Haunted House

By Sarah Demeter

One moment forever captured
Inside a haunted house
Abandoned of light
This house once filled with luminescence 
Now stands bleak barely seen in day
As if the windows had betrayed the people within 
Bouncing off light 
Forbidding it to breeze and illuminate the residents lives
Guiding the mourning of people with something to lose
Someone
Absence of light relapsing everyone into a frenzy 

I walk
Forever encaptured in the catastrophic hallways closing in on me
Secrets and stories flow throughout
Enchanting me 
Devouring people from the inside 
Craving to be unveiled 
Dragging me towards them
But I resist them 
They’re not mine to disclose
Songs vibrate around me
Comforting me 
Building up my courage 

This house, once filled with memories as bright as fire
Exuberant moments that left my mind gleaming
Now dreadfully recorded this wicked twist of fate 
It wasn’t always empty like this 
Bouquets of butter penetrated through 
From the oven to the house
This tranquil unperturbed house
With a grim future
Encompassed in Josh Groban’s Oceano
They ventured to the source of the delightful scent 
Only to find smoldered cookies
Black and wretched as this haunted house
Laughter sang replacing the buttery aroma 
Joyfulness was an emotion most commonly used in this tranquil house
Now it stood by and watches helpless as depression conquers all moods
It wasn’t always dejected like this  

A shadow looms above 
Air flows 
sounds flutter in my direction
Enticing me to follow towards the most haunted room in the haunted house
“NO!” I wail
I will not confront my fear
I will remember her how she is presently alive in my mind
Without the disease flooding her weakened physique  
I sprint
From the infuriated shouts of my parents 
Attempting to escort me to her catastrophic room
The darkness leading me away
Past people with their secrets and stories becoming exposed today
Past outstretched arms wandering unbalanced through the nightmarish hallway 
All of them aimed for the most devastating room of all haunted houses 
I sprint until I find myself secluded
Away from truth speakers
Doctors predicting the future
“Please don’t take her away” I plead to God
But He didn’t listen to me

Reality becomes distinguishable from fantasy 
I’m not here
Suspension fabricates 
I inspected myself
Swirling sounds vibrate around me 
Surrounding my vulnerable shaking body 
Another nightmare

As if it was awakened 
Something ascends within me
To the top of my head
Through my eyes
Cascading down my face
Everflowing forever eternity
My head is an empty void 
I sink into the couch I’ve secluded myself inside 

Empty of passion and life
In this eerie house 
Reminiscence flows through my brain
Circling
Letters turn into words 
turn into thoughts and now I’m falling
Desolate  
It burns through my brain 
Slouching, sinking, shattered 
Unconfident in the haunted house my life has become
Instead of facing fears, i escape 
The only way out is through the cataclysmic hallway 
To the room overflowing with light

Sarah Demeter is a writer and student in the Creative Writing Conservatory at the Orange County School of the Arts. A lover of poetry, Sarah recently participated in the prestigious slam poetry competition, OC Ryse. In her free time, Sarah enjoys playing and snuggling with her two adorable Shih – Tzus.