A legend from the fictional town of Elm Ridge.

The Moonbriars lived just outside Elm Ridge, in a forest named for the oldest recorded member of the family, the man who built the original house there.

By the time Elm Ridge had fully established itself as a town, the Moonbriars had amassed a considerable fortune. The humble house in the woods had become a sprawling mansion surrounded by acres of gardens and forest.

And what the Moonbriars had in wealth and prestige, they possessed equally in beauty and manners.

But none were as beautiful as Selene.

She was the only daughter born to her parents and had been named after her grandmother, who adored her.

The two were inseparable.

Their favorite place to visit was the planetarium. They would spend hours there studying constellations, examining the moon, and searching the night sky for stars that had yet to be recorded.

But Then She Met Him

On her eighteenth birthday, Selene and her grandmother visited the planetarium as they often did. They had planned to have a picnic at the Moonlit Observatory when Selene noticed a strange man following them.

Her grandmother encouraged her to let him approach.

So she did.

To Selene, he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

Had you seen her face, you might have thought she had fallen into a trance.

But the stranger regarded her with the utmost care and tenderness. He kissed her hand, introduced himself with a bow, and spoke to her as though they had known one another for years.

Completely taken with him, Selene invited the stranger to the birthday party her family was hosting that evening.

He agreed.

On one condition.

She had to save the last dance for him.

She accepted.

The Very Next Morning, Her Grandmother Was Dead

Whether it was illness or old age, Selene’s grandmother died the very next morning.

Selene was devastated.

She mourned for weeks, and as her grief deepened, she confined herself to her room.

Then, one morning, her family went to check on her.

She was gone.

Time Passed

Eventually, Selene’s family gave up hope that they would ever see their daughter again.

But visitors to the Moonbriar estate would sometimes remark upon Selene’s mother whispering to herself:

“Selene, darling. It’s as though you never left.”

Years passed.

Eventually, the descendants of the Moonbriar family moved away, and the great mansion fell into ruin.

But stories about the house remained.

Brave or wandering townspeople who ventured into the woods would return with stories of a ghostly woman dancing on the veranda or sitting upon the great moonstone in the middle of the garden.

Others claimed that, on nights when the moon was full, they could see a flickering light in the window of the room that had once belonged to Selene.

Why Is She Haunting the Mansion?

Some say she is waiting for the strange man she met at the planetarium.

Others say she is waiting to help her grandmother’s spirit cross over.

Some insist she never left the house.

No one knows for certain.

Because that’s the trouble with legends.

They’re very good at keeping secrets.

They tell you what people remember, not what they don’t understand.

But sometimes…

There are clues.

A Date With Death

The story of the girl who fell in love with Death and who, somehow, has never quite disappeared from Elm Ridge.

Follow the clues.

Uncover the legend.

Discover what happened to the girl who fell in love with Death.

📅 October 17
📍 Downtown Fredericksburg
🎟️ $10 per mystery

A Date With Death is one of three original mysteries featured in the Light & Gather Cozy Mystery Scavenger Hunt.

Tickets → Link in bio