The Raven

by Eager Allen Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'

Haunting My Childhood

Way back in time, when this ancient ghoul was but a smaller ghoul, there was an awesome TV show in Northern Michigan, on Channel 4 out of Traverse City. It featured this sinister figure introducing cheesy horror movies ("Ben", "Creature from the Black Lagoon" and the like). This was way back before cable, and before MST3K. Originally it was on late, late on Saturday nights, but later it moved to Sunday afternoons. Count Zappula (aka Don Melvoin) and his little dog "Igor". Besides the movies, I remember the Count and Igor doing silly skits on either side of the commercial breaks, and reading fan letters. Unfortunately, the Count has passed beyond the veil, but he will always live on in the twisted hearts and perverted minds of his fans.

Don't Go Into The Light...!

Catching your breath as you chase helplessly through this unending night, a light through the trees catches your eye. Praying for salvation you plunge headlong into the thicket once more, heedless of the danger, until you are brought up short by the eerie spectacle before you.

You find not assistance, but an eldritch swirl in the forest. A sanguine vortex manifests within the weald, swirling and rippling, silent as the grave. Every impulse in your lower brain screams to flee, for this is the antithesis of life itself, a beckon ingress to the world of the dead and damned, but your legs find themselves as rooted into the very earth below. Your eye is captivated by the dance and sway of the light orbiting and swirling that ebon center, and you feel your life's journey nearing its slow, torturous end.

You find yourself having moved from your stationery position ever closer to the void, but not remembering taking a step. Reaching out a quavering hand, you yearn for release and the cold quiet extinction. It's only the snap of a branch from another arrival to this portal that breaks the spell, and you recoil in horror and begin to flee once more...

Lasers are really, really cool...