Classification: Legendary & Supernatural Humanoids

Temporal Range: 1940s

Geographic Range: Hagley, Worcester, England

Diet: Bella: Nothing due to being only bones, The Wych Elm: possibly Bella

Horde: Urban Legends

A truly unsettling tale surrounds the mystery of Bella in the Wych Elm. Yet, this story isn’t really about the unknown woman discovered within the tree, it’s about the tree itself. Her remains were first discovered by four boys in 1943 and all that was left of her was an aged skull and an aura of something unspeakably sinister and compelling. But it was the site of her remains that cast the darkest shadow. Bella’s skull wasn’t lying in the woods or buried in soil; it was hidden deep within the twisted heart of an ancient, gnarled wych elm.

The tree, rooted in Hagley Wood, seemed to have secrets of its own. Local whispers say that the wych elm harbors powerful spirits, protectors perhaps, or something far darker. This ancient tree, with limbs stretched like clawed fingers into the sky, chose for reasons unknown to reach out, encase “Bella,” and keep her close, hidden from the world for years.

Though she clearly died during the early years of World War II, Bella was absorbed into the very heart of the tree itself. When discovered, nearly all of her body was buried within the tree’s hollows, except for her hand, which lay just beyond its reach. But was it the tree that took her life, or did it only choose to sympathetically embrace a vulnerable, forsaken individual, shielding her from the outside world? The scraps of clothing, a ring, and her displaced hand offered no answers, only more questions, as though the tree was fiercely guarding the last fragments of her identity.

The mystery deepened when the ominous graffiti began to appear on local walls: “Who put Bella down the Wych Elm, Hagley Wood?” The name “Bella” became forever tied to this haunting legend. Yet questions hovered like fog over the woods. Had someone hidden her there, or had she been drawn in by something far older, something deeply rooted in the earth?

The wych elm of Hagley Wood stood, casting long shadows and keeping its secrets as tightly as it once held Bella. Was it simply a hiding place, or did the tree choose to take Bella into its dark, eternal embrace? For now, there are no clearer answers, only the haunting question that lingers: Who, or what, put Bella in the Wych Elm?