Category: Horror

Scary themed poems

Something In The Night

 

     Something In The Night

As I laid down for the night.

I heard a thump, off to the right.

I sat up and looked around.

Nothing unusual could be found

I reached up & turned out the light.

Before long, I had a fright.

I felt a presence standing there.

I could feel it in the air.

The hair on my head stood up.

I felt trapped, like I was stuck.

Quick, like a bunny, I turned on the light.

I looked left and I looked right.

I couldn’t see anyone around.

My spouse lay next to me, sleeping sound.

I left the light on for awhile.

Eventually, I turned it off, with a smile.

My imagination was working overtime.

It was that short horror stories book of mine.

I was reading it to kill some time.

Before I started it, everything was fine.

I tried to get comfortable & go to sleep.

I prayed to the Lord my soul to keep.

I was just dosing when my wife awoke.

“Someone is here”, she spoke.

This sent a shiver of fear down my back.

I turned on the lamp, expecting a trap.

Again,—- no one was there.

“They could be hiding anywhere.”

I said “I’ll check it out”

I grabbed a flashlight & moved about.

I checked the house from bottom to top.

Checked windows, doors, and every lock.

All was secure. No one was there.

Nothing out of place anywhere.

She said “Maybe it was a ghost?”

“No such thing,” I tried to boast.

Again, we tried to get to sleep.

The scraping sound made me feel weak.

I jumped up with flashlight in hand.

I was ready to clobber the ‘man.’

No one there.— Not a sound.

Nothing unusual could be found.

We agreed to sleep with the light on.

It was fine till the light was gone.

We awoke with the lights out.

“What the hell!!,” I began to shout.

Our bed started shaking for no reason.

No earthquake, out of season.

We were scared. She started to scream.

We just wanted to split the scene.

Then, everything went completely still.

Not a single sound to give us a thrill.

Nothing ever happened again.

Our explanations were looking dim.

Years later, we don’t mention it anymore.

Yet, we sleep with light on & a locked door.

————————————–R. W. Johnson—–(2015)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

 

      Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

I walked by the mirror & glanced at it.

I snapped around and looked again.

I just stood there looking for a bit.

I turned around, not believing it then.

I looked the same as ever.

But, the background had changed.

It wasn’t my bedroom. Very clever.

It seems castle walls had been arranged.

I knew it had to be somehow a joke.

I went to the bathroom mirror.

I looked at it and what a jolt.

It was the same, that was clear.

I went running out of the place.

Picked up my girl and brought her back.

I told her about it to her face.

“I was warned you were crazy, but that?”

“Your family was cursed, so were you.”

“I’ll check out the mirrors for the fact.”

She looked in both mirrors & it was true.

She was shocked, but suspected a trick.

We checked behind the mirrors.

Nothing there. We just didn’t get it.

She was so shaken she was almost in tears.

Then, I put my hand on one of them.

My hand went right into the mirror.

I pulled it out quickly, like it was sin.

I said, “ It felt cold and queer.”

We realized we could go right in .

We feared to do so. Could we get out?

What if it trapped us within?

Would it do us any good to shout?

We covered the mirrors & disposed of them.

We dumped them at the city dump.

They were never mentioned again.

There was one mirror left in a trunk.

Out of sight, out of mind, ——until????

—————————————–R. W. Johnson—–(2015)

 

Halloween Games

 

      Halloween Games

It was a foggy trick or treat night.

We stayed close to keep in sight.

The night had been good to us so far.

We had enough candy to fill a car.

Just one more house up ahead.

The one that was haunted, people said.

It was the mansion behind the cemetery.

To say it was spooky was quite contrary.

We were a little slow with our approach.

The lawn was thick like walking on mulch.

After a double dog dare I banged the knocker.

We heard a squeak like a broken down rocker.

Then, the sound of feet shuffling along.

If we weren’t so scared we would have been gone.

We heard a deadbolt being thrown.

Then we heard another moving with a grown.

Slowly the door creaked as it was opened.

A dark figure stood there and hadn’t spoken.

A woman in black with a hood over her head

stood facing us . She smelled like she was dead.

She looked down and I saw her face.

She looked like a witch with skin like paste.

“Trick or treat” we stammered out.

Our bags were shaking that we held out.

“So, you wanna play a trick on ole Joyce”,

she said with a high scratchy voice.

“No mamm, it’s Halloween” I managed to say.

She said” Well, come on in. I have a game we can play.”

“If you win you will get a treat.”

