*** Summary: Haunting and harrowing visions of All Hallows’ Eve here include horrific crimes committed on October 31st, a honeymoon homicide, mysterious witches, amorous vampires, dead serious poltergeists, along with a pageant of autumnal imagery sure to evoke goosebumps beyond the spooky season.
*** Essence: Wearing the cunning costume of a Hallowe'en poetry collection, 24 poems and numerous full-page illustrations (by artist Erin Caldwell) reimagine macabre true crimes and explore injustices.
*** Tagline: Trick or treat twisted with treachery
*** Haiku Summary:
Actual horrors
inspired this book with menace.
Read it ― if you dare.
*** Summary: Haunting and harrowing visions of All Hallows’ Eve here include horrific crimes committed on October 31st, a honeymoon homicide, mysterious witches, amorous vampires, dead serious poltergeists, along with a pageant of autumnal imagery sure to evoke goosebumps beyond the spooky season.
*** Essence: Wearing the cunning costume of a Hallowe'en poetry collection, 24 poems and numerous full-page illustrations (by artist Erin Caldwell) reimagine macabre true crimes and explore injustices.
*** Tagline: Trick or treat twisted with treachery
*** Haiku Summary:
Actual horrors
inspired this book with menace.
Read it ― if you dare.
Samhain
I’ve fallen through a rip in time tonight.
Pale outcasts perch nearby, bones tinkling,
Earth shaking with its greener mirth.Stones creak,
Horned owls shriek as spirits gather loose clouds,
Push these exotic feather-weighted shapes
Aside — transparent curtains of their realm.
What’s on the other side? Cold hands caress
My arms invisibly. My candle glow
Reveals no beings with a shadow. Yet
I’m not alone, detect sweet fragrances,
Lush nectar of forbidden grapes above.
A cricket orchestra replays nocturnes.
I flutter like a trapped bird, then something
Or someone draws me in with secret steps.
A brittle leaf is plucked from my red hair.
Glass-blown interiors invite me there,
Strange iridescent skies pontilled with stars.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Sleepy Hollow Hallowe’en
— Inspired by Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
Clashes with spectral hussars oft retold
By superstitious idlers keep doors locked
In Sleepy Hollow after suppertime.
October’s harvest beckons thieves. We prowl
Lush farms, wheelbarrows hidden in the woods.
A jack-o-lantern moon illuminates
Gold grinning gourds, arousing appetites.
Ideal for tasty pies or windowsills,
Pumpkins pump cash into our patched pockets.
If thefts are noticed, we’d blame that horse-ghost —
Or Raven Rock’s forlorn white-gowned vexed wraith,
Who haunts the dark glen where she froze to death.
Our local drunkards keep wild myths alive,
Explaining how a Hessian warrior,
Who fought alongside Brits, caught cannonfire.
Entombed without his skull, this German ghoul
Continues searching, mounted on his steed.
“Believe your eyes and ears,” my father said,
“Instead of old wives’ tales. Dead men lie still.”
Yet I confess I’d hesitate to be
Alone within view of such restless graves —
Especially tonight, All Hallow’s Eve.
With loaded sacks of fresh-picked plundered gourds,
We make our way to where we hid the cart,
Aware of hidden eyes observing us.
Fruit bats screech, scything mournful autumn skies.
Shushed evergreens’ tips whisper “witching hour.”
Deserted greensward. We’re defenseless here.
Treetops are rustling spectral rapture: hooves.
Our brains jump their calm borders, go insane.
Damp forest floor seeps wet death through our bones.
A galloping gigantic man appears,
Wrapped in a cloak and military wear.
His head’s on the protruding saddle horn.
We three disperse as fright ignites my speed.
A distant silhouette of homes greets me.
Tomorrow I’ll discover my friends’ fate.
Removing muddy boots, I’m now aware
This unnatural creature’s real enough.
* * Full-page illustration by artist Erin Caldwell
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hallowe’en Horror, October 31, 2005
Calamity came calling him again,
Devised the script, cast him as “Mister Nigh,”
Quiet defiance smirking on his face as Nigh
Unzipped his skin and seized control. Dark plans
Were hatched. October 31st. Costumed.
His mark: a woman whom he vaguely knows.
Nigh took the wheel, refused to hear protests.
