Ghostly Drummer of Hurstmonceaux’
Written for Friday Fictioneers – a 100 words story based on a photo prompt. Hosted by Rochelle. Read the other entries here.
Love it (thanks to the explanation 😉 )
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Thanks Dale
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atmospheric writing, Michael
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Thanks Neil
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Nice try, Tom!
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Nice try but no cigar, cheers Draliman
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Well, as Abe Lincoln said, “You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all of the time.”
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I think Bob Dylan said that!
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I know my mum used to say it when she’d cooked something my sister turned her nose up at.
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Yep, if a ruse works once you’ll probably need something different next time around
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HI Russell, sorry for the late reply, I just realised I have a load I’ve missed in my in box
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Good story, Mick, and stood without the explanation.
Which was interesting in its own right!
Cheers
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Thanks, I knew what I wanted to write but by the time I’d researched a little bit, it all changed
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Rats, they’ll need to come up with a new plan!
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They do, if the best ruses loose their power to deceive after a while
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Dear Michael,
Well-written story and a nice side of history.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks Rochelle, just discovered a load of unanswered comments so I apologise for the late reply
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You had me at phosphorus dipped coat! What a brilliant ploy!
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Thank-you for commenting. I apologise for the late reply, I’ve just discovered a load in my in box
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it seems smugglers always know what they are doing. Law enforcers are usually outnumbered, unless they have specific information. Besides, in many places police cannot shoot because they may be prosecuted later for firing. In this case, law enforcer appeared to be quite courageous.
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Thank-you for your comment and sorry I’ve taken so long to reply
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Liked the drama of it, wreckers colliding with excise men, and phosphorous ghost – a fine story. I was told that the Scilly Isles ‘ coastline was popular with smugglers because it is so remote.
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Thank-you for your comment which I’ve just discovered neglected in my in box, apologies for the late reply
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The story was fun to read, unique and interesting. The explanation is great, too, and makes it even more interesting.
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Thank-you very much, I have to apologise for the late reply, I’ve just discovered a load in my inbox that I neglected to respond to at the time.
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No problem, happens to all of us.
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Seems like you can never outwit a revenue collector. Nice story and an interesting footnote.
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Thanks and sorry, just discovered a load of comments I’ve neglected to reply to
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I liked this story based on history, Michael. Good writing. It fit perfectly with the prompt. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thanks Suzanne, glad you liked it, sorry for the late reply
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Don’t worry about being late, Michael. Most of us have many other things to see to. I’m always trying to catch up with my emails. 🙂 — Suzanne
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The explanation helped.. and those days of smugglers can sound romantic, but there was a lot of sinister things going on I guess
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There were Bjorn, thanks and apologies for the late reply
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The excise man’s been around, I guess. He knows all the tricks. Fun story, and fascinating bit of history too.
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Thank-you Margaret, apologies for the late reply
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What people will do, to avoid paying taxes. Very atmospheric!
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Thank-you for your comment and apologies for the late reply
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Love this, Michael. Ghostly wanderings and smugglers spreading supernatural tales – fantastic. Well donw
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Thanks Lynn, apologies for the late reply
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Your story did just fine standing by itself, especially to anyone who has read lots of British novels, as I have 🙂 But the explanation was most interesting, and clarified the characters. Well done.
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Thanks Linda, glad you liked it
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I enjoyed the story and a nice bit of history. Quite creative on their part! =)
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Thanks Brenda. I think they were lucky in that far more people seemed to believe in ghosts in those days
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Great flash! Thanks for the explanation. It reminded me of Jamaica Inn.
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I started with a different story of smuggling but on researching fell upon the fake ghost thing and couldn’t resist it. thanks for reading
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The explanation made the story so much richer. Almost like propaganda of the day “fake ghosts”.
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Thank-you for your kind comment
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My apologies, I just saw your comment on this. Thank-you very much, I’m glad you enjoyed it and thanks for commenting
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Interesting history. I think they still use this fear factor to keep people from knowing the truth. Looks like the cop was onto them from the start.
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Thanks for commenting Fatima, apologies for the late reply
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Such an interesting piece, and perfect for the photo prompt.
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Thanks Sandra, apologies for the late reply
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Fun story!
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Thanks Dawn, apologies for the late reply
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Fabulous story. And a terrific explanation. A mysterious taste of history
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HI Laurie, just found this message. Thanks for the feedback, I’m glad you enjoyed it
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