“If you lose I will get something to eat.”

She pulled us in & slammed the door with a cackle.

“Go in to my parlor now before it’s midnight.”

“That’s the bewitching hour when we ‘treat’ kids right.”

We were all too scared to worry about loot.

We were almost peeing in our boots.

“The game goes like this. Three of you get 3 guesses.”

“That’s one guess each. Don’t make any messes.”

“You have to guess my name.”

“If you do you win the game.”

“You are first. Let’s hear your guess?”

“Joyce?” Joey said in a voice that was his best.

“Wrong” she yelled. “I knew that would lead you astray.”

She looked at Peter to see what he’d say?

“Rumplestiltskin” he finally gasped out.

She roared with laughter shaking all about.

“Nice try kid but, that’s strike two.”

Looking at me she said “Now, I want to hear from you.”

I happened to see an envelope sitting on a stand.

I remember the name printed on it by hand.

Along with the address of this place.

I took a chance and said to her face.

“You’re Ms. Haddie Hinklebow”

Her eyes opened big and she stared with a scowl

“Now, how did you know that?.” she asked.

“I saw a letter as I went by” I gasped.

She shook her head and said “You win.”

She gave each of us a sack of candy and gold .

She said “Come again next year if you are bold.”

We ran like hell and never went back.

Years later we include the story in our  Halloween  sacks

——————————————————R. W. Johnson—–(2013)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Halloween Boo Boo

 

      A Halloween Boo Boo

It’s that time of year again.

Time for pumpkins, ghosts, and candy tins.

Time to mix up a special brew.

A big caldron of bubbling goo.

A ‘real’ witch will mix it up.

Special ingredients to fill your gut.

You must be careful cause you never know

just which way this stuff will go.

Look out!!, some just splashed out now.

It is growing to the size of a cow.

It’s all slimy and really stinks.

Smells like something flushed down the sink.

It is moving like a great big blob.

Coming toward us like mudslide sod.

Run!! Get away from here quick!!

Or you will be sucked up like that stick.

It just ran over a little mouse.

The mouse is gone. The little louse.

The more living things it eats the more red it gets.

It wants organic beings. It won’t rest.

We have to stop it. There must be a way.

Freeze it like in “The Blob”, in its day.

So, like the movie, we sprayed it with co2.

Froze it solid. We ain’t no fools.

We had the Air Force fly it to the frozen arctic

They left it there in a heartbeat.

We hope we never see it again.

Happy Halloween. It’s not the end.———–R. W. Johnson—–(2014)

 

 

 

 

A Halloween Urban Legend

 

      A Halloween Urban Legend

While camping for a day in the desert lands,

I saw a man walking out of the burning sands.

He came into camp and asked for water.

He looked like he couldn’t get much hotter.

His skin was red and his clothes hung limp.

His body smelled  like burning hemp.

After he drank enough to quench his thirst.

I said “This day must have been your worst”.

He replied “No, what’ s out there is worse by far”.

I said “You mean the heat? Where’s your car?’.

“I Ran into them on a geological survey trip”.

“Scared me so bad I almost lost my grip”.

“Big, ugly, hair all over. Looked like a demon”.

“More than one. A bunch of behemoths”.

“I dropped everything and ran for my life”.

“All I had on me was just my pipe”.

“I’ve been running, walking, & crawling “.

“For 2 days straight. Too dried out for bawling”.

I said ”Man, you’re  lucky you found me”.

“If you get too hot, no telling what you’ll see”.

“No man, it wasn’t a hallucination or illusion”.

“They were real,  in all their profusion”.

“They looked like they were having lunch”

“They were eating human parts, I have a hunch”.

“I’ll drive you to the nearest town”.

“Report it to the police about what you found”.

When he told the police his story,

they laughed and said “We know it was gory”.

“However, 2 days ago was Halloween day”.

“ Every year there is a similar experience, they say”.

“There has been many searches with nothing found’.

“ It’s just an urban legend. To Halloween, it’s bound’.

The man was shocked and was sorry he came.

For him Halloween will never be the same.

——————————————————-R. W. Johnson—-(2012)

 

Religious Freedom

 

      Religious Freedom??

On that dreadful day in April 1993

The smoke spread for miles for all to see.

Broadcast on radio and TV.

What a disgrace to the land of the free.

Who was responsible. Who could it be?

 

Branch Davidians were holed up for 51 days.

Armed to the teeth, they refused the phrase:

“Surrender and we’ll give you a fair trial.”

