The Legend of Burwell Parchment Gaol

In 17th century England, the debtor’s prison known as the Burwell Parchment Gaol was a unique institution. It housed a solely female population. The gaol’s overseer, Tamara Hornsby, ruled the inmates with no compassion, preferring her own means of keeping order. For her charges, though, it was not just her cruel, iron hand that they feared, but the manner of joy and pleasure she seemed to derive from her sadistic methods. After a young girl is beaten to death at Tamara’s hand, the remaining inmates arise to put an end to Tamara’s reign of terror.

However, as she lay bleeding and dying, Tamara Hornsby swore out a chilling threat of retribution to her attackers. As the years went by, each of the women who had been part of the uprising, died of mysterious circumstances. The gaol was eventually abandoned following a severe measles epidemic and fell to ruin as the centuries went by. The land on which the gaol stood was taken over by a local farmer in more modern times, but even as verdant fields flourished in the surrounding area, the plot where the gaol had stood remained barren.

The residents of Burwell all knew of the old legend of the prison that had once occupied the infertile land, and it remained this black cloud over the town that no one much talked about anymore. This all changed when Ronald and Sarah Langston, recently relocated from the America, appeared to buy the land to build a country home for themselves to accompany their flat in Mayfield, just outside London. As the house went up and the Langstons took residence, new activity arises within the walls indicating that maybe there is an uninvited guest.

After several close calls with injury and death, Sarah decide to take drastic measures to address what seems like an unbelievable situation, despite Ronald’s intense skepticism. Through an acquaintance Sarah has made in Burwell, Katrina Woolsey, she sets out on a plan that would have seemed unthinkable to her prior. Is there really a spirit from the17th century remaining that has taken up residence in the house, or is it all in Sarah’s mind, as she questions her sanity based on a family history of hallucinations and mental illness?

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