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Spooky Stories For The Midnight Hour
The Raven
~Edgar 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."
Ah, distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
This it is and nothing more."
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly yours forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping - tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you" - here I opened wide the door: -
Darkness there, and nothing more.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore!" -
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore! -
Merely this and nothing more.
Then into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping, something louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment, and this mystery explore; -
'Tis the wind and nothing more."
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not an instant stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above this chamber door -
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."
But the Raven, sitting lonely on that placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered; not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered, "Other friends have flown before -
On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before,"
Then the bird said, "Nevermore."
Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master, whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -
Till the dirges of his Hope the melacholy burden bore
Of 'Never-nevermore.'"
But the Raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking "Nevermore."
This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!
Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this Home by Horror haunted - tell me truly I implore -
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? tell me - tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore.
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
"Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!" I shrieked, upstarting -
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting - still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a Demon that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!
~~~
I thought I'd let Mr. Poe kick things off.
On this page you will find links to scary stories.
Now on to the stories:
Bram Stoker's Dracula (off-site)
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (off-site)
Edgar Alan Poe's The Black Cat
Edgar Alan Poe's Tell-Tale Heart
Ann McGovern's The Velvet Ribbon
Ann McGovern's The Peeling Wallpaper
J.B. Stamper's The Jigsaw Puzzle
If you don't mind indulging me, below is a list of horror books I have written :)
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Halloween Street Collection: 31 Short Stories There are tricks and treats on Halloween Street. These 31 stories feature the residents and otherworldly visitors of Halloween Street, a neighborhood filled with horror, magic, and strange happenings. Within these stories you will find ghosts, monsters, witches, cursed dolls, savage killers, and other twisted souls. Nothing is as it seems on Halloween Street. |
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The Vampire's Castle (The Monster Entries Trilogy Book 1) Diana Barrows thought she was taking a typical family vacation with her husband and three children. But when a heavy storm hits and strands them at a sinister castle, things quickly go from bad to worse. Diana soon discovers the inhabitants of the castle are monsters—vampires, a werewolf, a witch, goblins, and other creatures—who are keeping her family prisoner there. Diana must find a way to escape with her family, before they become permanent residents of The Vampire’s Castle. |
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The Fates' Messengers (The Monster Entries Trilogy Book 2) Eleven years have past since the horrors that took place at the vampire’s castle, but Diana and her children are still haunted by the memories. Diana, obsessed with training to be the perfect monster killer, gets her chance to put her new skills to the test when her daughter Sarah is kidnapped and held prisoner at a creepy old mansion. Diana and her children encounter new monsters, as well as old foes, in their quest for survival—and sanity. |
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The Devil's Playground (The Monster Entries Trilogy Book 3) After giving birth to her first child, Zelda receives a visit from the devil. He demands her to give him her daughter, since she is the only one who can open Pandora’s box and unleash hell on Earth. Zelda will do anything to protect her child, even if it means going up against her most formidable foe yet—the devil himself. |
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The Mad Alice (Fear & Fairy Tales) Nineteen-year-old Alice was living an ordinary life until she inherits her deceased father’s antique mirror. He left her an ominous note telling her to never uncover the mirror, but Alice’s curiosity gets the better of her. Soon, Alice finds herself in a familiar, yet not so familiar world of strange occurrences and dangerous characters. She questions her sanity at every turn, uncertain if her experiences are real or just a hallucination. Through her frightening adventures in the mysterious world, she begins to uncover dark secrets about herself—secrets that were best kept buried in her fragile, unhinged mind. This novel is a dark reimagining of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. |
My horror books are free to read if you are subscribed to Kindle Unlimited!
Halloween Street Trailer:
