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Guest of Horror - Third Place in Poetry

The invitation was concise

The wording quite precise

The gathering would be on Halloween

Upon receipt, I began to preen

At the hope of being seen

And what excitement such a gathering could mean

In a mansion aged by time

Its brickwork faced with rime

Old haunted windows, lit so they were seen

Inside the hall the guests all mingled

Curiosity and suspicion tingled

My watchful eyes and ears alert - and keen

Who were behind these masks they wore

Was it someone I had met before

Perhaps some other place that I had been

The host does seem familiar

Tho' when he passed before the mirror

The reflection was the same continuous scene

Drinks were served, and music played

Lavish food trays were purveyed

And introductions were offered in between

To my dismay, and some surprise

An old discomfort did arise

As the revealing of these guests I'd not foreseen

Then the music slowly faded

Lighting dimmed and eyes dilated

While the sound of midnight's strike did intervene

Flamboyant masks were all discarded

Grotesque images of departed

Their rotting features growing more obscene

The thing that startled most

Was the transformation in my host

An indication he had not been coming clean

I ran, but found the door was sealed

His laugh was evil as I appealed

And his red rimmed eyes had suddenly turned green

The guests laughed, voices strangled

'Trick or treat', the words were mangled

Perspiration on my face, a glistening sheen

Those indiscretions of my past

Had all come home to root at last

Displayed for all upon a giant picture screen

Then through a rasping haunted voice

My host explained to me my choice

Delivered in words disturbingly serene

Right here and now - tonight

I could surrender to his bite

Or forever keep reliving this routine

My choice was to surrender

And while the bite he gave was tender

The promise that he gave he did not mean

This mansion is now my home

Allowed nowhere else to roam

And only eating once . . . each Halloween.

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

prompt for the HalloweenVault2023 challenge - 500 word max for poetry

In an opulent, long-forgotten mansion on the outskirts of the city, a Halloween gathering draws together secretive billionaires and mysterious royals, all veiled behind elaborate masks. As the clock strikes midnight, their power plays and hidden agendas come to life, unfolding a thrilling tale of deception and intrigue amidst the lavish halls of the haunted mansion, where echoes of the past add to the suspense.

word count 294