The Crimson Boughs (And Other Short Tales)
The damning winds howl as they slither through barren roads and dwellings Of breath, of life, of spark, this village devoid The veil of night stretches its claws to engulf in triumphant dark No light, no fire nor warmth, all sources obscured Tables set and linens cleaned for no one to enjoy Scribed welcomes outside yet none in abode Doors ajar on empty homesteads and houses abandoned Their hearths are snuffed, no ambers to stoke Left behind, vacant, nary a keepsake taken away Whispering, beckoning, remnants tell the tale Northward they walked None of them talked As if in trance A crooked dance Night after night At dawning dusk A procession is in the works Home after home This settlement Empties itself to fill the earth Unknown a Witch resides upon The mountainside, overlooking all With spectral nails rooted in blood Pulling on nerve like puppet strings, forced to march March March To the beat of death Forever To the hole, the depths In misery Counter to their will in pain They say their screams can still be heard Under the trees Murmurs from beneath, faint humming Feeble cries of endless fear March March Says the Witch of Death Forever To the hole, Her depths In misery At the Witch's will, they're drained They say their screams can still be heard Under the trees Murmurs from beneath, faint humming Feeble cries of endless fear Marching To the beat she wished And never Be free of her grip Constraining Nervous system tapped And leeching Every life form sapped To sustain For aeons past Wherever She will have passed A careful culling must ensue For only blood will quell her moods So her magic can reign And her will ascertain Not a soul on Earth will remain who knows of her presence in this plane In this isolate cave Shielded from prying eyes A damned cellar where none can escape save with their essence entirely dried Silent lie the streets in this cursed hollow Never rest in peace, enthralled to follow Silent lie the streets in this cursed hollow Never rest in peace, enthralled to follow Silent lie the streets in this cursed hollow Never rest in peace, enthralled to follow
Submitted by VladTheImpaler666 — Jul 01, 2026
Cursed Inquiry damned Yet knowledge is power, alas Warned Avoid what thou craves Temptations will conquer thee fast Flint box It gleams in the gloaming Bursting with speckled black light White Reflected shape, white This attic now hosts other life Clad in clerical garb Thin, olive and pale Pale, peculiar features Of concealedly evil mien Nervous and frantic Burning all manner of magical tomes Grave faced Counsel surrounds Shunning the pale man in hatred and fear Visions Of spectral play Instilled, a tale of days past Of Eld And sorcery, cast Exiled for transgressions of sombre caste Dark His spell craft is Illicit, cabalistic verse Sentenced Excommunicated Yet inexorable the curse Pariah marked He delved into scriptures of forgotten Gods The charred remains Forever retain The uncouth formulas therein Pale Coalescing light Countless, the eyes Drowned in his guise, for centuries Gazes crossed within the vision Unshackled, the bounds of Time Spirits shift through reflection His pale face henceforth mine
Submitted by VladTheImpaler666 — Jul 01, 2026
Rain, pouring rain, the storm it gains Chancing a cottage for shelter, seen from afar Rapping at the door without answering, though the entrance ajar, how bizarre Dank air seeping into nostrils, rancid as the years of desertion Against all befitting instincts, push the door and access the dankness Outside the storm swells and soars A more than decent incentive for this curious endeavor Calling aloud, since no one seems to be home To scour this homestead until the storm abates and goes Closing the door behind An initial view of quarters barеly fit for inhabitation Dusty and tainted with traces of pervading filth Pеrvading filth Decrepit, littered and foul, this quiet retreat Decay permeates throughout, the air thickening Turning sights on the bookshelves, among soiled volumes in heaps A binding sparking interest from evidence of frequent consultation Opens itself to a scene, imagery, grotesque and obscene Cannibalistic rituals never seen before Decrepit