The Hunger From The Pit
Beneath a brooding sky
In Rhode Island state
Sits the town Epiphany
Where dread darkness waits.
A town of fearful past,
"The Arcane Arts" housed there.
And things unnamed by most
Are shown in pages bare.
Through ages come and gone
Dark forces here have dwelt,
Whose sight would drive men mad,
Cause sanity to melt.
In hills dark conclaves meet,
To Chiaroscuro call.
The things from ages past
Were rulers over all.
Terrors in this place
In shadows creep and hide,
Their blasphemous repast
Staves off a lethal tide.
For if their hunger grew
Unsatisfied for long,
The world would see a rush
From an unholy throng.
Into this fateful place
There comes a battered car
Bearing three good friends.
They've traveled here from far.
It's "Spinster's Grove College"
They have come here to attend,
The college of the town.
Dark studies they will tend.
Deep they delve in folklore,
For mankind's myths they look.
Their studies bring them here,
To see that evil book.
Penned by a man unknown,
Who is long dead and gone,
It's secrets dark and dire,
Men should not look upon.
For now, they know not fear,
Their worldly wisdom rules.
"The spirit world has
Been made up by great fool's!"
But soon the time will come,
Their hearts with fear will freeze.
Black nameless dread will rise
Like an unclean disease!
The names of these three men,
Are Frank and Bill and Todd.
They study the macabre
And legends that are odd.
They're in search of a place
In the Grove where they'll stay,
A house with solitude
Where people keep away.
They stop for lunch in town,
And while they eat their meal
They learn of an old house
Which sounds like a good deal.
"The old house in the hills
Is cursed", the waitress shares,
"Although the rent is low,
Stay someplace else!" She cares.
"Cursed! How quaint." They agree
They'll seek this house today.
Amused at such foolishness,
They now know where they'll stay.
As they the cafe' leave
The waitress wears a look
Of fear for foolish men
And for the path they took.
They rent the lonely house
From an amazed old man,
Who shakes his head at them,
"Change your mind while you can."
The three now make their way
Unto their new abode.
A sense of unrest falls
As they head up the road.
Although the sun is high
The woods seem strangely drear,
They feel they're being watched
By something that's quite near.
In spite of logic strong
And worldliness of mind,
Each feels an eerie pull.
Good humor's hard to find.
At last they reach the house,
And oh, the sight of it!
Foreboding and so dark,
As if there devil's sit.
Its windows blackly stare
With black unseeing eyes
Which seems to pierce their souls,
And cause dark fears to rise.
The landscape here is bleak,
A blighted, gnarled sight
Which even at full day
Makes one think of midnight.
With effort strong and deep
Frank says (with humor forced),
"How odd this country seems.
The mood it gives, the worst!"
His levity, though false
Still serves to reassure,
And break the morbid spell
Of evil, dark and pure.
They all three laugh aloud
And banish thoughts disturbed.
They unpack all their things,
For now their fears are curbed.
And yet unconscious thoughts
Feel still an unseen threat
Despite strong logic used,
They still are not safe yet.
As darkness gains a hold
Outside, cold grows within
Which grips the heart like steel,
And pierces their thick skin.
The night is black and cold
As all three soundly sleep.
In evil dreams they run
From things that slide and creep.
Outside in full darkness
The woods are grimly still.
There waits a blasphemy,
A thing of wicked will.
Unheard by sleepers all
Are sounds that chill the heart,
A slimy slithering,
Which makes our courage part.
The voice, so guttural
Bears tones quite ominous
Towards the sleepers yon,
Made all too clear to us.
Of other worlds it is,
So alien a voice
That we, too, fear for them.
For their rash unwise choice.
And now the night is o'er,
The light's in yonder sky.
The thing will bide it's time,
They've long enough to die.
At Spinster's Grove College
They are in study deep
Over the "Arcane Arts",
In ancient verses steep.
The things the madman penned
Are loathsome, dark and fell.
The words they churn and twist,
Of evil spells they tell.
And pictures are shown there
Of things that shun the light.
That creep and slither so,
In evil they delight.
Although the three have read
Of many myths and tales,
Of gods and demons too
Comparison here pales.
The things that they now read
Does skepticism kill,
They cannot but believe
Down deep, against their will.
And yet their outward show,
Facade of unbelief,
Is fixed upon their brows.
It surely will bring grief.
At night they sit and talk
Of all that they have read,
Of things both dark and dire
Believing words are said.
"I like it not a bit,"
Says Todd, his face is pale,
The things I read today
Makes all my flesh feel frail."
Bill nods his head, agrees,
"I know, I've goosebumps now.
I feel these things are real,
Though I just can't say how."
