Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
The Raven – Edgar Allan Poe
The skies they were ashen and sober
The leaves they were crisped and sere—
The leaves they were withering and sere;
It was night in the lonesome October
Of my most immemorial year.
Ulalume – Edgar Allan Poe
Hi y’all. Toni (Kanzensakura) here as your Pubtender today for Poetics. It is getting towards the end of October which means……Halloween is nigh. The stores are crammed with cheap chintzy costumes for children, adults and yes, dogs. Elephant sized bags of treat portion candies are stacked to the ceiling and all kinds of stuff for decorating is almost crowding out the Christmas decorations now on display. Now that last bit is truly scary! Bowls of treats at the Bar and plenty of hot and cold cider on hand.
Before we go any further, I will make confessions to you all: (1) I was one of those who called in sick and went to a friend’s house for a party to watch the premiere of Michael Jackson’s video, Thriller, on MTV (2) I like a good scare. Not a screaming, fainting, wetting your pants scare – just a good shiver down the spine and sometimes, still feeling that shiver at times a few years later. Like what the movie The Others gave me.
Halloween – All Hallows Eve – the night before All Saints Day – has a long history – too much to go into in this one post. The short version with much cut out of it (pretty much like a Jack’o Lantern), is the Celts had a feast at the end of harvest and the beginning of winter – the beginning of darkness on the earth. The veil between the land of the living and the dead was thin therefore, it was easy for the Druid priest to supposedly predict the future. People dressed in costumes and wore masks to fool the wandering spirits and the spirits would leave them alone. Bonfires and carving up small vegetables, such as turnips, with ugly faces also scared away the spirits until after the stroke of midnight, the spirits departed the earth and returned to their realm. I’m sure all of you have much to add to this.
But for now, in modern times – it’s all about the decorations, costumes, parties, trick or treating for the kids, scary movies, scary stories. As a child, I sometimes went to a sleepover at a friend’s house. After the adults had gone to sleep, we’d gather about one the bed or floor to tell ghost stories. The person telling the story would take a flashlight and turn it on and then place it up under her chin to give a ghostly look to the face and heighten the fear factor. Many urban legends were told. We’d all shiver and squeal and make up stories, each one more lurid than the last. And then we would all cram popcorn and candy and soda into our tummies until we were sick. But it was great fun.
Hammer Films and Pinewood Studios owe a great deal to Poe – they made movies of many of his stories and poems such as The Pit and The Pendulum, The Masque of the Red Death, The Murders on the Rue Morgue. And then the classic movies: Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy. In the 1950’s, the fear of radiation, rock and roll, and outer space coming into full play: I Was A Teenage Werewolf, Them, Godzilla, It Came From Beyond…..Now it seems we are more frightened of pandemics that make us crazy or turn us into Zombies. The fear of becoming mindless creatures not really alive and not really dead is a common thread in movies and TV. Here in the States we have The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, and what I find most ridiculous – I Zombie – about a zombie coroner.
Stephen King, Clive Cussler, Whitley Streiber, and others write truly frightening books. King is the most frightening because he writes of things that could really happen: a pandemic, a rabid dog, vampires easily taking over a small town.
It’s almost Halloween. For Poetics, let’s write about Halloween: retelling of a ghost story in poem form, going to a costume party, kids trick or treating or taking your child/grandchild trick or treating, an atmospheric poem about full moons and cold winds – stuff that gives you, as we say down here in the South – jimjams, buyng candy half price the next day at the store. I’d also like to hear what your top five scary movies/books are!
So – Have Fun With This because…..It’s a Thriller! I just couldn’t resist.
- Write a poem and post it to your webpage and link it back to d’Verse.
- Click on the Mr. Linky button below and enter your name and direct url/web address to your poem.
- There you will also find the list of those participating this week. You might want to refresh this occasionally or check back in as there are people joining over the next 33 hours.
- Read other poets that have linked. Let them know what you thought, how the poem moved you, what you think of their style, what caught your attention. Please don’t forget to return the favor of those who have visited you you and commented on your work. Return the courtesy and don’t be a ghoul – grin
- Encourage others to participate through social media, promote your own piece and others.
- Have fun meeting and engaging your fellow poets.
