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@azurelionprod.bsky.socialOct 8, 2026, 9:10 PM

Re-sharing a dark poem (suppose you might call it a dark sonnet) I rewrote and reworked earlier this year — "The Succubus (2026)".
The original written c. 2011 was clunky; this version flows much better.
#poem #poetry #darkpoem #darkpoetry #succubus

The Succubus (2026) by Richard H. Fay She stepped out of an incandescent mist And sealed my fate with an impassioned kiss. We conceived plans for an eventide tryst Where I lost my soul to infernal bliss. Bewitching sparks lit up her ebon eyes. Luscious lips parted in a lustful grin As dread shades cavorted in darkened skies To celebrate my descent into sin. Naked flesh shivered from her lethal touch. My doomed soul departed this mortal shell And slipped into the Devil’s grasping clutch — Forbidden passions had damned me to Hell! Fall not for this fiend’s nefarious charms Or find yourself caught in Lucifer’s arms!
@azurelionprod.bsky.socialOct 7, 2026, 9:23 PM

Re-sharing my dark poem "Corpse-Candles", published Jun 2008 in NITEBLADE, Sep 2008 in LOST INNOCENCE: A NITEBLADE ANTHOLOGY, Oct 2010 in DEADMAN'S TOME, and Aug 2023 in COSMIC JOURNEYS AND GOTHIC VISIONS.
#poem #poetry #darkpoem #darkpoetry
@stuartmiller1.bsky.social
@corutaniconnolly.bsky.social

Corpse-Candles by Richard H. Fay Glittering bright orbs Move through naked trees, Dancing and darting Like restless children Playing hide-and-seek In a quaint garden. Souls lost in the night Soar in the still air. They gather near me, But stay out of reach. They lead me deeper Into the dark wood. As a moth to flame I follow the lights. Blackness surrounds me. Only the flicker Of spectral candles Guides my reckless steps. The ancient oaks part To reveal headstones Hidden in the wood. A forlorn graveyard Choked with thorny weeds Lays beneath the stars. Lights cavort above The overgrown graves, Then descend groundward. I spy pale phantoms Pining for warm flesh Long reduced to dust. The sad shades beckon And draw me along A perilous ridge. Blindly I stumble And tumble headfirst Down a rocky grade. Broken and bloodied, My body grows cold. As life ebbs away From this mortal shell, My spirit will join That fey troupe of lights. (Originally published June 2008 in Niteblade)
@azurelionprod.bsky.socialOct 7, 2026, 8:44 PM

Re-sharing my dark poem "My Haunted House" (now in 3 parts) originally published April 2008 in Issue 284 of the webzine BEWILDERING STORIES.
This one DIDN'T get added to my double-length collection.
#poem #poetry #darkpoem #darkpoetry
@stuartmiller1.bsky.social
@corutaniconnolly.bsky.social

My Haunted House by Richard H. Fay Troubled memories drag me back To the site of my deepest fears. I travel once more to the spot That spawned my most terrible dreams. I draw near the frowning facade, Set to face my personal Hell. I must confront the ghosts within For my soul to be truly free. I ascend the rickety stairs And turn the knob with sweaty palms. An acrid, choking dust wells up As I open the creaking door. The scent of death hangs in the air. Hot blood drums in my throbbing head As I cross the crooked threshold And enter my forsaken home. 1 of 3 Shadows move amongst the cobwebs And drift across the filthy floor. Echoes of dreadful thoughts and deeds Resound throughout the dank abode. Images of strife flood my mind. A great sadness overtakes me As the grey walls weep crimson tears And the whole house shudders and sighs. My chilled body shivers and shakes As a prickly draught sweeps past me. A violent vision appears Before eyes blurred by bitter pain. Seething anger and abject fear Tie my stomach in tangled knots As long buried torment returns And my life's heartache is replayed. Somehow I find the hidden strength To challenge the grim, restless shades. I take a deep breath, clench my fists, And screw up my courage to cry "Fell, black phantoms, haunt me no more! Back to the past where you belong!" Haggard spectres threaten gravely, But I hold my ground against them. 2 of 3
@azurelionprod.bsky.socialOct 4, 2026, 6:59 PM