Frank, standing near at hand
Now voices his support
For views his friends have shared,
With not a one retort.
"My thoughts are yet oppressed
With what we all have seen.
To know such things exist,
On logic we can't lean."
Bill says, "I left my notes
Outside. I'll be right back."
He goes to fetch his notes,
His scream takes them aback!
The scene that meets their eyes
As Frank and Todd run out
Makes their blood run frigid,
Disaster's struck, no doubt!
The car door's standing wide
With papers all askew,
And Bill is lying there.
His lips are turning blue.
But worst of all by far,
The look upon his face.
Some ultimate horror
Has left a fateful trace.
His features, fixed and stiff
In terror widely stare,
Stark fear within his eyes
Shines bright it's wicked glare.
"He's still alive!" Frank shouts
As he and Todd lift Bill
And take him back inside,
So ominously still.
"What could have scared him so?"
Todd wonders fearfully.
They put him in his bed
And nurse him anxiously.
The doctor's come and gone,
There's nothing he could do.
"We can just let him rest,
He may himself renew."
Now Frank and Todd discuss
The plight that they all face.
And what it was that Bill
Outside alone did brace.
"I just can't help but feel
That Bill saw something vile.
So alien to him
That on his mind shock piled."
AS Frank speaks, Todd agrees,
Refers to what they read.
"The things inside that book,
Not living, yet not dead!
I saw some tracks out there,
Deep furrows in the ground
Like no tracks I have seen,
They're deep and strangely round."
At length Todd then decides
That in the light of day
He will inspect the grounds,
To find where it might lay.
The sun is hot today
As Todd begins to seek
The thing that left the track.
The air here has a reek.
Frank has gone to town,
"Arcane Arts" he must read.
A talisman he seeks
To battle with hell's seed.
The furrows in the earth
Todd follows with unease.
They lead into the woods,
A symptom of disease.
At last he comes upon
A pit with sloping sides,
The murky water there
Is black, the bottom hides.
But what he sees there now,
Besides the furrows round
Is in the liquid black
And not upon the ground.
In short, the water boils,
Air bubbles from beneath.
There's something which submerged
Insanely seems to breathe!
Frank and Todd now meet,
Reviewing what they know.
While Bill, unconscious still
Lays silent, breathing slow.
The deep pit Todd describes,
He tells of submerged breath,
It surely is the thing
That scared Bill near to death.
In turn, Frank also shares
The fruit his study gave.
They'll make a talisman,
The lives of men to save.
The sun sinks slowly down,
Allowing dusk to creep.
The shadow's deepening,
Their strength they fight to keep.
Still yet they toil and work
With incantations strange.
The object that they make
Will victory arrange.
If all goes as they plan,
A door will open wide
Imprisoning the thing
Upon the other side.
Outside, a sickly sound
Comes from the forest deep,
A movement of great bulk.
Their hearts both quickly leap.
Though incomplete, their work
Still has effectiveness.
It keeps the thing at bay,
And stands up to this test.
The anger of the thing
Outside is palpable.
It crashes through the woods,
Tearing all to rubble.
Behind them from Bill's room
Comes forth a tortured moan.
Inhuman sounds from him
Like spears at them are thrown.
And now he's standing there,
Flat blankness in his eyes.
He quickly charges them,
With horrible loud cries.
They struggle for the charm,
Bill's self-control is caught.
That thing directs his mind,
Controlling every thought.
It takes both Frank and Todd
To keep Bill held at bay.
His strength seems limitless...
But look! He starts to sway!
He fights as he goes down,
His strength at last has fled.
The pallor on his face
Shows clear he'll soon be dead.
But now he is himself,
His eyes alive once more.
Stark horror on his face
As he now nears death's door.
"That blasphemy" he says
In weakened whispered tones,
"I saw it! Horrible!",
With fervency he moans.
"Don't look into it's eyes ...
It's eyes ... the pit of hell!
That hunger from the pit!"
Bill's now an empty shell.
With that, he shudders once,
His body slackly lies,
The life-force ebbs away
As quickly now he dies.
In grief, both Frank and Todd
Forget what they must do,
To make the talisman.
Defending all that's true.
But now their reverie
Of grief is shattered quick,
When in their minds a voice
Comes through both slow and thick!
"Young men", it softly speaks,
"Come out and talk with me,
Or else invite me in.
I've much that you must see."
And even though they know
The voice's evil source,
Both find it hard to fight.
It has persuasive force.
They pull themselves away,
Returning to the work.
Will do their level best
To lock it in the murk.
So on into the night
They labor and resist,
And not 'till break of day
Do both of them desist.
Exhausted, Frank and Todd
Fall into fitful sleep.
In just a few more hours.