I guess I will turn on the light to the bar. Smiles. Quite an appropriate prompt for the season, Toni!
I hope the candles are black, and there eerie music is turned on…
Right now, we have the fun Monster Mash playing!
I thought it might be fun!
HI EVERYONE! Long line at the grocery but now there are huge bowls of treats on the bar, plenty of hot spiced cider and plenty of crisp locally made apple cider besides your other favorites.
Hot apple cider… and maybe some roasted chestnuts? … love the prompt, and I might come in with another..
There are chestnuts coming out of the oven now. And from the woods behind my house!
Yummy
Thank You Mary! Welcome!
I had asked everyone about their top five scary movies/reads. So here are mine in no order: The Shining, Salem’s Lot – Movie: The Others, the original Dracula with the long suffering Christopher Lee, another book: Dracula, and the Portrait of Dorian Gray, another Movie: Alien.
Well, I am one who basically steers clear of scary movies; so I haven’t seen a lot of them. I remember having nightmares after the movie ‘Scarecrow,’ which is perhaps mild by today’s standards. I will add “The Shining,” “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Psycho,” and “The Birds.” I really haven’t seen a scary movie for a long, long time….and don’t intend to. Smiles!
To this day, The Birds has made me afraid of flocks of birds. Never saw Scarecrow. Psycho was primo!
I avoid scary movies… I hate watching it, so there are no favorites. I remember once I saw a single scene from Dracula, and I was unable to sleep alone for months afterwards..
The Exorcist did that to me! I don’t like the gory slasher films. The Others totally chilled me and I have never been able to watch it again. Plenty of fog, ghosts, Victorian memento mori, séances…..brrrrrrrrrr
Raising my hand as another who avoids scary movies. I mentioned a few above, but really I haven’t seen any for a long, long time!
Thank you Bjorn for helping me get this posted. My computer is truly misbehaving. Thank you Mary for turning on the lights! I see there are already some poems posted and like Bjorn, I am going to post another – not a haibun but a “boo-bun”
HOT CHESTNUTS! GET YOUR HOT CHESTNUTS! Watch your little fingers.
Ah.. and some butter… this is what autumn should be, I will sit by the fireplace writing… I’ll be back.
Enjoy. I just posted #2
Never had butter with them. Always just roasted and ate. In large cities up north, there are lots of street vendors with roasted chestnuts ready to give you a small paper bag of the piping hot.
You should try with a little butter on top… it’s so good.
I shall try that. This year was a bumper crop of them. there are several trees out in the woods at my house. Picked up about 2 bushels of the prickly burrs and they are getting dry and ready to separate and begin to roast. A friend of mine likes to munch on the roasted ones while sipping a nice brandy.
Usually it is the ghost stories & demonic possessions that really get my hackles up. Slasher & Monster films interest me, but are not scary; though female vampires, the Succubus does freak me; the price of sex is death–something cashed in for Michael Meyer & Jason movies.
Don’t like the slasher ones or the demonic possession ones. Alien was a good scare! The original Halloween was harrowing. But the one that really chilled me and still does, I have mentioned a couple of times: The Others Also posted my #2 poem, a boo-bun.
Glenn, in one of his comments, mentioned various cultures celebrating a Day of the Dead. When I lived in Philadelphia, there was a huge cemetery – lovely monuments and stones, many trees planted. It seems back in the 1880’s to 1900’s, it was common on what was then Memorial Day, for families to go the cemetery, clean off the graves and then have a picnic among the stones! Families meted and greeted each other and had a fun time of remembrance. there are some old photos of the events. I found here in Richmond, at Hollywood Cemetery, the same thing was done. Of course ghosts abound, sad women, confederate soldiers, a dog…lots of fun.
Anyone have any memories of trick or treating or dressing up in a costume? I once went as Dracula’s Bride – found a black net and lace prom dress at Goodwill – cut it down some and added fangs and a bloody puncture on my neck – bits of black lace and net made the headpiece and I carried dead flowers. I was a hit!
I really enjoyed getting spooky, Toni, thanks for a fun prompt! I have been thinking of the five scariest books/movies and in no particular order I came up with: The Exorcist, The Shining, Rosemary’s Baby, Jaws, Alien…that’s six but I also saw The Birds recently and that was pretty scary too…and Psycho. Hard to pick just five! I used to read a lot of Stephen King’s books but now I don’t like putting all that gruesome, scary stuff in my psyche…real life news is bad enough!
