Hangman’s Tree towered over the swamp, seemingly dead but still strong and upright, year after year, despite the humidity and rot.
It stretched black, skeletal limbs over the brackish water and robed itself in lichen and moss.
If anyone had really been hung there, no record remained, but each villager had their own stories of the tree. They considered it very haunted.
They did not know that this was the tree’s contrivance. It was old, and wise as trees reckoned things. And it preferred to be left alone. It knew what happened to trees that humans considered beautiful or useful.

“Tree” by AHeron is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

I’ll be appearing today, Saturday November 14th, at Indie Author Day at the Erie County Central Library in Buffalo, NY! It’s a free event, so come say hello!

Everyday Drabbles © 2019-2026 Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Thanks for reading!