Dark speculative poem "A Mystery Better Left Alone".
#poem #poetry #darkpoem #darkpoetry #speculativepoem #speculativepoetry #horror #horrorpoem #horrorpoetry
@stuartmiller1.bsky.social
@corutaniconnolly.bsky.social

A Mystery Better Left Alone By Richard H. Fay As I undo the rusty latch Binding this fusty tome, I eagerly await answers To arcane questions Sane folk never dare ask. Beneath the bound cover, Within crackling pages Rendered from human flesh, I seek to learn forbidden lore, And solve the riddle of life. Reading words penned in blood, Gaining knowledge forsaken by all, I forfeit my very soul To resolve a mystery Better left alone.
@azurelionprod.bsky.socialOct 4, 2026, 6:52 PM

Dark speculative poem "Forbidden for a Reason".
Background image combo of 2 of my published artworks.
#poem #poetry #darkpoem #darkpoetry #speculativepoem #speculativepoetry #darkspeculativepoem #darkspeculativepoetry #weird #horror
@stuartmiller1.bsky.social
@corutaniconnolly.bsky.social

Forbidden for a Reason By Richard H. Fay Seeking secrets suppressed by society, I pore over ponderous tomes of taboo lore, Books banned for their forbidden facts. Weird words open a dangerous doorway Allowing abominations to penetrate our plane, Dealing a devastating and destructive doom.
@azurelionprod.bsky.socialOct 1, 2026, 6:37 PM

There seems no better way to kick off a month of spooky poems than to re-share the poem that marks a turn toward the dark and Gothic in my double-length speculative poetry collection — "Enter My Nightmares".
#poem #poetry #darkpoem
@stuartmiller1.bsky.social
@corutaniconnolly.bsky.social

Enter My Nightmares Wander with me through Perilous moor, Haunted vale, Moonlit wood. Have your breath stolen By eldritch cries, Ebon forms, Flaming Eyes. Naked in the dark, Your flesh shudders, Chilled by ghosts, Touched by Death. Published August 2023 in the poetry collection Cosmic Journeys and Gothic Visions.
@beyondtheonions.bsky.socialSep 26, 2026, 1:44 PM

#vss365 #nurture #neglect #banishment#poetry #darkpoem #poem #writing #oldpoem #theological #vss 👼-😈

What views we had from God’s high tower. Beneath our eyes the land crawled with his creations. Too much like us. He kept them, after all was done, then rested on the seventh sun. Lit with such beauty, innocent and pure. He nurtured and bathed them in his light, while we sang songs from low-hung clouds. Voices rising in a chorus on the sixth, find his ears in slumber on the seventh. Awakened, angry and thundering of our insolence, our arrogance, claiming they were beautiful, while our songs now sang the bitter bellows of hideous beasts. A brush of a hand and we fell. Too far we fell, too far to recall the fall. Down here now, walking with them, his precious souvenirs. ~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~
@tobbsjournal.bsky.socialSep 20, 2026, 10:28 PM

"Your safety begins and ends
with the quirks of the sun.
It rises in your heart, come morning.
At evening, it abandons you."

Dark Terror by John Grey
Read More: theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/dark-terror

#writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #darkpoem

@azurelionprod.bsky.socialSep 15, 2026, 9:12 PM

Re-sharing my dark poem "Voices in the Forest".
Background photo taken by yours truly.
#poem #poetry #darkpoem #darkpoetry #voices #forest
@corutaniconnolly.bsky.social
@stuartmiller1.bsky.social

Voices in the Forest By Richard H. Fay Deep in a dark forest, Strange voices softly speak In a language long lost To civilized mankind. Whispering shades beckon To bewildered human In words long forgotten By a more settled race. Strangely savage souls draw That bewitched mortal lad Deeper into the wood To meet a sudden doom.
@azurelionprod.bsky.socialSep 14, 2026, 7:06 PM