That is true. The last scary book I read was Stephen King’s follow up to the Shining – Dr. Sleep – about a grown up Danny. Interesting and how he found a mission to help the sick and elderly die peacefully – no, he didn’t kill them. There are other things involved but like most of King’s books, good overcomes evil. I read it last year. I am very careful about those scary movies Alien was a harrowing event!
Yes, Alien was harrowing. I can’t take harrowing anymore.
I can’t either. Things that jump out at you or sudden noises….I’ve gotten old in my scary factor. I don’t mind though. A good detective story or car chase is enough for me.
Yes, m’am!
Thanks to the person who linked me up today!
the folks at dVerse are a major group of good fairies/superheroes!!!!!
That’s very sweet. 🙂
I will retire to my nightmares… good night friends.
Good night Bjorn – hope your rest is peaceful!
I hope no nightmares appear in your dreams, Bjorn…good night.
At 5:30 I shall be leaving to take my husband to his doctor but will be returning later to respond to comments and read more of the posted poems. As usual, drinks are on me!
I definitely have no favourite scary movies or books. They scare me too much. To this day, There are a few movies that have unfortunately never left my mind. The Shining, The Birds, and The Omen for sure. The Exorcist haunts me and I didn’t even stay at the drive in (yes I said that) long enough to see the end. EEEK!
I am off to a conference, not sure if I have time to respond to the prompt but I will try to at least read a few….if they’re not too scary!
Was it the 70’s Omen or the new one?
The original 70’s. I learned fast that I can’t handle anything scary. Heck, I don’t even like the Wizard of Oz! 🙂
I hate the wizard of oz. it gives me high anxiety.
Really?? You are the only other person that I have had this in common with. It causes me anxiety as well. ..just thinking about it or seeing photos. There is a intense feeling of doom throughout the movie. I never felt that “everything will be ok” as is in most stories. There is also something about the cinematography that freaks me out. I can still see the wicked witch’s boots and the obvious green make up…eww…can’t even talk about it. Wow, I am so glad to share this with someone else!
Those monkeys give me the serious jimjams. I hated school because….I had to leave home for the day….that was one of the reasons – like I was going to some strange horrible land where there was evil and meanness. I hate this movie. The way people love it is one of those things I totally do not understand.
Some are scary but not as scary as the exorcist! If you aren’t comfortable reading them, don’t worry about it. I’m glad you took the time to drop by and say Hello!
I don’t celebrate Halloween and I really don’t care for horror but that is only because I had a lot of violence in my own life and I get queasy easily 🙂 but I did enjoy reading and watching the films of classic monsters like Jekyll/ Hyde and the Frankenstein monster. I liked the psychological twisted angles about those stories. I’d add to that The Picture of Dorian Gray also. Poe was a master and I used to read the Raven to my mother. She liked to hear me read. In my twenties I discovered Stephen King. I can’t handle all of them but I did read Misery and The Shining which scared the crap out of me. King is a master and has a way about keeping you involved and not putting the book down.
Despite my dislike for Halloween (don’t throw eggs!) I love candy corn and black licorice
Don’t read my poems then, It’s okay! they are kind of scary. Candy corn is cool! I like to mix it with salted peanuts. Some of the movies I really can’t deal with. I liked the Stand best by King- the battle of good vs. evil, the rebooting of our lives and values. Misery was a total no-no for me. Story lines that have people captive like that truly creep me out. The classic monsters are cool. I didn’t have much violence in my life, but I guess my imagination is too sensitive for a lot of things. Many times though, being a sci freak and comic con person, I often am too busy breaking down the special effects and looking at them from a technical aspect. I used to, when younger in my party days, enjoyed dressing up and going to parties and especially going to gay bars to see the costumes. Now that was truly fun. lots of imagination!
What a nice reply! I get a lot of people telling me I have no imagination. I have too much imagination haha that is the trouble. To me the scariest story ever is Hansel and Gretel.
Misery scared me but I kept reading it. I can’t say why except that King writes a good book.
