It was so real to us in the old pictures, rising like a fairytale castle out of its own dark wood,

a wilderness of gables and chimneys between those two immense towers.

Grey stone walls mantled in ivy, mullionned windows reflecting the drifting clouds.

But why had father never taken us there?

And why on his deathbed had he told my brother that rambling gate must be torn down, stone by stone.

I should have done it, Richard, he said.

But I was born in that house, as my father was and his father before him.

You must do it now, Richard.

It has no claim on you.

Tare it down.

That is the opening of ant races, the master of rambling gate.

It's pretty weird to say that.

Yeah, feels a little ghoulish to jump on an enrized story when she really is just passed away.

Although, if there's one person who would encourage dancing around the grave site, it's enrized.

Oh yeah.

In fact, feeling that something might be ghoulish and then giving yourself over to it anyway is peak enrized.

So I think we've done right by her.

Who are we?

We should probably say.

I'm Chad Fyfer.

And I'm Chris Lackey and we're here at Strange Studies, The Strange Stories.

This is the first free episode of 2022.

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