Hello Jane!

‘It’s ten to twelve and a feral cat

Is up by the chimney pots,

Its feral yowls are like banshees howls

And tying my nerves in knots,

The rats are scurrying over the roof

To try to avoid the cat,

While in the trees there’s an evil breeze

And the squeals of a vampire bat.’

 

‘There’s more than ferals and bats out there

There’s more than whispering trees,

The ghosts I left in the past out there

Come floating in with the breeze,

The doctors in the asylum said

There’s something wrong with my brain,

But I can see what they never see,

So it’s not me that’s insane.’

 

‘I know they come at the midnight hour

So I hang on tight to my gun,

I scour the skies for their evil eyes

With a bullet for every one,

Their bodies fall with a wheeze, a sigh

But melt away in the dew,

You’d never know in the daylight that

They’d been here, looking for you.’

 

‘That’s why you’re chained to the iron bed

It’s the safest place to be,

Since ever that woman turned my head

And they came here, looking for me,

It’s lucky I found your secret out

And kept you here in the shack,

He’s not going to find you staying here,

You can thank, at least, for that!’

 

‘It isn’t the same, that woman came

Cooked up that hell-fire brew,

Then made me play that terrible game,

The one that I played with you,

You’ve taken fright and you look so white

But you needn’t be afraid,

I’ll come to you in the morning light

Once all the ghosts are laid!’

 

The night was filled with the scurrying sounds

Of the creatures in the glade,

Shadows crept from behind the trees

When the Moon came out, and played,

He fired the rifle a dozen times

When he thought he saw the eye,

Of monsters up in the tops of trees

And shadows, up in the sky.

 

He fired until there was only one,

One bullet left for him,

Then turned and sighed at the sunrise, said:

‘Look out, I’m coming in!’

And lying there on the iron bed

Was a woman, locked in chain,

But rats had fed on her face and head

When he said: ‘Oh, Hello Jane!’

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Mark]

SO...he and the woman were playing, what, Russian roulette?...and when she lost, it drove him 'round the bend? The spirits, cats, et al, were in fact, products of his deranged conscience? Kind of an Ancient Mariner thing going on? Help me out, Dave!
The use of feral three times in the first few lines is somewhat offputting, though I can think of no other that has quite the same connotations; I mention it only in passing. Another classic bit of Pagetalia. Didn't bring my Thesaurus to San Diego, and am fresh out of creative new ways to say marvellous, outstanding...blah, blah.

[Cree Nations]

Great read. Good words, and awesome plot. Thanks

[TPK Stories]

Great story! What a twist! When we are driven mad!

[TL Boehm]

Wow. That's the thing about madness. Even more gruesome by day. This was a scary work for sure. Really liked the line "I scour the skies for their evil eyes
With a bullet for every one,"

[Adam Lebzo -RonninWarri..]

Quite a twisty one, David lol
liked it though

[Lena M. P.]

Just when I thought you couldn't creep me out worse you top yourself. This was positively chilling.

[Marie]

Insanity come to life...or possibly death...

[quinfinn]

some of this is vaguely reminiscent of the edgar allen poe style which i love so much. i am not comparing you to him, but you have that same uncanny ability to wax poetic about any subject you choose. this is marvelous!