The House On The Cliff
In my youth I saw the house on the cliff;
it belonged to a terrifying man.
Blacked out curtains on moss grown windows,
Sticking out like a bruise against the overgrown land.
It’s towers stark against the lightning like a grey monolith...
It’s door made of sturdy oak.
It’s walls made of marble, and blood coloured bricks,
It’s chimney blaring out smoke.
There was always silence around this house,
And so us children always were curious;
But we kept away, down in the by lanes...
Didn’t want to be caught in its gaze, like a deer is.
Until James challenged us to an ill fated bet,
And said the one who loses sneaks in.
Said it’s a house of pleasure and untold treasure,
And the man lets all sorts of freaks in!
Sally lost the bet long ago,
And didn’t come out for 3 days.
When we saw Sally all disheveled and distraught;
There was death in her gaze, and numbness on her face.
Looking back I wondered why her eyes flickered unsteady?
And why to go in looking for answers she seemed so ready?
Why didn’t she tell us about what happened in there?
Why was there a shiny brooch in her hair?
And there was something off in the group, something wrong -
Like there was someone in here that didn’t quite belong.
But we brushed it off, to our imaginations, maybe it was paranoia.
Maybe Sally had never gone in beyond the foyer.
7 of us ventured out the next night,
And only 5 returned.
But we were the 5 who were destined to watch it,
As the house burned.
The door screeched open, barely a lock...
We didn’t even need the back door;
The walls were damp, with moss and ivy,
As we stepped into darkness untold.
The rooms all had portraits, and everything was covered
In white sheets except for a mirror.
And one by one we gave it a wide berth,
Because within it resided a blurry figure.
We wanted to get out but lost our way.
And the chills down our spine couldn’t be kept at bay.
Because there were echoes of our voices in the halls all hollow;
And we felt watched in the shadows, like we were being followed.
And when we looked out of the windows.
There was nothing but dark outside.
Which is strange to be certain,
We pulled back the curtain,
Expecting to see a full moon night.
So we forged on deeper, and found a sleeper.
The owner knocked out by something unknown...
And in the door to the basement,
Strategic in its placement
Was a rotted skull and bones.
And there was a voice in my head that didn’t belong -
Almost soft, seductive, caressing.
Like a woman was beckoning us gently in,
Couldn’t fool me, it was menacing.
Heart hammered in my chest, cards close to my vest;
I didn’t want to be in the papers tomorrow wearing my Sunday best.
And I thought we were cursed
From the moment that we first
Ignored the signs that we
Didn’t deserve to be here.
Stupid children rushing through halls
Found a candle inside the kitchen.
It was cavernous with red stains all over.
How would we get out of this situation?
There were too many shadows in this fucking room!
The candle’s light danced upon the walls,
Everyone talking over each other,
And something far sinister beneath it all...\nAnd we split apart like fools!
Sending Liam and Lyra into that room,
Where we thought we saw a weapon.
But it was the voice that did beckon
The door closed, the spiral stairs became a slide,
And we tumbled on through to the outside.
The house had what it wanted.
Fuck, it was haunted!
So we had seen the consequences of our pride.
But Liam wasn’t done, I heard him screaming.
I heard the crash of the beams and the ceiling.
The lad had found a can of kerosene,
And he lit it with a candle, it was quite the scene.
So we ran through the forest
And I grabbed Dolores
Who was still staring at it in awe
The house on the cliff,
With whom we picked a tiff
Had taken two of us into its maw.
And sometimes I wonder if it was the man who was scary...
Or was it the house who made it seem that way...
We saw him sleeping,
Were there secrets he was keeping?
Did the house not evict him because he was a victim?
Maybe it kicked him, and maybe punished him?
Because ever since that day we had never since seen him.
I left town after that night.
I didn’t want to go without a fight.
But it was deference,
To my very own parents.
We were messing with something
On a whole different level.
There was nothing left there,
The authorities went over.
The ruins so confusing,
There were no answers moreover.
The man’s corpse was nowhere to be found...
Nor were Liam and Lyra around.
Years passed by and I never came back;
And I relegated this story to the campfire.
Because the house on the cliff, it’s malevonce uninhibited -
To face it again I had no desire.
But all that changed when I had to come back,
Sell my old house, once and for all, get my ledger in the black.
I was moving on forever and cutting ties from this town...
I had enough of it in my dreams, like an ever present hound!
As I drove in, it looked nothing like before;
Or maybe the long journey down had left me sore.