That was awesome what you said about special effects- that is what hubby has done since I’ve known him. He tries to tell me about the effects and show me it’s not real. It doesn’t work 🙂 but I appreciate his efforts
Good. I don’t think people should be forced to do things they aren’t comfortable with. but truly, try the candy corn in equal amounts with salted peanuts. Yumm-o!
I will~! I know about that sweet and salty thing- for me it is usually Raisinets
That sounds good too!
You asked me on my site what was my favorite Halloween candy as a kid. I would have to say it would be M & M’s. And my favorite candy today would be Skittles. I can’t buy them or they would be gone in the blink of an eye.
Me too, I don’t dare buy too much chocolate at once
Chocolate I can pass up more easily than Skittles at this point in my life. Ha. But I DO understand.
So far, thank you to everyone who has linked up and has joined in the discussion!
It has been fun reading everyone’s poems, Toni!
It has ben and there is still time for more!
I linked in a second poem and this one was the first Halloween poem I wrote shortly after I started my blog in 2010. It’s a short one but I received more comments on this poem than any other that I’ve ever written. Enjoy!
Great! I’m heading right over.
See you all later! have fun, enjoy the snacks and help yourselves to the ciders.
Ah, definitely delicious snacks tonight! Greatly enjoyed.
Glad you enjoyed. I am a sucker for homemade chex mix!
Interesting… and since this is for Halloween I ll have to cook up something spooky! Be right back 🙂
Sanaa, you succeeded; and furthermore you also reminded me of ‘echo verse,’ and I just wrote an echo verse for Midweek Motif tomorrow (subject gravity) because of YOU! Smiles. Thanks for the inspiration.
Awww 😀 I m looking forward to reading it. Cheers 😀
Hi Toni,
I don’t watch horror films as these films really scare me. But per my hubby, his top #1 horror has to be Exorcist.
Halloween for me is all fun and giving out treats to the children in the neighborhood. As adults, I don’t really go to Halloween parties but I would enjoy sharing food with friends and office mates. Happy Tuesday and thanks for hosting Toni ~
sharing food with friends and co-workers is always a fun thing. We don’t have kids in our neighborhood. Years ago I lived in a neighborhood with lots of kids. It was always fun to give out handfuls of candy and see the little ones in in their costumes.
Hey everyone,
I m back 😀 sharing my poem “Vampire” hope you guys like it! Well I m not much into reading horror novels but I love watching films so here goes:
1. The Ring
2. Jessabelle
3. Sleepy Hollow
4. Exorcism of Emily Rose
5. Carrie
Lots of love,
Sanaa
Ha, Sanaa, do you know I haven’t seen ANY of these movies? I haven’t heard of any of them except ‘Carrie,’ and I know I would pass on that one! Smiles.
Its difficult to watch them anyways I always watch with my sister or friends 🙂
The Ring, esp. the original Japanese version is truly creepy. I’ve seen Sleepy Hollow but not the others. I read the book Carrie.
I agree.. The Ring gave me shivers!! Couldn’t sleep properly for a week!
The Ring and The Grudge both!
I’m off to beddy bye. I hope you all sleep well and have a good day tomorrow. Don’t forget to check back on later submissions!
Present Street’s link is broken. And suggestion: perhaps stating that only ONE poem per participant may be posted would be a good idea.
On Poetics and MTB you are allowed to put as many poems as you want.. the one poem only applies to Open Link.. It has always been that way.
Ahhhhh
I had to private my poem to work on it. I thought I’d be able to remove the link, but I was not able to. Perhaps the moderator (s) will remove it for me. Thank you and sorry for the confusion.
I thought I had seen it.. I can remove it.. hope you manage to link up again.
Thank you. I do enjoy these challenges. With this one though I feel I rushed it and it needs work.
Fun prompt, Toni. I made…a bit late (though quite early here). Got to get the day started and then I will be back to visit.
Someone left the creaky old door open…thanks. Will be back tomorrow to read. This good little witch needs her sleep.
When you come late to the party, at least you get a chance to read everyone else’s favourites… I remember watching The Mummy (the old Boris Karloff version) when I was a child and I was so terrified that I threw a doll that looked vaguely Egyptian out the window for fear it would come alive.