Not all poetry is filled with heartaches and tears; some are filled with blood. Horror and poetry are two things that don’t seem to mix. In popular and past cultures, this was mostly true, with poetry being commonly used as an expression of intimate and deep feelings. Love just so happens to be the most suitable and used one. However, readers can truly appreciate poetry if they can see it in all its forms. Why not be scared rather than touched? Why not feel your heart feel tightened to the core rather than crushed or lightened under the pressure of love?
Simply, if you don’t like poetry, I strongly suggest you look into one of these books. Sometimes, it’s merely the ideas that offset the interest.
1. The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories by Tim Burton
This book is is filled with a myriad of disturbing poems that will leave you wondering in the dead of night. From a boy with nails shoved into his eyes, the consumption of an oyster-child and a Voodoo girl, this entourage of strange and frightening creatures will keep you company at night as long as you like!
Source: Amazon
2. Shroud of Night by G.O. Clark
Different from the weird characters like Oyster-boy, Clark’s poetry is something that will make you truly look fear (or even death) in the face. Classical figures of frightening proportions reel their faces in these poems. Anything bumping in the darkest vaults of your minds will look out and spring to life.
3. Something in the Potato Room by Heather Cousins
This story is written as a poetic narrative, focusing on a young woman’s discovery of human bones in her basement (how would you react if this happened to you?) This book will take you outside and beyond your realm of control. It’s a little 80 page paperback with tons of dramatic suspense and intricately built details. Give it a try if you’re aiming for something different!
Source: Amazon
4. The Macabre Masterpiece: Poems of Horror and Gore by Justin Bienvenue
Being buried alive… red bloody rivers… This collection of poems focus on the gore, as well as the supernatural and religious darkness people are so intrigued in. Separated into sections such as Hell, Blood and many more, this book can satisfy many of your urgent curiosities towards the morbid.
Source: Amazon
The horror poetry genre never really went off the rails and into the popular public realm of reading. Despite this, many poems of this type can provide poetic insight into the morbid and the dark; things people wouldn’t even approach in normal prose. By looking sideways rather than forward at what’s available, treasure can be closer than we think.
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