The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - would I recommend?  Yes I would.  Especially on Halloween!

 

Happy Halloween!

Photo / Paul J. Meinke

 Into the Woods

Adele hadn’t expected to work late on Halloween.  In the darkness her hands shook as she locked the office door. She tried calling William again, but he didn’t answer, and as she ran across the empty parking lot to her car a light fog crept up from the pavement.

She relaxed a little as she drove north through town looking at the lights and decorations, and almost stopped to have dinner, but decided it would just make it that much later when she got home. It seemed like such a brilliant idea to buy a house in the woods two summers ago when they needed a place to get away from their hectic lives. But since then, they had both lost their jobs and things were different. Luckily, she found something new right away, but it was William she worried about. It took him much longer, and when he finally did land something, he took a large pay cut. Lately the bills were piling up.

The 45-minute drive up the two-lane highway took forever. Adele turned onto the dirt road winding past trees and marshes. All houses faded away. She saw a full moon emerging from the clouds that was orange and heavy as her car sputtered across the bridge. When it got to the other side it died completely and she realized she was out of gas.

Why was William always out of town when she needed him? She dug into her purse for her cell phone but became infuriated when she saw that the battery was dead.

She wasn’t more than a half mile from her house when she left her car at the bridge. She clutched her purse tightly as she ran down the dark road and was relieved when she finally unlocked her front door and turned on the lights.

William stood outside in the dark watching his wife through the kitchen window. Within minutes his cell phone rang, but he didn’t answer. He stood there not knowing if he had the courage to go through with his plan when he saw a man talking to his wife. He didn’t recognize him at first, he looked so pale and drawn, but then something about him was familiar. He saw the expression on his wife’s face change as their conversation became enraged. Who was this man now arguing with his wife? He watched in horror as he put his hands around her neck, her face pushed toward the window as she struggled to get away. Should he save her he asked himself in those moments. But too much time ticked by, and the struggle was over.

William walked outside into the dark and dropped his gloves behind the bushes. His phone rang and he answered it.

“Is it done?” the voice asked.

“Yes.”

from: The Blue Hour: flash fiction  / available on Amazon  / photo: pixabay

First published by Black Poppy Review

 Autumn Ghosts

Tuesday evening

has gathered in and brought the gloom

a solitary sigh

drifting

settling of death

the bones of summer rest

in open fields

and while the colors fade away

this night

the shorter days

have changed the sky

to winter light

from: Autumn Poetry: A Collection for the Season

uh...can we talk?

 

My walking trail.  Autumn comes and goes so fast!

Why did Edward Hopper paint this clown? (From YouTube)

 I love Edward Hopper’s work. The melancholy disconnect his paintings portray.  The colors. 

Spooky Scary Skeletons! 🎃

 

The Vampire

Your car breaks down a mile back and instead of leading to a town the road in front of you is getting narrower. The sun sets and the forest alongside the road is growing dark. A swerving reckless heap comes up behind and you freeze like a deer in the headlights. It’s your husband and you wonder what has happened to his car. You climb inside and are relieved but only for a second. His eyes are glowing red. You want him to tell you that everything is alright but instead he leans over with blood-stained teeth and gives you a kiss. His breath is a rotting corpse. You pull away from him as the car starts to roll forward and you reach for the door handle and jump out. You watch his car go down the hill and flip over into a pond. It’s dark now and you don’t think he made it out. You say out loud, he must be dying somewhere in the water, but you don’t run toward him. You weigh your options as you had been thinking earlier about a divorce because you suspect he’s having an affair. You wonder now if he’s a vampire. You don’t like blood. You prefer the affair - when all at once you stop and think that maybe you’re wrong - you have doubts about the red glow in his eyes and bloody teeth. You think about how much you have in common even though he is a little bookwormish. You know for sure that you both want a kid, a dog, and a house in the country. You start to think that maybe if you give this marriage thing a little more time you could grow closer after all you might still love him. And now in the distance you hear screaming coming from the pond. You think you better run and help him when under the bright white stars an enormous pickup truck comes up behind you and a particularly good-looking cowboy rolls down his window and asks if you need a lift and you say, yes.

(c) Jan Darrow / photo pixabay

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone.  Based on a short story by Stephen King. It was a little creepy. Yes! I would recommend. It’s on Netflix.

Crows and corn and wicker hair

Wispy moons, witches glare

Potions, lotions, palms are read

Monsters lurking, nighttime dread

Fortunes flicker, bonfire light

Howling wolves fill the night

(C) Jan Darrow

Thought you might enjoy this - 

Peter Mayer  - Coming Home - (from Earth Town Square)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=i0JEjtl-U1w&feature=share

tangled into falling leaves

autumn drips

colors dry

through an open window chill

fog is dreaming

shadow sky

dreadful incantations loom

potions drift  

witches fly         

 (C) Jan Darrow / photo:Pixabay

 Northern Michigan Upper Peninsula today.💙

Photo: Paul J. Meinke

My first time ever to see this and WOW!  Very creepy! Yes I would recommend! 

Ghosts

a simple light upon gray shadows

and the resolution fades beyond the rising hills

we realize

they are within our waking souls

and while they roam among the sallow wood smoke trees

and filter in through doors

they take delight in tapping wooden floors

at night where shaken covers fall to floor

and dry cool air becomes pooled beneath the rim

of sun born days

From: Autumn Poetry: A Collection for the Season

Available on Amazon

Photo: Pixabay