Musty, moldering mewls
could be heard from
niggling, hallway floorboards
and something like walking,
and dragging the dead.
Step…scrape…drag.
Moaning, rasping, groans
whispered from every,
darkened corner.
Hidden beneath the covers
gripped tightly over my head,
quaking, shivering panic
held me fixed, feeling dread.
Coming closer it seems,
in the jet-black of this
morn–I can’t tell if I’m
dreaming or in a
waking nightmare.
Step…scrape…drag.
This inn I thought was quaint
during daytime’s friendly light,
has twisted and transformed
into a terrifying night.
Now daring to entertain
just one eye out from under,
I catch sight of an apparition,
drifting free below the chandelier.
Dressed in top hat
and tails, ready for a
formal occasion or
scaring the hell out of
a traveling sightseer.
Breath catching in my throat,
I gasp in abject terror at
the grimace on his face
and the mocking of my fear.
I flail and fling crazily,
wildly trying to gain
momentum to flee out the door,
and come to find myself
awakening on the floor.
Just a dream it must have been,
now calming my ragged breath
I look around and steady myself
with assurance and relief.
Now starting to climb
back into bed–I spied it
trailing off–the vestiges
of a phantom figure
vanishing through the wall.
Joy (Hedgewitch) is our hostess today at dVerse. I guess I’m getting a step up on Halloween. I felt like something spooky for today’s Open Link Night at dVerse Poets: http://dversepoets.com/2012/10/02/open-link-night-week-64/
Bodhirose's Blog 
Daydreamertoo
/ October 2, 2012Spooky… this would be great for Halloween LOL Hope it wasn’t real…Yikes!
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Bodhirose
/ October 3, 2012Thanks, Bren…apparently, I’m already in the mood for Halloween. No, it wasn’t real…just a dream… 🙂
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brian miller
/ October 2, 2012holy crap….scary…lol…i hope it just a dream but the remnant sure feel real…goosebumps…smiles….i remember waking on night to see a glowing face….growing up with a graveyard int he back yard did not help…but it was my brothers halloween mask…dang though it scared the stuff out of me…lol
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Bodhirose
/ October 3, 2012Haha…no, not real, just my imagination getting ready for spooky Halloween…thank goodness! Really? You grew up with a graveyard behind your house? I’m sure not many could say that… Wow, glad it wasn’t a “haunting” of some sort, Brian, and was just your brother’s Halloween mask…whew! Kids can be spooked so easily can’t they…
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ayala
/ October 2, 2012Spooky…..Hope it was just a dream.
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Bodhirose
/ October 3, 2012Really just my imagination telling a story…
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Sherry Blue Sky
/ October 2, 2012You definitely achieved it…..yikes! I shall sleep with one eye open tonight!
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Bodhirose
/ October 3, 2012Well, I tried. I do like to try scary once in a while!
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hobgoblin2011
/ October 3, 2012Spooky indeed. Excellent job of crafting such an effect.
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Bodhirose
/ October 3, 2012Well thanks…I was hoping I would bring a little fright…
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Ravenblack
/ October 3, 2012Had an experience like this when I lived in a very old house when I was a kid. It’s hard to tell if it’s just a dream because these eerie hints tend to happen in the wee early morning hours. Could be one those half-wake-half-sleep nightmares but it was a creepy old place.
Fun to read.
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Bodhirose
/ October 3, 2012What? Wow…I’ve heard other people tell similar stories…that they were half awake and couldn’t tell if the “episode” really happened or not. But since it was a “creepy old place” could be there really were some “things” taking place. I always wonder how I would react if something like that really happened to me…
Thanks.
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Michael (contemplativemoorings)
/ October 3, 2012My childhood in a nutshell…
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Bodhirose
/ October 3, 2012What?! Gulp…doesn’t sound like much fun…
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Sue Dreamwalker
/ October 3, 2012I was there under the covers with you 🙂 excellent wishing only sweet Dreams. 🙂 Sue xXx
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Bodhirose
/ October 3, 2012Yes, I had to scoot over for you, Sue. 😉 Thanks for the kind wishes…I think I do have too many bad dreams…
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Mary
/ October 3, 2012This was delightfully and dreamily eerie.
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Bodhirose
/ October 3, 2012Thanks, Mary…glad you enjoyed.
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hedgewitch
/ October 3, 2012Love a good ghost story–now I want to know all about the phantom in evening dress, so thankfully exiting through the wall. Great use of verbs and sound in this, Bodhirose.
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Bodhirose
/ October 3, 2012I wish I had a real story to tell you, Hedgewitch…really. Half of me wants to experience seeing an apparition but then I wouldn’t want to be traumatized by it either! Thanks for coming by…
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Raven
/ October 3, 2012Loved it.
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Bodhirose
/ October 3, 2012Ah, thanks, Raven!
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hypercryptical
/ October 4, 2012Eerie stuff, the stuff of nightmares – which I hope it was!
Anna :o]
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Bodhirose
/ October 4, 2012Just from my twisted imagination… Thanks, Anna.
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Heaven (@asweetlust)
/ October 4, 2012Do you know that at one time, I couldn’t sleep because everyone scared me with stories of the haunted hotel room…The sounds and creepy stuff you wrote here reminded me of this time…thankfully it was just nothing in the morning ~
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Bodhirose
/ October 4, 2012Oh, no…that’s really bad, Grace. Sorry to have reminded you of that scary time… Thank goodness for mornings!
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Lorna's Voice
/ October 5, 2012From the comments, I’m assured that this is just imaginary. And what a vivid imagination you have…
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Bodhirose
/ October 5, 2012Just having some fun…thanks, Lorna..
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Sherry Blue Sky
/ October 6, 2012And spooky it definitely is….yoiks! Well done!!!!
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dragonkatet
/ October 8, 2012OOOOooooo some great alliteration and imagery in this one, Gayle! I ❤ Halloween! You did a great job of putting us there with you to experience the shivers. 🙂
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Bodhirose
/ October 10, 2012Thank you, Corina! I’m getting a head start on it… 🙂
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bardessdmdenton
/ October 10, 2012Wonderfully descriptive and suspenceful, Gayle! I like how it teeters between dream and reality.
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Bodhirose
/ November 5, 2012Thanks, Diane…yes, sometimes the two “blur”, don’t they…
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Renee Espriu
/ October 10, 2012You certainly had me going and who is to day…was it really a dream?!? I really like this one, Gayle.
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Bodhirose
/ November 5, 2012Hard to tell sometimes isn’t it… So glad you liked this, Renee..thank you.
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Lafemmeroar
/ October 24, 2012Perfect for Halloween … 🙂
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Bodhirose
/ November 5, 2012I thought so too…thanks! 🙂
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Jamie Dedes
/ November 1, 2012Chilling … just like some dreams. Hope this was a fiction. Would be great for Hallloween.
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Bodhirose
/ November 5, 2012Yes, just a figment of my imagination…
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