House of Strange

Beware, all ye who enter here.

House of Strange

 

Tink, tink, tink…a xylophone?

Or is it a skeleton dancing?

Strange faces follow me with strange eyes

Above my head, the echo of ghostly laughter

 

Have you ever lost yourself in the desert? He asks

I prefer to lose myself in a vampire romance, I reply

A marriage of the bizarre and mundane, he murmurs

Above my head, the echo of ghostly laughter

 

He twists a dark brown curl around his finger,

Strokes the back of a lizard with another

A tap on the window and my nerves shatter to bits

Above my head, the echo of ghostly laughter

 

A raven perches atop a picture of Poe

Above the mantle where the fire makes monsters of shadows

‘Once upon a midnight dreary’ bangs against my brain

Above my head, the echo of ghostly laughter

 

There’s an Indian spirit inside me, he says

But he doesn’t dare let him depart

He takes a sip of whiskey, maybe two or three

Above my head, the echo of ghostly laughter

 

The raven swoops, tormenting the blissful lizard on his leather-clad thigh

I screech and the raven retreats to his post above the mantle

Poe lifts one black eyebrow and then chuckles at me

Above my head, the echo ghostly laughter

 

People whispered whoever dwelled within these walls went mad

Those same people said that these walls moved

The last tenant was confined to a crazy house

Above my head, the echo of ghostly laughter

 

This is the strangest life I’ve ever known, he mutters

Two kids stomp up the porch and shout “Trick-or-Treat”

I glance back at Poe and he tells me not to part with my beloved candy

Above my head, the echo of ghostly

 

Quite a fall, this descent into madness

It took this house but 13 days to toss me into the abyss

He smirks, Mr. Mojo Risin’, my favorite Door

A lizard to my left, a raven to my right

 

And above my head, the echo of ghostly laughter

Author's Note

Be careful. One never knows what madness lurks within four walls. And one never knows if that madness will consume them.

Reviews

[Joyce S. Greene]

I've always loved the poem "The Raven" and your references to its dark imagery greatly enhance the eeriness of your piece. Think I'd be house hunting about now, Rebecca. That ghostly laughter can really get to you after awhile . . .

Great job!

[Rebecca Buller]

Ha-ha! I'm so glad you enjoyed it:-)

[icelandicblue]

I think you depict what we classically think of madness in this piece. I like your choice of Poe- especially his raised eyebrow. These lines just made me smile:

Have you ever lost yourself in the desert? He asks
I prefer to lose myself in a vampire romance

[Rebecca Buller]

Thank you so much for the review! I'm glad to have made you smile:-)

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Visited Knott's Scary Farm last weekend...went through all the spooky mazes and got the crud scared out of me. This piece had that same eerie feel to it...I love this time of year, and this was great in terms of ghostly metahpor!

[Rebecca Buller]

Thank you, GF! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I love this time of year as well. Boo! Ha-ha!!

[Jocelyn_wonders]

I enjoyed your ghostly poem. What I liked were the references to E. A. Poe and how he interacted with you.

[Rebecca Buller]

Poe was definitely the master. I'm glad you enjoyed it:-)

[kublakhan27]

Before I even got to the end, I was prepared to laud you for the Morrison element. He definitely had a Poe-esque air about him. But you don't have to be a Doors fan to appreciate the richness of this piece, and those who aren't familiar with him would learn a lot in the way you slowly but surely bring the reader into that realm of "things known and things unknown." I would even call this an epic, with the masterfully-crafted analogies, ominous imagery, and clever repetition. Definitely my new favourite from your catalogue. Awesome work Rebecca :)

[Rebecca Buller]

Wow, thank you so much for the review! This was a very enjoyable piece for me to write and I'm so glad you enjoyed it, my friend:) I'll try to read some more of your work very soon. Peace!

[kublakhan27]

You're most welcome :) Feel free to check out my stuff anytime. I'd love to hear from you but there's certainly no need to rush. I don't want people to feel obligated to read my work :)

[MsJewel]

Creepy, crawly and the wonderful spookiness of a Halloween classic. You have an amazing talent. This is outstanding!

:) Julie

[Rebecca Buller]

Thank you, Julie! Actually, I rarely write anything spooky. This was uncharted territory, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. It is coming up on Halloween, after all:)