Of course everyone knew

that Pam and Mark were a little odd, even for rural Devon. But I don't think anybody expected the incident at the reception.

The exact course of events is unclear, and probably always will be: the only survivor, although apparently physically unharmed, is incapable of speech other than to endlessly repeat the same question 'the barn, what is it that is growing in the barn?'. The reception was not held in, or near, a barn.

The cleanup operation is now nearly complete. It has not been possible to identify the remains of individuals: it seems likely that some kind of merging took place before or during the final stages of the deliquescence. There will be a common grave, of unusual size.

It would not be truthful to say that these events are rare: they are not yet quite common, perhaps, but they will soon be so.