Their destiny they'll keep.
Their dreams are horror-filled
Of things both dark and wet,
Who slither in pursuit.
These two they'll capture yet.
Several hours later,
They waken with a start.
The time has come so soon,
In which they'll play their part.
Todd takes the talisman,
Frank bundles notes to bring.
Both set out for the pit,
They will confront that thing!
Their hike takes oh so long,
Eternity, at least!
At last they reach the pit,
The home of that foul beast.
Frank reads incantations
As in the pit below
The water starts to thrash
And shine with a green glow!
The incantations done,
The medal's held aloft.
Todd is set to drop it
With motion slight and soft,
When now an earthquake hits.
The creature is it's source!
The ground shakes and buckles,
They're thrown with a great force.
Alas, they're at the edge!
Into the pit they go.
Frank now has caught the rim
Past him he feels dirt flow.
Todd is now falling fast,
A handhold he can't find!
The water takes him down,
As horror takes his mind.
The medal sinking down,
The light grows brighter still.
A doorway opens there
Against the monster's will.
All within the bottom
(The water, Todd, the thing)
Are sucked into the doorway,
It shuts with a loud ring!
Frank climbs out of the pit
And painfully looks down.
The water is all gone,
The dirt is dry and brown.
No sign remains of Todd,
The monster's gone as well.
Transported instantly
Unto a living hell.
The loss of Todd and Bill
Has killed the triumph here,
Indeed, they vanquished it
But at a cost severe!
Returning to the house,
He doesn't go inside.
He merely starts the car
And blankly starts to ride.
He'll leave this cursed place,
To never more return.
His studies in dark lore,
Henceforward he will spurn.
As he drives he yet feels
The same oppression strong.
The forest feels alive,
Where man does not belong.
That thing just can't have been
The only horror here,
Or else the malice would
Be banished from this sphere.
With dread he wonders now,
"How many secrets lie
In these dark evil woods
Where men may quickly die?"
A shudder wracks his frame
At thoughts of things so vile,
He steps upon the gas
To quickly pass each mile.
As the old battered car
Down the road disappears
The forest seems to watch
And hear with unseen ears.
A dreadful silence falls
Filled with a portent black,
A hatred for mankind
It's wooded frame does wrack.
A hunger in the woods
From alien dark hearts,
Does grow with steadiness.
For Death rules in these parts.
A Singular Experience
~A shipwrecked sailor's tale~
Standing watch on top-side
I closely view the sea.
For hazards I'm alert,
To view what I can see.
Hypnotic waves soothe me,
And peace, my spirit, rules.
The water sparkles, shines,
Like oh-so-many jewels.
But wait! What's that out there
Which bobs atop the wave?
A man across a log!
We'll seek his life to save.
"Man overboard!" I shout.
The crew comes running fast.
We pull the man aboard,
I wonder if he'll last.
Later on, down below
He's cleaned up, rested too.
He now begins his tale,
Bizarre, it can't be true!
We sit attention-bound
To hear his tale of woe
It's the strangest story
That I will ever know.
"I'm called by Jack Harkins."
So he begins his tale,
"The things that I have seen
Would make men's weak hearts fail.
The schooner that I owned
Was trusty, strong and proud.
She came through many storms,
Her masts remained unbowed."
"A good ship, that she was,"
The pain shows in his eyes,
"Though now she sails no more
But on the bottom lies.
The storm hit deadly quick,
'Twas violent and mean.
The worst storm, yes, by far
That I have ever seen!"
"The mate and crew were quick,
They did all that they could.
That storm was just too strong,
We heard the breaking wood.
My schooner 'Deadly Wasp'
Was taking water in.
'Abandon ship' I cried.
The storm would have to win."
"The waves armed us crashed,
Our lifeboat was at hand.
We entered heavy seas,
And wished for some dry land.
The long night slowly passed
As we all struggled hard,
Clinging to our lives
Life would be a reward."
"By dawn the sea grew calm,
We dozed in fitful sleep.
Exhausted silence ruled,
We felt like helpless sheep.
Then later in the day
The mate, Sid Jones, said 'Look!'
An island lay afar.
So to the oars we took."
"A tall, green, craggy place,
Both beautiful and dire.
The central cliff rose high,
It did dark fear inspire.
I couldn't then explain
What caused the fear I had,
I simply knew that place
Housed something evil, bad."
"As leader of the group
I wouldn't show my fear.
We needed to strike land,
That much to me was clear.
And so I swallowed hard
While we approached the place.
My heart was beating strong
As my pulse quickly raced."
"Our oars brought us ashore,
The beach was white and hot.
Deep silence was profound.
'Twas panic that I fought...
It seemed that unseen eyes
Full of a hatred deep
Watched from somewhere near.
