October's end at the Cornish coast
Foam-crested breakers and menacing skies
Ancient stone circles out on the moor
And medieval cathedrals with gargoyle eyes
I noticed a change in the smuggler's town
Ships were anchored and doors were closed
At the harbor, a fisherman stared me down
"Stranger, tonight the past comes to life
Haunted galleons sail through the night
Avoid the curse and stay in your room
Till dawn creeps up on the slimy shores"
As the locals went through their strange routine
I watched the blood-red sundown on HALLOWEEN

At nightfall I reached the drifting dunes
When mist rolled in and I lost my way
Through autumn woodlands to burial grounds
Where ghostly swamp lights tried to lead me astray
The hills were aglow in phosphorescent light
Celtic stones covered with runes
Dark-cloaked druids began their rites
They slaughtered the beast, piled up the bones
Set them ablaze and read the signs
All barriers faded and chaos invaded
As the dead emerged from underground mounds
The Otherworld opened, a realm in between
I saw a bad moon rising on HALLOWEEN

I made my way through the hungry dark
Past churning mill wheels and gallow trees
The withering leaves were torn by the wind
And decaying bodies swayed in the breeze
At the churchyard I heard a chanting crowd
A witch was burned under Gothic arcs
While a storm was poured from flaming clouds
The villagers formed a sordid procession
To chase the devil and his legions of hell
As horse carts rattled over cobblestone roads
Dark angels spread their wings against the night
I walked on till the alpenglow changed the scene
And dissolved the radiant specters of HALLOWEEN

 2014 Alex Schaetzing. All Rights Reserved.