Re-worked and re-wrote another old unused dark cinquain, but this time I kept the old title — "Taken Over".
Background rendered in GIMP.
#poem #poetry #cinquain #darkpoem #darkpoetry #darkcinquain
@stuartmiller1.bsky.social
@corutaniconnolly.bsky.social

Taken Over (2026) By Richard H. Fay Dark thoughts Never my own Flood my bedeviled head — Inhuman intellects control My mind.
@azurelionprod.bsky.socialSep 13, 2026, 7:02 PM

Dark poem "The Dark Host", published Feb 2010 in Issue 277 of BEWILDERING STORIES, Aug 2012 in Issue 8 of BETE NOIRE, Jun 2021 in Issue 40 of NIGHT TO DAWN, and Aug 2023 in COSMIC JOURNEYS AND GOTHIC VISIONS.
@stuartmiller1.bsky.social
@corutaniconnolly.bsky.social
#poem #poetry #darkpoem

The Dark Host by Richard H. Fay Creatures of darkness roam this troubled night, Drifting on the wind like an ebon mist. Strange beings of shadow who shun the light Gather in the hills for their savage tryst. Whirring wings beat in the deepening gloom As wicked sprites cavort atop the tor. Wayward mortals face a terrible doom, Joining the heinous host that they abhor. Stolen children and lost souls swell the ranks Of that wretchedly detestable horde. A tithe of human flesh gives bloody thanks To their dark and diabolical lord. The unsanctified dead spread suffering Until dawn's first glimmer drives them away. No earthly force can stop their wandering; The host is vanquished by the break of day. (Originally published in Bewildering Stories, Issue 277, February 10, 2008.)
@azurelionprod.bsky.socialSep 10, 2026, 5:45 PM

Dark poem "Chupa-chupas" published All Souls' Night 2008 in Issue 7 of HUNGUR and Aug 2023 in the double-length speculative poetry collection COSMIC JOURNEYS AND GOTHIC VISIONS.

Background image rendered in GIMP.

#poem #poetry #darkpoem

@stuartmiller1.bsky.social
@corutaniconnolly.bsky.social

Chupa-chupas By Richard H. Fay Star lights, Earthward falling offspring of distant suns plummet through dark skies suffering hunger. Beings from worlds beyond human belief prowl this steamy Brazilian night searching for prey. Savage spirits glimmer above my veranda, flashing green and red as they stalk their game Pulsing satisfaction, glittering entities catch me in crimson beams to drain my life. Fell fire sets flesh ablaze while ionised blood boils. Ebbing vitality feeds those fey lights. (Originally published in Hungur, Issue 7, All Souls' Night 2008.)
@beyondtheonions.bsky.socialSep 7, 2026, 11:53 AM

#WIPSnips #writing #darkpoem #amwriting #poetry #freeverse
*I feel like I'm cheating...😟 - but this is the only #elevator I got, and it is in my current #wip (curating) of poetry, Beyond Beyond the Onions.
P.S.- I won't do this again, I promise 🤞 - and tis ok if you're not amused. 😊

~ The Poem ~🖤

I am a poem... sometimes I'm a reminder of the dark. that's why i keep to shadow. I stand out in a well-lit room. I am the contrast to that half glass of milk -- it's not half full but half empty, lip-stick stained and sitting on a black table in a black room. That discomfort in the elevator; the heat behind the shifting eyes, I am. Are my words like a car crash? No one wants to read them but... just can't look away. So what if I am and what if they are? 'Tormentuous' - now that's dark... not even a word but it should be! ~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~
Evil faces twist and distort Into spiteful visions of hate. Apparitions swirl about me In a churning, whirring vortex. Wispy hands reach out for my soul, But I recoil from their cold touch. "Enough!" I scream as I feel faint. "Leave my wretched spirit alone!" The dark wraiths wail pitifully, Then the fearful scene fades to black. The defeated phantoms retreat Back into the dim murky mist Of recollections and regrets. I stumble down the rotten steps And leave exhausted but content, Glad to be rid of my demons Once and for all. (Originally published April 2008 in Issue 284 of the webzine BEWILDERING STORIES.) 3 of 3