Rufus Woodward's Blog, page 2

A Report on a Haunting and Other Stories

A Report on a Hauntingand Other Stories.

Three weird tales by Rufus Woodward available now to read for free.

Three claustrophobic tales of anxiety and dread, of hidden thoughts and buried memories, and of all the monstrous things that lurk inside.

A report on a haunting at number 11 Erskine Street, Aberdeen

There are few bloodthirsty visions here, no messages from the dead, few heart-stopping terrors. In fact, and I want to be as truthful about this as I can, let me say at the outset that wh...

Sir Dominick’s Bargain

“Poor Sir Dominick. Faithless, feeble Sir Dominick
Some stains you cannot clean from your soul “

The heir to a fortune squanders his inheritance on wine and gambling. Destitute and alone, he makes a desperate bargain with a gentleman he meets one midnight. For seven years he will have all the riches he craves. But what will happen to him, what will become of him when those seven years are done?

Sheridan Le Fanu’s story of a man’s pact with the devil is retold in 14 poems by Rufus Woodward.

‘Si...

Faithless, feeble Sir Dominick

XIV
Poor Sir Dominick. Faithless, feeble Sir Dominick
Some stains you cannot clean from your soul
He comes at midnight
Here by appointment
To keep a promise

Too late for priests and prayers now
Too late to run, too late to hide
How happy, now, how inviting looks
That old oak tree with its open noose?

Like a coward you bluster
Like a child you plead
But the stranger is not for listening
Not a gentleman any longer
His coat is ragged, his shirt torn
Long matted hair worn for breeches
He takes a...

The fear is upon me worse every day

XIII
The fear is upon me worse every day
Fierce and growing, blowing like a gale in my
Face, a roar in my ears. Fever claws sharp in
My flesh. A poison in my blood. I dare not
Trust my eyes any longer. My tongue is thick
And tastes of ashes, and tastes of sodden earth.
I have not spoken to any man in days.
Thoughts scatter and tumble like shattered glass.
I cannot drink enough to draw them together.
Only one thing I do know – he is coming
He is coming, he is coming for me.

Oh God, can you for...

Seven years

XII
Seven years
Seven years of all the pleasures
All the glories of the world
Seven years of enough and more to spare
Of never owing a penny
Of never missing a card, never losing a wager
Seven years of hounds and horses
Of great company, of grand nights
Of woman at hand and wine to drink
Of never a moment without a bright fire lit

Seven years of madness
Of troubled thoughts as black as the night
Of desperate diversion, of empty prosperity
Seven years of knowing
Seven years of waiting
Of wishi...

A single brass needle

XI
A single brass needle pricks
Three drops of blood from a vein
Strange words scratched on parchment slips
And now our bargain is made

For seven years I serve you
When that time ends, you serve me
A master and his servant

The heir to a fortune squanders his inheritance on wine and gambling. Destitute and alone, he makes a desperate bargain with a gentleman he meets one midnight. For seven years he will have all the riches he craves. But when seven years are done, what will become of him the...

Take this gift and belong to me

X
“Take this gift and belong to me,” he says
He does not lie to you
Though the truth he tells will be
Too terrible for you to hear

A handsome gentleman with a hollow smile
With a gold laced coat and a voice like warm wine
He does not offer a name
But you know who your master will be
It is the sharp edged taste in the air that tells you
It is the way his eyes know you
The way each hair on your neck stands high
The red itch on your chest where your crucifix lies

“Take this bag of coins and more...

Gamble and gamble again

IX
You know some men who would rather lose than win
No matter what game it is they play
Losing becomes an addiction for some men
The taste they crave is bleak and bittersweet
The acid cut of recrimination
The shifting fog of lost illusion

Some men will do anything to lose
If it will bring their hand to a swift end
They will happily squander a fortune
Betray all their family, shame their name
And think nothing of it. These men you know
Might choose to die at any moment
And be glad of it. And b...

Come home

VIII
Come home to go away again
Come home from far off places. Come
To see Dunoran one last time.
Come home, blown on an anxious wave
To see, as if for the first time
How small the old place looks, how grey
How tired and unimportant.

Come home laughing. Bitter laughter.
Bent double over a tree trunk
Coughing out curses, choked on a
Thought that sticks in your throat. Who is
The joke on if not you yourself?

Come home, not like a father, not
Like a lover and not like a
Soldier returning from a...

A fair and a feast for a new Squire

VII
A fair and a feast for a new squire
The young master of Dunoran
There was dancing and fiddling
A welcome for all to come see
This grand estate at its finest

We had wine for the gentlemen and ladies
Beer and cider enough to float a ship on
All the farmhands and the stableboys
All the maids and the servant girls
All the pipers in the county came to
Raise a cheer for our Sir Dominick

Feast for a week and then feast for a month
Feast till the weather breaks and work returns
‘Till none but the...