The Skeleton Dance - Walt Disney - 1929

Witches

Wicked cold

Halloween old

Werewolf itch

Cat tails twitch

Broomsticks in flight

Knuckles that might

Knock on your door

Ghostly lore

Dreadful night

Screams with fright

Wrinkled up skin

Let us

Come 

In !!

From Autumn Poetry: A Collection for the Season

Available on Amazon

How Dare I

It’s one summer night

and I’m walking down a dark road.

Not because I live some place remote,

but because I can.

Probably not a good idea.

But no reckless car has passed by.

There are no strange sounds. 

I only hear the owls.

Still - I have no flashlight, and I start to wonder -

why am I doing this?

Then I remember - I love challenges.

I’m wearing short sleeves and shorts.

Mosquitoes buzz my ears.

Only a crazy person would do this I tell myself.

I step into a hole and my shoe gets soaked.

I remember that it rained the night before.

 

I left my car a mile back.

It didn’t break down.

I remember there’s an empty building up ahead.

What am I trying to prove?

I reach the building, the door is open.

With the help of the moonlight through a window

I find a tattered chair.

I sit down and hope there aren’t any snakes.

Just close your eyes.

Sleep for a while I say -

then you can walk back.

So, I sleep.

And when I wake it's morning.

I tell myself - see

you do like challenges.

I now feel invincible.

I start walking back to my car.

I think about getting breakfast at Panera.

Celebrate my bravery.

I see a car coming toward me.

It bounces across the ridges

and ruts in the road.

My car behind it is coming into view.

I breathe easy.

I stay to the side of the road.

Soon the car coming toward me

will pass.

But it doesn’t.

And when it gets closer

I see a man behind a cracked windshield

with a gun pointed right at me.

I ask myself –

are challenges really that important?

2024 (c) Jan Darrow

Dear Readers, 

Happy autumn. I’m looking forward to the changing leaves and cooler temperatures. I love this time of the year! How about you?

Tonight

the river is saffron

like the sun

arranged in bolts 

of heavy silk

and wild gold flowers

the color seeps

between trees 

and strands of dark

while along the bank 

reeds melt into the dusk 

clearing way 

for the stars

(C) Jan Darrow 2024

The Turn of the Screw

The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James was a 12 part series (gothic fiction) which was featured in Collier’s Weekly from January until April of 1898. It is a ghost story I’ve been meaning to read for a very long time. The story is told by a governess who comes to believe that the two children she is in charge of are visited by two former employees who died. The question is..are they really being haunted? Or is the governess descending into some kind of madness. See what you think! I do recommend!

The Lodger

The Lodger - 1927

Well..you know I love Alfred Hitchcock movies. And, I thought I had seen them all - but evidently not! I just finished this and I absolutely love it.

If you like silent films and you like mystery, you will love this Alfred Hitchcock mystery as much as I do!

Art Installations from the DIA

I’m lucky enough to live in a town that cares about art. I love art! During the summer we have installations from the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). Just a sample:

Portrait of Postman Roulin - by Vincent Van Gogh, 1888 - that coincidentally is in front of a local restaurant that used to be our post office!

Mammatus Clouds

 

Absolutely beautiful sky last night in northern Michigan. Other worldly.

photo: Paul James

Summer in the City by The Lovin’ Spoonful (1966)

Not to change the subject but “there is a 96 percent chance that 2024 beats 2023 to be the warmest year since global surface temperature records began in the mid 1800s.” (Quote from a research scientist at Berkeley.)

Which includes one long hot summer..

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Dear Readers,

I came down with Covid this week. Yes. It was a surprise. And while spending time in bed I came across a movie, The Turning, from 2020 on Amazon Prime. It’s a ghost story for sure, and I realized that it was adapted from The Turn of the Screw, a short story from 1898 by Henry James. There is another version of this story on film from 1961 titled The Innocents, which I also recently watched. I began to think about the differences between the two movies. Especially the story telling. Which one would I recommend? Hands down.. The Innocents. (I’m now reading the short story!)

**Ah! If you saw my initial post - it’s Henry James not James Joyce!😉

Rear Window

I have a movie recommendation tonight that’s perfect for a hot summer evening. Rear Window. From 1954, Rear Window is an Alfred Hitchcock murder mystery! And if you’ve never seen it, you should. (We need to get back to ghost stories and mysteries don’t you think?)

Available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime.