He commissioned a wrought iron gate for his wife as a wedding present and had it installed in her private garden. It was decorated with a highly realistic serpent taken from his family crest.
His new wife thanked him for the gift, but developed a fear of using the gate. When she opened it she heard a susurrus, like a snake crawling through tall grass. He told her she was imagining things.
They found her dead in the garden with a snakebite on her hand. Nobody noticed the head of the serpent on the gate now faced the other way.

“Gates to Globe Theatre, London” by mira66 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Everyday Drabbles © 2026 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

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