The Arthurian Gargoyle

What do a monstrous gargoyle, a menacing Woman in Black and the final resting place of King Arthur have in common? You're about to find out!

## When Colin Met Sarah

Colin Perks had always been fascinated with the illustrious legends behind the fabled King Arthur of Britain. He had first become enamoured with the folkloric figure when he was a child, and would grow up to possess an astoundingly large library of Arthurian literature by the time he reached his thirties. Through his studies, he had eventually become convinced that the legendary Arthur must have been based on a real person, and that he would've apparently held significant power over large parts of ancient Britain during the late 5th and early 6th centuries. It would've been the heroic fighting against the invading Germanic Saxons of he and his brave knights that would've left the impressive mythological impact on the culture of the country.

However, Colin's research eventually took him to even more out-there territories than the assertion that Arthur was real - he had set himself on a mission to find the burial site of this once-living legend. He had decided that this was possible to find based on a series of '*complex codes and ciphers*' that he was given by a fellow Arthurian researcher in 1978. Perks came to the conclusion that Arthur's grave must have been somewhere near the old English town of Glastonbury. He travelled to this town and began his investigation - but he would soon find himself dealing with far more that he bargained for.

Perks' phone rang late one evening in September of 2000. He had spent the previous day and early evening relentlessly digging in the woods in an attempt to find the ancient treasure that he was seeking. He picked up the phone and was greeted by a female voice who insisted that they discuss his Arthurian studies. There was something rather disturbing about this character, but it was clear that this discussion was now compulsory for Perks. He eventually agreed to meet the odd woman at 7:00pm in a few days' time.

At the arranged time, Perks was frightened - but perhaps not shocked - to hear a knock on his front door. He took a deep breath and nervously opened the door, whereupon he was confronted by the female figure responsible for the previous menacing phonecall. She was described as a beautiful woman, around 35 or 40 years old and clad in a '*smart and expensive-looking outfit*' of black colouration. She long black hair and pale, smooth skin that likely seemed to glimmer under the moonlight. For a moment there was silence, as Perks stood before her like a deer in headlights. The woman's face was completely devoid of emotion, and yet Perks could somehow sense a nebulous air of hostility or even hatred emanating from her.

She introduced herself as Sarah Key, and said that she and her poorly-defined '*select group of people within the British ruling elite*' had been watching Perks for a long time. She made it abundantly clear that the purpose of her menacing visit was to request that Perks cease his Arthurian studies immediately. Dumbfounded but '*suddenly defensive*', he retorted that he wouldn't stop his research, and also scoffed at the idea that there were '*shadowy figures*' watching his every move. It seemed like something out of a thriller movie as opposed to anything that one might expect to encounter while researching King Arthur. His skepticism was quickly put to bed, however, when Sarah Key responded to his jeering by listing off everything he had done in recent memory - right down to which local pubs he would visit for dinner and a pint of Guinness.

Colin, now listening in stunned silence, was further bewildered when Key described how Arthur's grave-site (or '*chamber*') had been built atop some sort of portal or supernatural gateway, and claimed that the chamber had been constructed as a defence system to prevent the monstrous denizens of this alternate dimension from entering our reality and wreaking havoc. Apparently, Colin's research may have had innocent intentions, but it could potentially result in paranormal catastrophe if he went any further with it. Key's expression became grimmer and her tone somehow even more menacing as she stated that Perks would be destined to receive another visit (from who or what she didn't specify) if he continued with his search for the site.

Roughly two months later, this nebulous visit would come to pass in a dramatic and terrifying fashion. Perks was driving down a small and winding road from the city of Bath back to Glastonbury when he approached an area of the road that was devoid of traffic or illumination. He was already going quite slowly due to the twisty nature of the road, only moving at around 25mph, and so he was luckily able to easily apply the brakes when a horrific figure suddenly appeared in the middle of the road in front of him. This dark humanoid figure had bat-like wings and red eyes blazing with supernatural light. Utterly terrified, Perks immediately hit the accelerator with every intention of running down the monstrous gargoyle - but the demonic creature vanished before it was hit by the speeding vehicle.

About a week later, the gargoyle made another appearance. Perks was woken up in the middle of the night by the visceral sensation of pure terror. He was paralysed in his bed, and monstrous hands were tightly gripping his wrists - the Arthurian Gargoyle was looming over him, its red eyes aflame in the darkened bedroom. A message appeared in Colin's mind, once again warning him to stay away from the grave of King Arthur and to stop digging in the woods. Immediately after, the gargoyle vanished - leaving Perks unsure of if the visitation was just a horrific nightmare. Deep down he knew it wasn't.

Perks eventually concluded the Sarah Key and the gargoyle must've been one and the same - and that she was in fact a supernatural shapeshifter capable of taking on any form she desired. Colin didn't give up his research despite the paranormal seige on his wellbeing. He lived out the rest of his days as a husk of his former self, and would suddenly die in 2009 of an unexpected heart attack while walking around the border of Stone Henge. Perks was apparently something of a chainsmoker, and so this was not unexpected, but one can make what one will of the story of his death.

## Sources

'The Monster Book: Creatures, Beasts and Fiends of Nature' by Nick Redfern

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