It's now the time of year when the gruesome, grotesque and gothic are put under the spotlight for all to see. Not only the generally scary and creepy, but the morbid and darker works of our own ghosts are strangely put on a pedestal to be celebrated much more readily. And in that spirit (no pun intended) the literature community has sought out works that suit the themes more prevalent around the end of October -- the Macabre and Horror, the darker side of poetry and prose. Not just showcasing cliché evil and depravity, but something that shows the real quality of the genre.



Ripe by *salshep is one of the excellent poems that came out of the "In the End" poetry competition. "Ripe" is artful terror. The horror the narrator undergoes is almost unbearable, but *salshep conveys this with more suggestion than explicit gore.

The Artisan by =ordie has already earned a DD, but Halloween is the perfect time to revisit this poem. The character and situation =ordie gives us here are revolting--yet the reader can't help but be intrigued.

These poems were robbed from the grave by `bananaprincess



This poem contains the very essence of the grotesque - Lovecraftian nightmares and obscene feasts. Its very structure screams out 'Oh! The HORROR!' Do not read this if you are squeamish.

Cthulhu's Night Out by `Bringa

Poetry resurrected by `darkcrescendo



The Pen Tip by *TheWritt might not be categorised in horror & macabre, but it certainly fits the genre. Its casual description of a horrible accident is amusing and direct, with an ending that gives the reader a little relief.

A pantoum is difficult to write in any genre, and the required length by ~cursive-starlight is a noteworthy--if abstract--example.

There's not a whole lot of non-English poetry on deviantArt, but ~brAndkopf's Mein neuer Gast tells a dark tale of being kidnapped by the Devil and being forced to face one's demons--in whatever form they might take.

Mermaid by ~carissima82 is a reminder that not all mythic creatures are lovely. The reader gets a nice damp chill from her strong imagery and novel exploration of a commonly romanticised character.

Rhyme schemes have to be carefully employed in this genre to avoid coming off trite. The Island by ~alteredboi is an unrequited love narrative that also manages to use some archaic word forms without being overdone, while leaving the reader with unresolved anxiety.

Poetry stalked and hunted down by *caveatLECTOR



I was introduced to Toothache by `alienhead during one of my first open mic sessions at ~Coffeehouse. I immediately fell in love with the piece for its gritty and unique story, and I've been reminding Mister `alienhead to remove it from storage for some time now. Go enjoy it!

A prose piece conjured up by *youthculture



skeleton, we nearly lived by is a difficult poem to describe in a few sentences, but the images ~carissima82 draws up through her language is vivid and visceral enough to stick in your head for long after. Drawing on something physical and disturbing is what horror is all about, and ~carissima82 does it well.

Poetry hung, drawn, and quartered by *youthculture



Prey by ~Obeadience shows that even a fairly short piece of prose can be proper horror, in this case psychological horror mixed with supernatural phenomena (and dinosaurs).

Prose bubbled, toiled, and troubled by `diamondie



The House by *venturus is a horror movie in the form of a poem, growing gradually more disturbing with a surreal twist.

A poem risen from the dead by `diamondie