Afraid of the Dark

a poem for and about fellow horror writers

Wouldn’t it be silly

if horror writers were afraid of the dark?

 

We write about mysteries

Of boogeymen and banshees

And other things that go bump in the night

 

We write about Hessians and curses

Of werewolves howling at the full moon

And axe murderers lurking in the woods

 

We write about insanity and other worlds

Of aliens out for world domination

And dinosaur resurrection

 

We write about suicides, murders, and the like

Of ghouls feasting on decaying corpses

And zombies pounding against boarded windows

 

We write about the twisted human psyche

Of ancient evils buried for centuries

And shape shifters prowling the city streets

 

We write about dragons terrifying a village

Of ‘I believe in Bloody Mary’

And the hook on the car door handle

 

We write about kidnappers

Of haunted houses and ghostly cemeteries

And ponder who Jack the Ripper was

 

We write about witches’ brew and magic

Of black cats crossing one’s path

And sea monsters on a stormy sea

 

We write about pacts with the Devil

Of vampires come to suck your blood

And the secrets of Area 51

 

No, I take back what I said

Horror writers have the most reason to be afraid of the dark

Author's Note

a poem for and about fellow horror writers