The Haunted Tree of Death

Anybody who went traveling about Europe in the reign of Queen Victoria took a guidebook by John Ruskin with them. Ruskin instructed people on places, buildings and paintings they should find beautiful. His favourite place for writing books was in the beautiful valley of Chamonix beneath Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe. Here, one day, he was told of a remote spot where the ghost of a woman was sometimes seen, raking leaves. She wore a shawl that hid her face and - this was the thing - she could only be seen by children. The following day Ruskin sent his servant over to the next valley to borrow a child who had never heard of the ghost, so there was no chance of pretending to see her.

"Shall we approach her?" whispered Ruskin, trying not to sound to surprised since he saw no one. He took the boy firmly by the shoulders and pushed him in the direction he'd pointed. They had only gone a few steps when the boy suddenly froze. No matter how hard Ruskin pushed, the boy refused to go a step further.

"What is it?" Hissed Ruskin.

"She looked up," quavered the boy. "She's got holes instead of eyes. Her face is a skull!"

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Credited to Harvey The Hunter

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