Insane schemes — toxic oxygen he breathed.
The New York cityscape burned memories
Imperfectly, erasing blue details.
Bold headlines snitched on him, his photo front
Page news. A stranger recognized his face.
Observed by aliens, Nigh disappeared,
Left Peter handcuffed and in custody.
Shackled now, he recalls he tied her up.
She testifies about her thirteen-hour
Ordeal: explosives causing smoke, enough
To fool her into opening her door,
Believing Peter was a fireman sent
To help — until he roughly ripped her clothes.
Nigh holds him captive now, detained behind
Bars, unremorseful, richly ridiculed
For blaming an accomplice never seen.
— —
Note: For his crimes on October 31, 2005, former journalist Peter Braunstein is serving his 18-year-to-life sentence at Five Points Correctional Facility in Romulus, NY.
* * Full-page illustration by artist Erin Caldwell
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Halloween is fast approaching, and what better way to get in the mood for the haunting and fright-filled night than to dive into a good book? LindaAnn LoSchiavo's twenty-four haunting creations took inspiration from the supernatural world, classic written works, historical figures, nonfiction monsters, and more!
Witches and vampires are iconic figures in film, TV, and literature. Over the years, they've been portrayed as villains and heroes. Whether they are starring on the side of good or not, certain elements can be expected to appear just as they did with the inclusion of pentagrams in "Night on Bald Mountain, All Hallows' Eve," and covens in "Secrets of the Spell." (I loved the addition of the eyeballs in the mason jar, located in the illustration that accompanied "Spellcasting on Samhain.") And if you watch vampire shows/movies enough, you know they don't always get nourishment from a neck. Sometimes, their meals come from blood banks. Bon Appetit, bloodsuckers!
While fictional monsters can and do affect our sleep, we should fear real-life monsters like former journalist Peter Braunstein, whose horrific and traumatizing actions were captured in "Hallowe'en Horror, October 31, 2005." Unfamiliar with the case, I googled the writer and was disgusted at his cruelty. He is the prime example of a wolf in sheep's clothing!
"Hallowe'en Horror, October 31" was not the only poem revisiting a true crime event. "The Hallowe'en Homicides on October 31, 1981" was inspired by the brutal deaths of Ronald Sisman and his college student girlfriend Elizabeth Platzman. Curious again, I put aside this poetry book to gather more information on the unsolved crime. What I read left me speechless! (Note: These were not the only Hallowe'en real-life cases that inspired the writer. Read the collection to discover more.)
Going just by the title, readers will assume this book contains ONLY poems of various styles and lengths. That assumption would be incorrect. Yes, there are poems, but the five writings under the Day of the Dead and a few under Haunting read like short stories or diary entries. Perfect for those who fail to interpret a poem's meaning. The writer also included "Lexicon of 18th century terms." It's meant for people who need assistance in key poet terminology used in "Abecedarian: Honeymoon Homicide, 129 Spring Street, 1799." Or, for a person who always wondered what arsy varsey, nippers, plus eight more 18th-century terms words or phrases meant.
The only unfavorable comments about the poetry book come from the font choice for certain poems' titles or how the titles are written. First, let me elaborate on the issue with the font choice. The lowercase h in "Samhain" looked fine, but the same letter in "A Sleepy Hollow Hallowe'en," "Dracula Plans His Hallowe'en Soiree," and others looked off. Each letter h looked like an n but with an off-putting horizontal line across the top. There were also inconsistencies in hallowe'en: upper and lower case H were both used in the titles. Maybe the issue falls back onto the shift in (title) font choice. Oh, and I would opt for another font for the uppercase M. Each time I saw it, the M looked like two uppercase D standing back to back.
While I wasn't a fan of the font choices, I was a fan of the full-page illustrations. I laughed at the drawing that accompanied "Emily Post's Etiquette Book for Ghosts." It reminded me of the times teachers would have us write X number of times on the board as punishment. I also smiled at Dracula chillin' in his cape as he fired off a text. It made me wonder if vamps were real, would there be a secret food delivery service for the undead, and what it would be called.
Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems is not only designed for poetry fans. It will appeal to artists and art fans, Halloween enthusiasts, true crime watchers, and anyone who enjoys spooky stories.