The House Nanfula
Written By Casey Douglass
Time ago, evil did
dwell
in the house Nanfula,
locals know well.
Smoking harbingers of
death fly easily over the unwatched land, sentinels cost awareness
and flow where you don't want them to go. Black clouds blot the sky
like unwanted fly spawn peppering a spider’s web; conveyor belts of
death and corruption. The wind blows like the wheeze of an elderly
man, currents licking around the door-frame, setting the crinkled
stain and paint flapping.
The house sits on the
hill like a squat giant, the doors and gables adding expression to
its stormy facade. Deep in the valley, tiny specks work the fields,
warily glancing up at the looming building, a mixture of fear and
respect etched into their countrified features. Inbreeding cannot
water down this original and most primal of fears.
Myths and legends
abound concerning House Nanfula. Some say it was the scene of one of
Caligula’s orgies, although how he got here and orchestrated such a
thing remains a mystery. Other tales tell of murders, schemes and
plots blacker than the darkest night, of unseen things slithering in
the cellars, ready to seep out on certain full moons to suck the life
from any that might venture too near. It is a house of ill omen and
one that the gentry folk would very much like splintered, burnt and
detonated. Birds don't venture near it any more, the strange sickly
sweet smell seems to repel anything in which warm blood pulses.
Squat on the hill
dark windows squinting
the land around its
hunting ground.
House Nanfula, a place to which corrupted souls are bound.
***
I wrote the above awhile ago and came across it again when browsing my raw material folder. While not fully formed, and the poetry not that skillful (in my opinion), I enjoyed the effect that it created, so I thought I'd post it up after some edits. If you are interested, the picture that goes with it is an edited picture of a taxidermied tiger that I took years ago. I used Gimp 2 to edit it as I am too poor to possess Photoshop sadly. Thanks for reading.
