We bought the house one April,
A cute cottage by a stream,
With a pond and apple orchard,
A quite idyllic scene.

We redecorated every room
And refurbished the whole house,
The place looked like it had just been built
That day, inside and out.

While in truth it was two hundred years
Of age, or maybe more,
With original oak timbers
And Georgian marbled floors.

The first few months we lived there
Were so quiet and serene,
Then one night we were awoken
By the most blood curdling screams.

Well we searched the house without success,
The orchard and the pond,
Then walked all along the river bank
To find where the screams came from.

Night after night we heard the screams,
Then suddenly they stopped,
And strange things began to happen
In the cottage, as we watched.

Like the cutlery drawer would open,
Although nobody was there,
And once our largest carving knife
Came hurtling through the air.

And stuck into a doorframe,
Inches from my wife,
If I had not called a warning
I think it may have cost her life.

I screamed at my wife, “We’re leaving”,
But a strange voice said, “You’re not”,
Then we rushed towards the front door,
Only to find it locked.

As were all the windows,
Though we leave them open wide,
I stood frozen in terror,
Whilst my wife knelt down and cried.

What was it that held us captive?
I really do not know,
But I knew that it was evil,
And would never let us go.

Had it not been for the crucifix
That my wife had always worn,
Which had fallen from her neck
As I had dragged her to the door.

As I reached down to retrieve it,
The disembodied demon hissed,
“Do not pick that trinket up,
Leave it where it is”.

But somehow I grabbed the crucifix
Though still consumed by fear,
And as I did the demon,
Gradually appeared.

It’s eyes were red and piercing,
It’s teeth and horns were grey
I thrust the cross towards it,
And it quickly backed away.

My wife began to say the Lords Prayer,
And as she said the words,
The demon mouthed obscenities
The likes of which I’ve seldom heard.

Then from its fingertips it issued flame,
Towards my wife and I in turn,
But though engulfed by an inferno,
Neither my wife nor I were burnt.

As though shielded by the Angels,
From the demon and the heat,
Until the beast before us weakened
And it knew it faced defeat.

Then diving like a swimmer,
From the highest diving board,
And still mouthing its obscenities
Towards us and the lord.

It dived into the flooring,
And was never seen again,
Just a stream, a pond and orchard,
And the ashes still remain.


By S.E.Ralph.

6-5-2017