The forest shudders from the wind of an October night.

Through the wicket it blusters on this eerie fogged path

The moon beams down through the clouds as the haunts fulfill their delight,

Creaks and moans, like whispers across the ear, impose a dreadful wrath.

Where the twisted trees lean and the leaves lay

Where the crows lurch from their branches, watching with a dead eye fury,

Underfoot brushes the death and decay.

The ghouls and the fables, they perturb the mind’s jury.

The jack-o-lanterns glow with a burning fire,

Directing its prey deeper still with a craven smile.

Toward the mystifying house, where all seems dire.

And all the world’s scares surround and compile.

A knock on the empty husk of a door.

Far from sanctuary, the creeps remain in between.

As the thing swings open, with a wince and a loathing underscore.

The homeowner beckons with a bowl of treats, it was all a trick of the mind: “Happy Halloween!”

Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash