A Shadow Folklore Tale

As It Was Told on the Downs...

I was told this years ago, as it happened, not as a story meant to frighten, but as something that simply took place. It was told plainly, without embellishment, as a reminder to be careful of what you follow when you’re out on the open land alone.

There was a man out hiking on the downs on a summer afternoon. As he crested a hill, he stopped beside an old, wind-blown hawthorn and looked out across the view.

As he stood there, he became aware of faint music drifting on the wind, coming in and out of his hearing. It wasn’t anything modern, but a light, merry tune. After a moment, he realised it seemed to be coming from a particular direction. Being alone in the open downs, he was intrigued as to where the music was coming from and began to walk towards it.

As he continued down the slope, the music seemed to draw him on. At the bottom of the hill he came to a small stream. Feeling mesmerised by the sound, he stopped and closed his eyes to listen more closely.

It was then he sensed someone else was nearby.

He opened his eyes suddenly, and the music stopped.

The sun was bright behind him, and his shadow lay long and clearly defined on the ground in front of him. At the far end of the shadow he saw two well-dressed little people. They had not noticed that the man was now watching them.

One of the little people held a large pair of scissors and was carefully cutting around the edge of the man’s shadow, while the other was rolling it up.

The man cried out in alarm at what he was seeing. The two little people stopped and stared at him, and then, in the blink of an eye, they disappeared.

His shadow returned to normal.

Badly shaken, the man quickly walked back up the hill and carried on to finish his hike.

That’s how it was told to me, and I’ve always watched my shadow more carefully since.