3/31/06

No friends and family this week ~ have been on vacation.

Tonight's the big night.
I think we're gonna do it!
Why are his friends here?

3/30/06

Undersea treasures!
Ten fathoms down, precious life…
What just cut my tube?

3/29/06

Sweet-cooked love powder,
I’m lost in your Dream Kingdom.
Map to Xanadu?

3/28/06

Mr. Underbed:
He always eats their toes first.
This way, they can't run.

3/27/06

Toys in the window!
Mommy look! Mommy look! Mom?
Who are you, mister?

3/25/06: The First Month of Horror Haiku

I'm surprised I've managed to keep this going for a month. When I reviewed the 30-35 I've written from February 25-March 25, I only found a couple I thought were poorly conceived.

Phew.

A few things strike me about my output so far:

1. What I'm really aspiring to is the experience of the "elongated paintings" at Disney World's Haunted Mansion. Check them out.

When you enter the Haunted Mansion's foyer, you see several portraits depicting generally pleasant scenarios. Slowly, the pictures elongate, exposing a more macabre truth.

That's pretty much my world view. :)

2. I've been all over the map. Necrophilia, granny-philia, murderous stuffed animals, virgin sacrific, Lovecraftian monsters, infanticide, cannibalism, infanticide by cannibalism, godlessness, greed, plane crashes, car wrecks, unfulfilled dreams, insects, pedophiles, quicksand, being buried alive, menstruation, domestic violence, arachnids, homeless guys, loneliness and voodoo...

I think that about covers it. I'm scared I'll run out of topics...oh, that reminds me! There are a couple in there about failure, too.

3. There are some in the "Faces of Death" - style. Just straightforward descriptions of a morbid scene. I think that I'll stay away from this type ~ while evocative, they're witless and, by nature, I think successful horror haikus need to either a) have some wit to them or b) strike an emotional truth.

Otherwise, it's just 17 syllables of snuff-ku.

4. A lot of them have sex.

Yep.

5. I think I'm OK at writing these, but I also discovered that my friends are all pretty damn good. Thank you all for your submissions for Friends and Family Fridays. Remember, those that slay together, stay together. Also, most of the haikus start with a fear of my own, or a fear that a friend has confided in me. So please, all of you, alert me to your deepest darkest fears, your inner turmoil...it helps me craft these things.

Plans for Horror Haiku in April

I'd like to add some links to horror blogs and friend blogs, get a better URL to direct to blogger (one without the blogspot, although horrorhaiku.com is taken), and do a bit more advertising and promotion. I'd also like to read some of the Japanese Horror comics that my friend J.W. Hastings says are similar to these haikus.

So finally, here are my 5 favorite from the first month.

I can't fall asleep.
Oak eyes stare, evil knots grin.
The walls are watching.

Tears of joy stream down.
Finally she’s a woman.
The wolves smell her blood.

Oxygen masks fall.
People cry and pray aloud.
Won’t finish Shark Tale.

Awake now, but where?
Dark, cramped...my favorite suit?
This doesn't look good.

An English boy asks,
“What’s in my granny’s knickers?”
She’s asleep. He peeks…

And my favorite submission from a friend:

Margaret Mary Kilcourse presents...

Jane's blindfold tied tight;
Tommy and the boys grab knives.
Party games are fun.

Horror Haiku returns on Monday. See you in April...fools!

Braccia

3/24/06 -Time Off

This weekend, I'll review the first month of Horror Haiku, select a Top 5, a Friend's favorite and establish goals for the second month. I look forward to hearing your comments and concerns.

Sleep tight,

Braccia

3/23/06

Cower in basement.
Pray God protects our mother.
Daddy just got home.

3/22/06

Gentle buzzing bees.
God’s most elegant yeomen…
Ouch! Now…they …sting…me!

3/21/06

She prayed her hardest.
But just because she’d asked Him
didn’t mean she’d live.

3/20/06

I can't fall asleep.
Oak eyes stare, evil knots grin.
The walls are watching.