Still did my courage seep."
"We made our camp right there,
Prepared a signal fire.
While two men searched for food
We stacked wood for a pyre.
My mate and I alone
Sat waiting for the crew,
But they did not come back.
We did what we could do."
"Searched the nearby woods in vain,
All gone without a trace!
And then we came upon
A carving of a face!
A face I call it now,
So foreign, twisted, dire.
That visage carved in stone
Raised my fears up higher."
"And there before the stone,
A footprint in the sod!
Not human in the least,
It's frightful shape...Oh God!
Whatever made that print
Had surely killed my men.
The blood-drops on the ground
Showed me they didn't win."
"Unarmed, we stood stock-still
Unsure of what to do.
'Our crew may be alive.'
A statement I would rue.
'Yes sir,' the mate replied,
'We have to know for sure.'
We followed that plain track,
It was a potent lure."
"It led to craggy height
Atop that central spire,
As ominous as night,
As red as eldrich fire.
In spite of both our fears
Of what we there might see,
We slowly climbed the cliff
As careful as can be."
"At length we neared the top,
A hundred yards away.
Dark noises issued forth
That turned my heart to clay.
A gurgling "Glub...Glub"
And sounds of moving flesh!
Inhuman as they were,
They froze my blood afresh."
"My mate and I shared looks
Of horror and disgust.
We didn't want to look,
We knew that someone must.
He swallowed hard and said
'I'll do it', then he looked.
Because of what he saw,
He stood stone-still and shook."
"I tried to pull him down
But he stood frozen there.
He muttered 'Oh my God...
It's lair...we've found it's lair!'
'What is it, man?' I cried.
'Unholy...there's the face!
The one from in the stone...
Not from this time or place.'"
"I felt it coming near,
The earth trembled and shook.
My mate's two eyes grew wide,
His face an open book.
'Let's go!' I shouted loud,
But he stood, heard me not.
I had to leave him there,
And ran like I was shot."
"From down the slope I turned
And saw a dreadful sight.
A grey-green tentacle
Grabbed him with awful might.
It yanked him out of view
While in horror there I stood.
I found myself alone.
My prospects far from good!"
"While I stood rooted there
It's face came into view,
It's clammy writhing flesh
Split my frail heart in two!
Too horrible for words,
The sight hit me like lead.
Like old Medusa's face,
It nearly struck me dead!"
"As I watched it raised up,
It's massive bulk came out.
With hatred palpable
To make a fearful rout.
It's odor struck me then,
A rotten, seething wall
Which snapped me from my daze!
I turned, started to fall."
"I caught my balance, ran.
The thing was at my heel!
It's shadow I could see
And presence I could feel.
So big and yet so fast!
I dared not slow or slip.
On a loose rock I stepped,
A sharp pain pierced my hip."
"Ahead I saw the beach
Between the parting trees.
Limping hard as I ran,
I fell on bleeding knees!
It's tentacles reached out
Just grazing past my arm.
I shot out from the trees,
Running fast in alarm."
"I couldn't see our boat!
A log was floating near.
Diving in I grabbed it.
My legs propelled by fear.
Looking back behind me,
I saw the thing held back
Standing in the forest...
Hid just within that track."
"I floated for two days
Despairing for my life
When you came upon me,
Relieving me of strife.
There you have my story,
I see you don't believe.
If I were in your shoes,
I'd likewise not receive."
Exhausted, he lays back,
He's drained and looking pale.
It's clear to us that he
Believes his own queer tale.
Above, we stand and talk,
Discussing our odd guest.
"He's touched," the captain says,
"And surly needs some rest."
We all agree the man
Is just not thinking straight,
For who'd believe that tale
Regarding his crew's fate?
"Land-ho" the lookout cries,
An island near at hand.
We all could use some time
With feet upon the land.
The island comes into view,
It's jutting spire is plain.
It's red as eldrich fire!
Could our strange guest be sane?
This is the very place
He spoke of in his tale.
"Nonsense!" the captain says,
Orders us to break sail.
The crew of the Spirit
Will have some time ashore.
Myself, I like it not.
It chills me to the core.
We'll disembark today,
This message I'll float off
In a sealed bottle,
Though crewmates laugh and scoff...
"January 25, 1992
Thus ends the strange manuscript that was found
floating in a sealed bottle in Newport, Rhode Island.
Investigation has yielded that two ships, one christened the Spirit and the other Deadly
Wasp were both declared missing at sea in the year 1879. The two ship's disappearances
were attributed to being lost in the same storm, somewhere in the south Atlantic, although
no proof ever surfaced to support that theory. The case remains unsolved to this day."
The Providence Daily Gazette
