The windows are a mass of tatters
with flying curtains wailing
against demolished panes.
The house is corrupted—
a careening creature with pallid skin
squatting on the world
as an abscess
waiting to be excised.
There is madness beyond the threshold
where candles sputter amidst
gaping and impenetrable black.
Apparitional voices appeal to inner wisdom to stay away,
but the door purrs as it drags inward.
The room is bare
but for a table infested
with rot and books
and papers scrawled with frenzied confessions.
“The institution of this world
was not borne of an act of love,”
they say.
“And neither was I.
Yet such devils of habit
we mammalian creatures are,
for when convention shattered
to its ragged and horrible pieces,
I found myself at home.”
HEINRICH VON WOLFCASTLE writes by candlelight from the seclusion of his castle in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. His debut anthology of short stories titled Screams Before Dawn was called “an engaging page turner” by Scream Magazine. He is an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association and a member of the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers. Though he lives the life of a recluse, some say he emerges from the shadows for Trick-or-Treaters on Halloween night.
ANDRÉE GENDRON lives in Massachusetts. Her artwork is showcased online at The Horror Zine, and in print form in the Scifaikuest, ParAbNormal, and Stonecoast Review. To see samples of her work and a full list of publishing credits, visit her website at http://www.andreedianegendron.com.