The Ball of Fire in Kill-macabea

ON a moonlit Halloween night in Leap, the mist crept across the pitch like a ghostly blanket.

From the shadows emerged Damien Gore, Kilmacabea’s most fearsome forward – or as the locals whispered, the Demon of the Pitches.

No one dared face him after dark, not since he’d discovered the Ball of Fire – a cursed football said to have been forged in the flames of Samhain itself.

When Damien booted it, sparks flew, goalposts smoked, and goalkeepers screamed, “Holy sheet!” before diving for cover.

That night, local Carbery clubs from across the region gathered for one last showdown. O’Donovan Rossa, Ilen Rovers, Castlehaven, and more – all trembling under the eerie floodlights.

As the whistle blew, Damien cackled like a banshee, weaving through defenders who vanished into thin fear. Every pass sizzled, every shot burned – the scoreboard nearly melted.

Spectators swore they saw pumpkin faces glowing in his boots and bats circling overhead as he launched another flaming point.

The ref’s whistle turned to ash. The match ball? Long gone  – scorched into legend.

When dawn broke, only scorch marks remained on the pitch in the shape of a perfect ‘K’ — for Kilmacabea, or perhaps… Kill-macabea.

Now, every Halloween, locals swear they hear footsteps echoing from the old goalmouth, followed by a fiery thud and Damien’s haunting laugh:

‘Still blazing through the Carbery division… one ghoul at a time.’

Beware bothersome blooms

Sinister ‘sinflowers’ are infesting local fields.

Earlier this year the thriving village of Leap was overrun by a mysterious plague of ‘Sinflowers’ (Latin: Hateianthus) which are closely related to – but very different to – the more common and pleasing Sunflower (Helianthus).

The sinister infestation (some experts are even referring to it as an ‘infection’) initially centred around one field at the east of the village.

Soon however, the bothersome blooms started to show up in all sorts of unexpected locations with people reporting that the fearsome flowers were appearing ‘from nowhere’ and stood looming over them, ‘staring’ and waving their tall skeletal stalks in a menacing manner.

One local, who wishes to remain nameless, reported that the worst thing about the ghoulish growths was the stench – which they said was ‘bad enough from one, but totally overwhelming’ when you had sinflowers seeming to congregate together.

Attempts to sever the plants at the roots proved pointless as they grew back stronger, taller and more foul-smelling than before, with experiments with special poisons causing existing plants to thrive rather than die.

Other reports said the flowers ‘were’ displayed a ‘zombie-like’ fascination with the moon, turning slowly to follow it through the night sky, while during the day bowing their oversized heads from the sun, creating spooky shadows to hide creeping comrades and simultaneously smothering friendlier flora – particularly wild garlic.

These sinflowers are extremely rare in the world, but have been known to proliferate in small isolated areas of Transylvania and there was one very specific case in Whitby, UK in the 1890s.

Horticulturalist and sinflower expert, Dr B Stoker is continuing his research into how to control this ‘infection’, saying there is no ‘silver bullet’ solution but progress is being made around the use of special stakes driven into the ground near the roots of individual sinflower plants.

A real wicked party in the woods

Scary good times to be had in Rineen woods.

BY WOLFGANG WERE

Witch way to the spookiest party in West Cork? Dust off your black suede shoes, grab your broomstick and follow the fairy trail winding through Rineen Woods near Union Hall.

You might just find yourself in the midst of a scary good time…

Follow the path along Rineen River through ancient trees and magic moss until you get to an ivy-covered ruin.

Next to it, hidden behind some foxglove, you’ll find a tiny red door with golden hinges. Knock six times and witch-in-residence Winnie Greentooth will appear out of the fog.

Winnie is the boss witch of Rineen Woods, stirring up trouble and brewing pumpkin spice potions so strong they’d make the undead shake their bones all night.

As a test to see if you’re ready to join the party, Winnie will offer you one of her steaming potions. Instead, ask for a Haunted Hollow stout.

That’s your secret code to get you into the Minis-Tree of Sound. You won’t believe your eyes once you’re inside this fantastic, moonlit club where ghouls just wanna have fun…

You’ll hear ghostly giggles and wicked laughs, mixed with broom-ing bass. You’ll see fairies with neon-coloured wings, breakdancing werewolves, tipsy vampires, and cackling witches by the dozen. As the bells toll at midnight, the forest’s ancient spirits will join this fang-tastic rave for a magical show of lights you’ll remember henceforth.

And as you stroll back home along Rineen’s fairy trail, you’ll be thinking to yourself ‘This year’s Halloween was legendary’.

So go on, turn off your phone and go down to the woods. You know you’ll have a wicked good time!