They wouldn’t give up, they said with a smile.

Freedom of religion is our only style.

 

Men, women & children were enclosed.

Rumors spread that some wore no clothes.

It couldn’t be proven one way or the other.

Responses were that they loved one another.

They followed David Koresh like he was a mother.

 

A certain person, we’ll call J.R., gave the order

“Burn them out!!”  “We’ll take no quarter!!”

Men, women, & children died that day.

They became ‘crispy critters’ all the way.

81 people. None left alive to have a say.

 

What a ‘black eye’  for the land of the free.

Life has been worse for you & for me.

Since that injustice was done to our fellow man.

While J. R. skates free without any plan

to prosecute J.R. for that evil plan.

 

Let this be a lesson for you and for me.

The day is coming when we will see.

Religious freedom will not mean a thing.

Religious persecution is all it will bring.

Then, like the Davidians, His praises we’ll sing.

——————————————————R. W. Johnson—–(2013)

 

 

 

 

The Terrorist’s Son

      The Terrorist’s Son

Good morning America. How are you?

Don’t ya know me? I’m a terrorist’s son.

You don’t know me, but, you soon will.

There’ll be 500 dead fore the day is done.

 

Riding on the train they call Glory Bound.

I’m planning my big day in the news.

I’m doing all my work in the club car.

Just how to pull it off without any clues.

 

The people drinking their beers

and the people who shed no tears.

Will be in for a big surprise just about dawn.

They will have their beers cut short.

By a loud reverberating report.

Loud enough to deafen all their ears.

 

Two old duffs playing cribbage in the club car.

A penny a point. No one’s keeping score.

25 bags of mail in the mail car.

Will go right up in flames and be no more.

 

This train is definitely Glory Bound.

There will be no survivors, that’s for sure.

Only parts of passengers will be found.

America, I think it’s time for a cure.

 

The people drinking their beers

and the people who shed no tears.

Will be in for a big surprise just about dawn.

They will have their beers cut short.

By a loud reverberating report.

Loud enough to deafen all their ears.

 

As we pull into the crowded city station.

Hundreds are waiting just to get on board.

They won’t have to be too long awaiting.

I exit just before the entering hoard.

 

I get safely far enough away.

I have my cell phone in hand ready to use.

As the train starts to pull away

I punch out a number & blow up all the fools.

 

The people drinking their beers

and the people who shed no tears .

will be in for a big surprise just about dawn.

They will have their beers cut short.

By a loud reverberating report.

Loud enough to deafen all their ears.

 

I slip away in all the panic that ensues.

People screaming & running everywhere.

The club car has disappeared is news

that spreads fast with rumors to spare.

 

Someone did this horrible deed.

No one has a clue who it might be.

But, they will know when they read

the message I sent to the paper for all to see.

 

You have been weighed in the balances

and found wanting—–A terrorist’s son.

—————————————————R. W. Johnson—–(2013)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Self Mutilation

Self Mutilation

She was burning herself.

And her hair was filled with ashes.

She was burning herself.

Using a cigarette instead of matches.

What could make a person go that far?

To bring pain upon herself.

Not to mention it left a scar.

Was she punishing herself?

 

See the shiny blade cut into her arm.

Watch the blood flow freely.

Seems all she does is harm.

She was never greedy.

She had enough to be content.

Her life seemed to be going fine.

There was nothing to resent.

That’s what made it such a crime.

What would make one do it?

 

The pain of the knife cutting flesh.

Was she driven by demons to do it?

Was her desire for attention  at its best?

I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.

HER PASSION IS HER PAIN!!

————————————————–R. W. Johnson—–(2013)

 

 

Nightmare Or Vision?

      Nightmare Or Vision?

10,000 maniacs were screaming my name.

I think I might be going insane.

I took a walk on the wild side.

While there I almost died.

You’ve heard of the 7 levels of hell?

Well, let me verbalize & ring your bell.

There may even be a level # 8.

Designed especially for your fate.

All those things you’ve buried deep.

Kept in the dark afraid to seek.

Pigeon holed deep in your mind.

Buried, you hoped, till the end of time.

Locked up tight in the dark recesses of the id.

Only emerging in nightmares when a kid.

If those nightmares return as an adult.

The fabric of your sanity may melt.

The most atrocious offensive things.

Sit in wait to emerge & cause pain.

You’ll run, you’ll scream, you’ll flip your lid.

You’ll be more frightened than when a kid.

Never think you can tempt your fate.

Demons will act. They will not wait.

