Synopsis:
An enormous limestone White Horse has lain imposed into the rolling hills of the twee Somerset market town Glebewick since time immemorial.
1967: On the eve of the annual Glebewick Fayre – a raucous Hallowe’en event of revelry and curious local pursuits – seventeen year old Leanne breaks away from the festivities and loses her virginity to the high school stud on the verge of the White Horse hill. The experience is an unpleasant one for Leanne, as the bleeding from her broken hymen repulses her unchivalrous suitor and she flees the site in a state of distress.
Pausing mid-flight to vomit, she suddenly notices that the White Horse has disappeared, but when she relates this to the revellers in the town’s main pub (which also shares the name The White Horse), her hysterical claims are dismissed as the inebriated ramblings of a hormonal teenager when the patrons gather outside to confirm that they all can see the Horse.
The following morning Glebewick awakes in expectation of its customary procession – a quaint mini-mardi gras – only for the inhabitants to be astonished to find that their White Horse has indeed vanished from the hillside. The town is thrown into a panic and although the fayre goes ahead, it does so under a cloud of paranoia and acrimony as the accusations fly. The butt of the accusations is naturally Leanne herself, and before long she has become an outcast within the community – accused of witchcraft, in the absence of any logical or criminal explanation for the vanishing.
Leanne does find one ally however, in the form of Eldritch Morton, an enigmatic and hermit-like resident who is described as being “as old as the hills themselves”. The ageless man defends Leanne and is on the verge of revealing a dark secret about the White Horse’s history when he is found dead. Foul play is suspected, and yet there is no conclusive evidence on the cause of his death.
With Leanne more at odds with the community than ever, and now facing charges over Eldritch’s murder, she makes an astonishing discovery amongst his personal effects. It will fully exonerate her, and force the villagers of Glebewick to confront a horrific history that has been hidden from them for centuries...
An enormous limestone White Horse has lain imposed into the rolling hills of the twee Somerset market town Glebewick since time immemorial.
1967: On the eve of the annual Glebewick Fayre – a raucous Hallowe’en event of revelry and curious local pursuits – seventeen year old Leanne breaks away from the festivities and loses her virginity to the high school stud on the verge of the White Horse hill. The experience is an unpleasant one for Leanne, as the bleeding from her broken hymen repulses her unchivalrous suitor and she flees the site in a state of distress.
Pausing mid-flight to vomit, she suddenly notices that the White Horse has disappeared, but when she relates this to the revellers in the town’s main pub (which also shares the name The White Horse), her hysterical claims are dismissed as the inebriated ramblings of a hormonal teenager when the patrons gather outside to confirm that they all can see the Horse.
The following morning Glebewick awakes in expectation of its customary procession – a quaint mini-mardi gras – only for the inhabitants to be astonished to find that their White Horse has indeed vanished from the hillside. The town is thrown into a panic and although the fayre goes ahead, it does so under a cloud of paranoia and acrimony as the accusations fly. The butt of the accusations is naturally Leanne herself, and before long she has become an outcast within the community – accused of witchcraft, in the absence of any logical or criminal explanation for the vanishing.
Leanne does find one ally however, in the form of Eldritch Morton, an enigmatic and hermit-like resident who is described as being “as old as the hills themselves”. The ageless man defends Leanne and is on the verge of revealing a dark secret about the White Horse’s history when he is found dead. Foul play is suspected, and yet there is no conclusive evidence on the cause of his death.
With Leanne more at odds with the community than ever, and now facing charges over Eldritch’s murder, she makes an astonishing discovery amongst his personal effects. It will fully exonerate her, and force the villagers of Glebewick to confront a horrific history that has been hidden from them for centuries...