3/19/06

I felt generous.
Gave a homeless guy a buck.
And now he won't leave.

3/18/06

Dearest Diary,
Still no boyfriend. What to do?
I'll make one from parts!

3/17/06 - Friends and Family 3

Madame LaRue observes...

Night comes quickly here
and daylight…almost never.
Unfurl and begin.


Andrew Cambria dedicates the following to T. Treadwell...

Chest cavity rots
as grizzlies pick the bones clean.
Who needs protection?


I ponder...

Lower intestines
Populated by green worms.
They eat when I eat.

3/16/06

A promising youth
But time passed; no love or luck...
Now, grey and withered.

3/15/06

This gorgeous white gown…
Nice guys carry me uphill…
Wait...is that lava?

3/14/06

A few hours left.
All the loved ones stand nearby.
They want my money.

3/13/06

The old mortician
mounted the young woman’s corpse.
Her eyes stayed open.

3/12/06

Drink the chicken’s blood
and what you wish will be so.
That’s Gran’s recipe.

3/11/06

A baby, stillborn?
Vitamins and minerals!
Somebody say grace.

3/10/06 - Friends and Family 2

Amanda Kleinberg ponders...

dirty pigeons soar.
She sips her diet soda.
What's a pandemic?

Yasmin Tasan celebrates her 23rd birthday tonight and brings us...

Birthday balloons wave.
Bozo's teeth are stained with blood.
Where's the birthday girl?

and...

Walking down the street
She sees something red and bright
King rat took his chance.

and...

Lovely afternoon
Frisbees fly high in the park
Aliens take aim.

Christa Imbriale anticipates...

A late night at work
Parked cars stretch out in long rows
He's crouched by the Ford.

Margaret Mary Kilcourse explains...

Jane's blindfold tied tight;
Tommy and the boys grab knives.
Party games are fun.

I imagine...

Tears of joy stream down.
Finally she’s a woman.
The wolves smell her blood.

3/9/06

A teddy bear cries
as more sinister toys plot.
The boy dies tonight.

3/8/06

Awake now. But where?
Dark, cramped...my favorite suit?
This doesn't look good.

3/7/06

No date for the prom.
Found ancient jar in basement.
Unleash scourge on school.

3/6/06

Ancient marsh waters
Bubbles pop, the surface calms.
Fingers slip under.

3/5/06

Oxygen mask falls.
People cry and pray aloud.
Won’t finish Shark Tale.

3/4/06

She does such nice things
for small pieces of candy.
I’m a lucky man.

3/3/06 - Friends and Family

The first week of terror is near complete.

Each Friday I'll post submissions from friends and family, as well as one or more of my own haikus.

While still under the general (blood-covered) umbrella of horror, there's a little more leeway with Friday's work with respect to tonality.

And without further delay

Haiku Horror Presents

Friends and Family

J.W. Hastings observes...

A gleam in her eyes,
The straps bit deeper: he hoped
It was just a game.

Joseph Mader remarks...

Tender infant crawls
towards gleaming plugged-in nail gun.
Baby go bye-bye.

Andrew Cambria reports...

Corpses suspended
in water most putrescent
as he waits to eat.

Mary Phillips-Sandy declares...

Path through the deep woods
look, there's an empty cabin.
Let's open the door.

and...

Up the attic stairs
the old portraits all in dust.
Eyes are watching you.

and...

Lake-bottom dweller
he silent serpentine beast
It is time to feed.

RX Bizness speaks from the 'hood...

Tough night on the street.
Just made my first kill, nigga.
Fuck, I want nachos.

Nick Braccia, the proprietor of horror haiku, brings you...

Gummy, delicious,
green, chewy strips of slug meat.
Please sir, hold the salt.

An English boy asks,
“What’s in my granny’s knickers?”
She’s asleep. He peeks…

Enjoy your weekend.

3/2/06

Baby’s tender scalp
gluttonous, guttural belch
Spoon the brain matter.

3/1/06

Thick beard, crooked teeth,
malice enough for murder
and he's not yet six...