Can horror be fun?
While the horror generated by wars deeply saddens with its ultimate disregard for all kinds of flora and fauna, including humans, the horrific as we savour in festivals can cease to be terrifying. It can even be cathartic in the midst of the terror of destruction and violence. Halloween is a festival that brings to mind a time when kids go trick or treating as houses and gardens assume a ‘haunted look’. This year, in the spirit of fun, we bring to you a collection of the spooky and the gooky — poems and prose — from across multiple countries and cultures. These hope to provide a moment of respite and unalloyed fun for all of you, despite their darker notes. Perhaps, as an afterthought, these will also unite with the commonality of human needs to connect… even if it’s with a plethora of spooks from across all kinds of human borders…
Poetry
Poems for Halloween by Michael Burch. Click here to read.
Pirate Poems: Jay Nicholls brings us fun-filled ‘spooky-gooky’ adventures across the Lemon Sea. Click here to read.
Prose
Ghosts, Witches and My New Homeland : Tulip Chowdhury muses on ghosts and spooks in Bangladesh and US. Click here to read.
Three Ghosts in a Boat: Rhys Hughes explores the paranormal. Promise not to laugh or smile as you shiver… Click here to read.
Red Moss at the Abbey of Saint Pons: Paul Mirabile takes us to St Pons Abbey in France in the fifteenth century. Click here to read.
The Browless Dolls: S.Ramakrishnan’s story about two supernatural dolls, has been translated from Tamil by B. Chandramouli. Click here to read.
Borderless 