Formulaic

Paintings watch with moving eyes.
Candles won't stay lit.
Wind that sounds like whispered cries.
Knocks that do not quit.

Dolls all turn their porcelain heads.
The music box plinks its tune.
Pull up the covers in your bed.
It will all be over soon.

The lights, they buzz and flicker.
Shadows move in close.
Unseen children snicker.
It's what you fear the most.

The door opens with a creak,
slow and agonizing.
You don't dare to take a peek.
The fear is paralyzing.

A grim and fetid creature,
a form with long black hair
and a pale face without features
silently stands there.

A child lost at a young age?
A parent that caused pain and death?
A soul that could not find its way
since it took its final breath?

Bloody scrawling on the wall,
loosened floorboard letters,
foreign flashbacks tell it all.
Does the truth make things better?

Conflict unresolved and sadness.
Revenge for wrong-doing.
Great acts of violent madness.
Pent up rage left stewing.

The dark secret is discovered.
Comeuppance is attained.
The way to resolution is uncovered.
Peace and quite are reclaimed.

You might have heard this tale before,
whether you are young or old.
The premise is not new, for sure.
It's every ghost story ever told.