Hello, listeners, and welcome to Season 7, Episode 17 of Horror Hill. I’m your host, Erik Peabody, and we’re closing out the year with a fun little tale of old world magic. Something I’ve always enjoyed about folk myths and legends is how directly deities and demigods influence the lives of mortals. It takes a lot of the guess work out of living, don’t you think? If you’re doing something that your god doesn’t like, well, they might just come down and tell you so. Or fill your house with vipers or something.

Then again, it might not always simplify things. Take our story tonight, for example. Our unnamed narrator has been tasked by the witches of his village with finding their Yule Tree. This involves his venturing into the nearby sacred woods with an axe to find the one special tree that The Horned God will allow them to cut down. However, the benevolent Horned God is not the only being in the forest, and this one might not have our protagon ist’s best interests at heart.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that today’s story features both Nick Goroff and Geoff Sturtevant. Nick and Geoff, thanks for making this one extra special.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices