Under the Bed and Behind the Curtains

[markloh77]

What's under the stairs?

It doesn't matter where you live,
Or what your house is made from.
If you have a flight of stairs,
Three rules you must be clear on.

Number one, don't stamp upstairs,
Or stomp and bang and clatter.
The terror that awaits below,
Can hear your every patter.

Number two don't stop halfway,
In fact don't stop at all.
To pause will make you easy prey,
The terrors on the ball.

Most importantly rule three,
The smartest one to know.
The safest way to use the stairs,
Is in a bungalow.



What's in the cupboard?

Have you ever been to the top of the stairs?
There’s something up there that is full of nightmares.
A cupboard at the back, behind all the boxes,
Nobody knows where the key to the lock is.

No noises at all can be heard from inside.
But something is there, maybe something that died?
Maybe it’s dead and it came back to life?
Maybe it’s in there sharpening it’s knife!

Curiosity kills cats but you can’t resist,
What could be in there? What could exist?
You’re creeping in further, the floorboards are creaking,
If you’re mum found you here you just know she’d be freaking.

Your hand reaches out and touches the door,
Something is wrong that you just can’t ignore.
The lock has been opened... The door is ajar,
Too late to run, too late by far.

Something just sneezed! Something within!
This is a fight that you really can’t win.
Open the door! Do you think you are ready?!
It’s your little sister, playing snap with her teddy.



What's behind the curtain?

Tossing and turning, too hot to sleep,
All you can hear is the house start to creak.

Everything seems a bit different at night,
You're sorely tempted to turn on the light.

The windows are open,
A breeze starts to blow.

With every gust,
Your fear starts to grow.

Bringing the sheets right up to your face,
Eyes start to widen, heart starts to race.

There's a shadow down there that doesn't look right,
It can't be the dog, not quite the right height.

Hold on, wait a minute, something is moving,
It's right by the window, a frightening new thing.

You know where it is, you're totally certain,
It appears to be standing inside the left curtain.

Frozen in bed, shudder with dread,
This thing in your room is playing games with your head.

In this situation, I would recommend,
Something seriously simple can be your best friend.

Keep a small torch just under the bed,
Be brave, be bold, get a grip, clear your head.

Click on the light, make sure it's working,
Shine it on the curtain to find out what's lurking.

You jump! It's jumps! You stop, it's stops too,
It's your shadow you twit, you're looking at you.



What's down the toilet?

If you could put into words,
The scariest thing,
You couldn't describe,
The Grumspiker King.

A tyrant and monster,
And evil so sly,
Don't look in his face,
Or your granny might die.

He lives on his own,
At the top of his tower,
In the Kingdom of Slurgh,
Where he has all the power.

If you look down the toilet,
Between midnight and dawn,
You can see down to Slurgh,
(If the curtains are drawn).

So be careful in future,
If you wee in the night,
The Grumspiker's watching,
So turn on the light.

[jsquire]

Hi Markloh77, really great read here. It brought a smile to my face while reading it. The rhyming verse works well and really fits the feel of the pieces. I thought the curtain and toilet parts ended the strongest but all were good. Are they aimed at different age group? Cupboard and stairs seemed as if to target older children.

I can picture parents reading curtain and toilet to their children and them both laughing at the end. I like the character Grumspiker from Slurgh in the toilet as well. That character would make a great children's story.

Well done, thanks for posting it - Jason

[markloh77]

Thank you very much! I'm really pleased with your reaction, I must admit I was quite pleased with these. I was really targeting smaller children, trying to help them overcome being afraid of the dark etc. in a fun way (maybe it's a little too dark in places as you suggested), along with some illustrations to carry it along.

Anyway I will definitely take your enthusiasm and keep going with it. Thank you again.

Mark.

[Geourban]

Great work Mark. You have established each setting, stirred up enough atmosphere to capture imagination and create the fear factor. I think parents will enjoy them as much as the kids. Lots of fun for the right age groups.
I love them, but would not read them to a young child that is frightend of the dark.
It would be good to run them past parents and teachers for their imput.

[Popcat156]

Hi Mark,
These are terrific. They have just the perfect amount of atmosphere, but I must say they are much too dark for little children - except perhaps the cupboard one, which had a nice ending.
I was terribly afraid of the dark when I was a child - and these would have scared the hell out of me! Especially the toilet one. I used to have afear of flushing the toilet at night - I would flush it and then RUN. It really puts me in mind of Doctor Seuss, that last one.
But as I am older now, I really enjoyed these! So well written.

[RayRay]

Love these poems! Especially What's behind the curtain and how it ends. Can imagine reading them to my kids (if I ever have them) and full on acting it out. Haha. Would be much fun for me as it would be for them!! Greeaaaat stuff.

[markloh77]

Great work Mark. You have established each setting, stirred up enough atmosphere to capture imagination and create the fear factor. I think parents will enjoy them as much as the kids. Lots of fun for the right age groups.
I love them, but would not read them to a young child that is frightend of the dark.
It would be good to run them past parents and teachers for their imput.

Hi there, sorry it's taken so long for me to reply. Thank you very much for your comments I really appreciate them. I will definitely try to run it past a few parents...
Mark.

[markloh77]

Hi Mark,
These are terrific. They have just the perfect amount of atmosphere, but I must say they are much too dark for little children - except perhaps the cupboard one, which had a nice ending.
I was terribly afraid of the dark when I was a child - and these would have scared the hell out of me! Especially the toilet one. I used to have afear of flushing the toilet at night - I would flush it and then RUN. It really puts me in mind of Doctor Seuss, that last one.
But as I am older now, I really enjoyed these! So well written.

Hi there, yes I definitely aimed them a little darker than most. I was trying to bring back a little 'Roald Dahl' into children's storytelling - I think you can obviously take that too far but I'd say it's healthy to be a little bit risky! Thank you for your comments...

[markloh77]

Love these poems! Especially What's behind the curtain and how it ends. Can imagine reading them to my kids (if I ever have them) and full on acting it out. Haha. Would be much fun for me as it would be for them!! Greeaaaat stuff.

Thank you! I'm glad you think it's all Greeaaaat stuff. Make sure you put it on youTube!