They will drag you down to the 8th level of hell.

There you will remain to scream and yell.

You may be locked up in a rubber room.

But, your mind tells you ‘IT’ is coming soon.

Tranquilizers just make it like you’re in a fog.

Makes you feel like you’re stuck in a bog.

Demons screaming, the smoke, the fire.

All of them yelling that you’re a liar.

There is no escape as indescribable things appear.

You rip your face and skin in fear.

You’re screaming “let me out” “let me die.”

You feel like ripping out your eyes.

There is no escape. You know this is final.

Judgment has closed. You know why though.

Back when you had the choice.

You didn’t even use your voice.

You turned your back on the only salvation.

You could not resist temptation.

Oh, that you only understood.

You can do nothing that is good.

But, He can , and will for you.

All it takes is to ask Him to.

I made it back when I woke up screaming .

It wasn’t true, I was only dreaming.

But, it sure woke me out of my slumber.

I fell to my knees & prayed like thunder.

Loud and long for God above

to keep me safe in His arms of love———–R. W. Johnson—–(2014)

 

 

 

The Desert Inn

 

      The Desert Inn

On a dark desert highway.

Cool wind in my hair.

I cranked open the chopper.

I didn’t have a care.

Watched the stars up high.

No one was around.

I ran out of ‘poppers’.

I thought I heard a sound.

I pulled over & stopped.

All I heard was the wind.

I thought I heard the coppers.

As I scratched under my chin,

Good thing I ran out of ‘poppers.’

I heard a voice on the wind.

 

“Welcome to the Desert Inn.”

“What a lovely place.”

“Such a lovely face.”

“Come stay awhile within.”

“Any time of year.”

“You are welcome here.”

 

I looked all around.

I could not see a thing.

I listened for a sound.

I couldn’t hear a thing.

 

I started riding down the road.

Soon I saw a shimmering light.

I thought this must be the place.

It turned out I was right.

The Desert Inn; as I was told.

A sign above the door said:

WELCOME- STAY AWHILE

“Can I get myself a bed?”

The night clerk smiled.

“If that’s what you want, sir.”

I told him that it was.

“Can I get a cold beer?”

“I’ll bring one up in awhile.”

 

“Welcome to the Desert Inn.”

“What a lovely place.”

“Such a lovely face.”

“Come stay awhile within.”

“Any time of year.”

“You are welcome here.”

 

Again, I looked all around

I could not see a thing.

I listened for a sound.

I couldn’t hear a thing.

 

I found the room & in I went.

Simple but, cozy.

Nothing to rave about.

Then I decided to mosey.

And have a look about.

I heard laughter from a vent.

In the ‘party room’, below.

a party was going on..

I went to join the show.

I wasn’t gone for too long.

The waitress came.

I ordered a beer.

She said “It is a real shame.”

“We don’t have any beer here.”

 

“Welcome to the Desert Inn.”

“What a lovely place.”

“Such a lovely face.”

“Come stay awhile within.”

“Any time of year.”

“You are welcome here.”

 

I looked all around.

I could not see a thing.

I listened for a sound.

I couldn’t hear a thing.

 

I asked the waitress what it was.

“What do you mean?” she said.

“Someone singing about this place.”

“Oh, that is nothing.” she said.

“Ghosts sing about this place.”

“What do you mean?” I said.

“Just past guests who like it here.”

“Past guests who like it here?”

“Well, yes. You can check out anytime.”

“But, You can never leave.”

I shot out of there like a jet bird.

I rode 100 mph to the nearest town.

I told the sheriff what I saw & heard.

He laughed, then frowned.

 

He sang: “Welcome to the Desert Inn.”

“What a lovely place.”

“Such a lovely face.”

“Come stay awhile within.”

“Any time of year.”

“You are welcome here.”

 

“Did you look all around son?”

“Did you not see anything?”

“Did you listen for a sound son?”

“Did you not hear a thing?”

 

“Yes, that is exactly what happened.”

“It is all an urban legend. son.”

“Many people went through what you did.”

“No trace of the place is ever found.”

“We’ll go look when it’s light.”

“You will see what I mean.”

“You can follow me on your bike.”

“We will check out the scene.”

In the morning we went back there.

Not a thing could be found or heard.

He said “I was lucky to be there.”

“Some people didn’t make it out, we heard.”

I had to take him at his word.

I had nothing else to say.

As I rode away I heard a bird.

It seemed to be laughing all the way.———R. W. Johnson—–(2014)