Horror fiction. I’ve enjoyed this genre since I was a boy growing up in Ogden, Utah, in the 50s and 60s. My younger brother, Joseph, and I use to attend Saturday matinees at the Egyptian Theater, where we would buy popcorn and candy bars and sit back to be frightened by the monster of the week. I remember seeing Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Werewolf, and Forbidden Planet, to name a few. Up to a point, I still love a good horror show, although many today are too bloody and relentless for my taste. I do love reading a horror novel or short story, though, currently enjoying some early Stephen King ones.
Recently, I have been toying with writing horror poetry as an outlet for my creativity. I’ve won some awards for my efforts, having had a horror poem published in the Prize Poems anthology of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies.
Also, I’ve been toying with some horraiku. Although I don’t normally write regular haiku in the traditional way, I do prefer the traditional 5-7-5 syllable, three-line format for my fantaiku and horraiku. It works for me.
Here are the seven horraiku. Since all of these are about vampires, perhaps they should be in a sub-genre class that I call vampaiku.
man under streetlamp
small woman yanks him upward
to her waiting fangs
casket lid opens
by itself in the dark tomb
a bat flutters out
a wolf runs toward
the sleepy little hamlet
death tries each window
constant need for blood
entombs his unbeating heart
night is now his day
in the catacombs
he sometimes remembers spring
sunlight on his face
she can’t forget what
she forever left behind
that is her real curse
please kill me if you
can he begs before taking
another victim