And instinctually I looked up at that foreboding visual,
The house on the cliff, a maddening sigil.
Because it was a place I had been to
And it was a place I’d seen burn.
But the sight of it standing like new
With Liam and Lyra waving from the window
It made my stomach churn!
And get this, James,
Liam was fucking smiling!
Looking at me like it’s been a while
Come on over, cookies and bets
His humour all juvenile.
And Lyra was next to him and she looked like I remembered,
But didn’t they both perish in those embers?
And why were they so pale? And their smiles so twisted?
What would await me if I visited?
Why am I drawn to the house?
Like a cat with a mouse?
It’s got me entranced,
Before I touch the entrance
Surely it can’t be bad?
Surely Liam would be mad?
If I didn’t say hello to my old friend...
Maybe I should get my car out,
It isn’t far out.
Maybe the house is just in my head?
I could drive over easy,
And see it’s crazy
That I was terrified of the dead.
I was in town already
Had my gun at the ready
Should I put it to my temple?
Or is the house in my ear
The voice in my ear...
And it wants to make another example
I didn’t go there that night, I went to the library that morning,
And found the newspaper clippings eclipsed in mourning.
Because I had kept out of touch;
I had enough,
That I forgot about everyone on that journey.
James came back last year,
Looking to find closure.
And James had gone over to the house,
And what happened to him, I’m not sure.
And Sally had come back a decade ago,
Something had drawn her here!
A place that marked her destiny once,
But was it coincidence or was it fear?
And Sally was last seen walking that path,
And the paper said it was an animal attack
But I looked at the photo, there were children’s footprints
Which beast would leave such youthful exuberance?
And look! A picture of Dolores
By the old lake, under the cliff’s crucible
She was the best at swimming among all of us...
How did she drown? It’s inexplicable!
The house’s owner? Mr Morningstar–
An old photo of him showed him with a suit and a shiny car,
A handsome face gone to seed, and an ugly scar,
Running down his cheek, his eyes steely and hard.
I read his connection to the house to be tenuous.
He inherited it after his mother fell off the terrace.
And he probably came back to avoid being embarrassed,
Or did he come back in second hand remembrance?
I tried digging further but the reason behind his moving
Was obscured with only a few allusions to crimes unproven.
And I remember the chain of events
That led me back to this town.
I had forgotten after my parents passed away,
That my old home was handed down.
So I got a phone call from an unknown number,
Sounding quite familiar but I had just finished my slumber.
I asked for details but he gave me some advice:
He said in exchange for anonymity I’ll offer you a handsome price.
And I had enough trouble sleeping, so why even fight it?
My old house was like this story, no one would fucking buy it!
He said he would happily take it off my hands...
But I needed to come give him the keys, he’d see the house as it stands.
So I agreed to meet him on day 3,
He laughed and said he’d be free.
First curiosity and now greed!
First pride and now knowledge!
Maybe I was the ultimate prize.
Was it vengeance from the house?
For warning all the countless?
Or was it retribution
Because I survived?
Was I the only one left, and if James was gone?
Who had I spoken to last night on the phone?
Who talked about our picnic
Whose voice did it mimic?
Because it wasn’t James after all, he was fucking finished.
Maybe it’s guilt that made them go there...
The friends we abandoned in that building.
Maybe it was the fact we ran away,
While Liam tried to reduce it to kindling!
Lyra’s cries, I remember them still,
A departure from her voice so lilting.
And I’m wandering around town like a ghost...
Now it all looks foreign.
I’m putting up flyers, I’m looking at strangers,
I’m driving like a maniac, and printing out warnings.
Is there a debt to be paid?
Or am I just afraid?
And why am I getting road blocked every time I try to take an exit?
Why is there no signal, I can’t even call Alexis!
Why are the walls closing in? Why is it dark before sunset?
Why are the lights going out, is there a storm onset?
Why do my eyes keep being drawn over to that vista I’ve sought to escape
And where the fuck did the buyer disappear to, no show asshole, left me in this state!
I should’ve known better than to trust that price...
Unless it was part of something larger, a bait, a device...
And I’ve pondered all my life if 5 of us returned from that cliff?
And 3 were dead, me the fourth, why can’t I remember the fifth?
The voice who pretended to be James,
The buyer with all his games,
The suggestion of splitting up back then,
Is it all one and the same?
I guess fate had it all planned out, it’s so indifferent...
And my own house is now starting to look a little different
Gothic horror allegory for trauma and fate.
#Horror