01 Feb
01Feb

I always like to find a spooky story wherever we go on our travels and this year, I discovered a folk tale about Rhodes Old Town. I’ve been there several times over the years and always felt that there must be a story and some ancient ghosts wandering through the mediaeval streets where the Knights of St John once roamed, and tales of Crusader chivalry and mystery must have pervaded the thick stone walls. 

Entrance to Rhodes Old Town showing Mandraki Harbour (Photograph Author's Own)

The Old Town combines Hellenic, Byzantine and Ottoman influences and walking along the cobbles in the Mandraki District, history is embedded in every step. During the day, the town is a vibrant marketplace where artisans sell a wide range of local crafts, restaurants and cafes offer a variety of choices to suit all tastes and other shops display the inevitable tourist tat. It’s easy to forget that you’re in a UNESCO World Heritage Site and holidaying in an open-air museum during the long, hot sunny days. But as darkness falls and everything closes, the town recovers its authentic mediaeval character. 

The Grand Master's Palace, Old Town Rhodes (Photograph Author's Own)


The Bustling Main Thoroughfare in Old Town Rhodes (Picture Author's Own).

If you leave the main thoroughfare and take a stroll through the labyrinthine cobbled side streets, which are also sprinkled with shops, you might be forgiven for shivering slightly as you imagine centuries of souls who would have inhabited the ancient houses and trodden the same route. People continue to inhabit the houses, some in good repair and others, perhaps less so. If the Stone Tape Theory has any substance, then surely history will be replayed in a continuous loop with the ancient interacting with the modern. 


The Labyrinthine Ancient Side Streets of Old Town Rhodes (Pictures Author's Own)

Strangely, however, I could find nothing to suggest that anyone in Rhodes Old Town is troubled by spirits and I found no reports of Crusaders marching or riding through the Mandraki District. I did, however, find one reference, which I struggled to locate easily again, about the tale of a witch who resided in the town, once upon a time. It seems particularly appropriate to recount the tale, given my current involvement with all things witchy and the efforts being made to commemorate the victims hounded during the Scottish Witch Trials. I should say that this story is not about innocent people being blamed for witchcraft but a piece of folklore which, in the best traditions, acknowledges that some do believe that people or perhaps elementals can possess magical powers and cast spells for good or evil. 

On a moonlit night, the more sensitive among us may hear whispers in those narrow cobbled streets of the old town. If you do, it might be the Enchantress Elysia calling your name if you happen to stumble upon her quaint stone cottage nestling close to the Gate of the Virgin. It is said that curious visitors may have a sudden glimpse of Elysia shuffling along the cobblestones, her cloak, billowing out behind her. If you follow her to her doorstep, you might find her sitting, cross-legged and surrounded by her magical paraphernalia, ancient parchments, full of incantations, herbs to create her potions and crystals to endow her and those who consult her with various powers and protections. 

Elysia would sit Cross-legged on her doorstep mixing potions and making incantations (Stock Site 123 Image - Getty Images).

You might hear the clanking of metal against metal, as Elysia’s most famous magical possession is a bunch of silver keys, seven in all, each carved with an intricate symbol. While those keys can unlock secret passageways and hidden chambers, they can also unlock those things you might think would remain concealed forever. Forgotten memories may resurface, the hardest of hearts may be unlocked and hidden realms may open their portals to be explored. 

It was said that Elysia would help anyone who was desperate enough to look for her and, in return for a heavy price – a piece of their soul, a precious memory or an unfulfilled promise, she would grant their wish; money, success in battle or help with matters of the heart. 

It was for the latter reason that Nikos, recently bereaved of his lover Isabella who had died of a terrible illness, consulted Elysia and asked her to reunite them, if only for a short time.  He trembled before the wizened and ancient crone as she beckoned him into her cottage and led him to a strange door that shimmered and undulated like a ghostly portal. The young man was terrified and almost fled – what was he thinking of? Did he really want to raise the dead and disturb Isabella’s peace? Conflicted, he was torn between the pain of her loss and the desperation to see her just one more time. He took a deep breath, and plunging his hand into his pocket, he pulled out a lock of Isabella’s hair, wrapped in a silk cloth. Elysia accepted the hair and pushed one of the silver keys into the lock of the shimmering door. 

The ethereal Isabella emerged into the light (Stock Site 123 Image, Getty Images).

As the portal was flung open, Nikos gasped as a stunning garden was revealed to him, lit by the silver moon. From the darkness, Isabella, ethereal and diaphanous emerged into the light, her eyes sunken, yet still beautiful, glistening with tears. Sobbing, Nikos ran towards Isabella, who held out her hand to him. His hand brushed against hers, but he was unable to grasp it. In that butterfly’s touch, all the memories of the joy and love that Nikos and Isabella had shared flooded his thoughts, interrupted only by the bell chiming midnight in the Old Town. Nikos found himself being pulled back through the portal into Elysia’s house, and it slammed shut behind him. 

Perhaps this, or a doorway like it, led to Elysia's Garden

It had been a bittersweet experience for Nikos. The joy of seeing his sweet Isabella was tainted with the sorrow of losing her for the second time. He asked Elysia where she was and whether he could see her again. Elysia gave him an enigmatic smile and told him that while love transcends time, some doors must remain locked. Nikos had no choice but to accept that Isabella was lost to him, so he thanked Elysa and left.

As Nikos walked sadly through the narrow winding lanes, he felt something strange on his palm. He looked down to see the shape of the silver key Elysia had used impressed forever into his skin, a red and angry scar. While it would remind him of his visit to Elysia forever more, he still had a price to pay. It was one that pained him. He could no longer remember what Isabella looked like or recall the sound of her voice. While he still loved her and grieved for her, she had become a faceless wraith. Elysia had claimed her price of his precious memories. 

There are those who say that Elysia’s keys can still be heard jingling softly in the night and if you are desperate enough to seek her out, she might just appear and offer you a chance of unlocking your deepest desire as she weaves her way along the cobbles guarding secrets and dancing between two worlds.  Will you take her up on the offer of reliving a lost moment, or will the price be too great?

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