The Woman in a Black Beehive (audio story)

The Woman in a Black Beehive was a Bafflegab Productions audio story written by Paul Magrs and narrated by Anne Reid, along with Alex Lowe and Chris Pavlo.

This audio story was part of The Brenda and Effie Mysteries and featured Brenda, who made her DWU debut in the Big Finish Productions story The Boy That Time Forgot, as well as the Salford Cat from The Boy That Time Forgot.

Synopsis
Welcome to the mysterious town of Whitby, where all the monsters and demons of old come to retire and live out the remainder of their spooky days and nights and eat fish and chips on the Seafront.

There's a strange new landlady in town, opening a B&B by the harbour; a lady with a tall black beehive, nasty scars about her person and a very chequered past. Here we are at the very start: about to hear the truth of what happened when Brenda met Effie and hell was unleashed in Whitby for the very first time..!

Plot
During her first few days in the town of Whitby Brenda spent time cleaning up her B&B and was introduced to Effie Jacobs who owned the antiques emporium next door. Reluctantly, Brenda helped Effie to carry a rather horrifying painting into her shop - the painting portrayed a man and woman on a flaming horse, a sad-looking child and a ghostly cat.

The following night Brenda was disturbed by the sounds of a cat coming from the roof, upon investigating through the skylight she was shocked to find a cat which glowed radioactively. When Brenda and Effie ate at the Cod Almighty restaurant Brenda informed her newfound friend of the night's events and Effie explained the legend of the Crispy Cat and that a woman from the village had recently been mauled.

One night Brenda was again visited by the cat from the night before, Harold, he revealed that he was the familiar to Effie's aunts and told her the story of youngest aunt Angela who was courted by a Demon Lord. The Earl King, as he was known, had went to great lengths to woo Angela, presenting her with gifts of peppermints, lilies, a music box, and even a walking, talking mechanical doll called Mrs Claus who sang Angela songs of how much the Earl King loved her. Angela became enchanted with the Earl King - but her sisters were wild with fury and attempted to lock her away, however Angela found her way to meet the Earl King. Seeing his favourite of the sisters being taken away, Harold launched himself at the Earl King - who stabbed him with his flaming sword and cost his ninth and final life.

Sometime later Effie enlists Brenda's help in hunting the large cat which had committed the local mauling, Brenda visited Effie's emporium - where Effie was enchanting some bait to lure the creature - and was shocked to notice that the painting had changed. The man and woman on horseback were now further away and the sad-looking child had aged significantly. However, Effie could tell no difference. The pair encountered Harold, who ate the enchanted bait and fell into a deep sleep, and Brenda insisted that he was not the larger cat who had committed the mauling and that they should return home to help reverse the effects on him. On their way home they stumbled across the Crispy Cat, Harold awoke and battled the cat in an attempt to protect the women.

The battle ended with Harold somewhat victorious and, meeting Effie for the first time, he wasted no time in revealing the true reasons for him having been given a tenth life. According to Harold he was the cat in the painting, the others depicted were the Earl King, Angela and their daughter - and upon further inspection of the painting the scene had changed once more and this time the sad-looking child had aged into an old woman, Effie herself.

In the days that followed Brenda and Effie spent less time with each other but when Jessie, the waitress from the Christmas Hotel, informed Brenda that she had seen Effie around town in the company of a mystery man, Brenda began to worry for the safety of her friend. Finding the antiques emporium deserted, Brenda noticed that the painting had again transformed - and now showed Effie and her father, the Earl King, in the company of each other. Harold the cat informed Brenda that he had been resurrected by the Earl King in order to entice his daughter into the painting to live with him in a mystical world.

With the help of Harold, Brenda ventured into the painting and stumbled across Effie. The Earl King had filled her head with lies and led her to believe that he had returned her youth. Betraying the trust of his master, Harold revealed that as a witch Effie possessed significant powers that the Earl King wished to control. In a fit of fury the Earl King burned Harold to a cinder. Effie defied her father, realising that he was powerless to stop her, and returned through the painting with Brenda.

Characters

 * Brenda
 * Effie Jacobs
 * Harold the Cat
 * Jessie
 * The Earl King
 * Crispy Cat

Worldbuilding

 * The legend of the Crispy Cat was that two Whitby fish shops, Cod Almighty and A Salt & Battery, had once engaged in a bitter feud. Both of the shops attempted to sabotage each other, but when the carcass of a cat was dumped into the fryers at A Salt & Battery the fish shop never recovered despite fumigating.
 * Maud, Natasha, Eliza, and Beryl Jacobs were Effie's aunts. They owned a herbalist and greengrocers shop.
 * The painting had been purchased by Effie at Danby's auction house.
 * The Willing Spirit was Whitby's local paper.

Continuity
to be added