literature, obscure origins Decay permeates throughout, yet one is unscathed From above, heavy footsteps calling - Creaking wood, speckled dust fading Freezing, as the feet resound, swallowing and screaming in silence A butcher, bloody knife in hand, eyes wide and a taste for dissection Inching, closer and closer, reaching for the kill Despair, foreseeing the end, suffocate in strangulation With a knife in hand, and a taste for flesh Screaming in silence - A taste for flesh Decrepit literature, yet one is unscathed Opens itself to a page, an image obscene From above, heavy thunder growling Crack the sky, shelter vaporizing Violated In the gloom of nightly shade Desire laden Swarming limbs overtake Obfuscated Feeble voices cannot exclaim Horizon darkened Sown are the seeds of disdain Hate and pain forevermore Carrying a burden, unwanted Undeserved, is sure How to carry on? To live life on With disgust unborn? Scorn and spite shall adorn When her eyes are lain upon her womb Her defiled core Why should she go on To nurture the spawn Of degeneracy enthralled Enthralled Spellbound to lust and carnal pulse Sanity to dust and flesh to the wolves Precipitous, End this dragooned torment To precipice flung, drowned are the fruits of contempt To the raging seas, disposed Stirred inside the foaming, churning waves The siphoning storm Sink to the abyss, surrender this gift To the final bliss Born anew in watery turmoil Skin to scale and death to life again To Poseidon, borne Endlessly go on to torture their spawn, see degeneracy
Submitted by VladTheImpaler666 — Jul 01, 2026
Violated In the gloom of nightly shade Desire laden Swarming limbs overtake Obfuscated Feeble voice cannot exclaim Horizon darkened Sown are the seeds of disdain Hate and pain forevermore Carrying a burden, unwanted Undeserved, is sure How to carry on? To live life on With disgust unborn? Scorn and spite shall adorn When her eyes lain upon her womb Her defiled core Why should she go on To nurture the spawn Of degеneracy enthralled Enthrallеd Spellbound to lust And carnal pulse Sanity to dust And flesh to the wolves Precipitous End this dragooned torment To precipice flung Drowned are the fruits of contempt To the raging seas, disposed Stirred inside the foaming, churning waves The siphoning storm Sink to the abyss Surrender this gift To the final bliss Born anew in the watery turmoil Skin to scale and death to life again To Poseidon, borne Endlessly go on To torture their spawn See degeneracy undone Spellbound to lust And carnal pulse Sanity to rust Where flesh is enthroned Eldritch curse, malediction Ancient thirst, necromancy From sombre depths, rise to exact their demise Salt and foam to the tide cling Washes in sunken victims Lured to the sea by the deceitful echo of songs From the waves Eldritch verse, benediction Ancient churches, cryomancy From sombre depths, rise to see pains in their eyes From the waves Seek Their end The beasts with one-track minds For all the suffering dealt Payment is given back in kind Seek To end The witch with a silver tongue For those, her song has claimed One would have her lungs To flay the sunken ones To slay and silence their arias Seek Their end Bespoiling, human grime Groping with infamy A disconcerting crime Bound To capture, torture Hook and sink the line The revenge Rusalki seek To that of fishermen, binds Spellbound to lust And carnal pulse Sanity to rust Where flesh is enthroned Dire finale, as the curved prong pierces scale Dragged from the deep, through the coarse and drying sand
Submitted by VladTheImpaler666 — Jul 01, 2026
Sur un sol poreux Un plancher de lave Sous les yeux de milliers de cieux Cette mer d'arbres D'hectare en hectare Florissant treillis Essouffle les vibrations Capture les cris Rien n'échappera ce gouffre de l'ouïe Rien Pas un souffle, pas un son Rien... Verdoyant terroir Où les secrets se fondent Dans l'abysse de ses couloirs Les âmes meurtries s'effondrent Quand l'honneur triomphe sur l'espoir Le devoir détruit La misère s'éprend de la foi La famine sévit Rien n'échappera ce gouffre de vies Rien Pas un bruit, pas un mot Rien... Laissée pour morte En fin de vie Sous l'emprise d'un loyal vice Ce déchirant sacrifice Calvaire fiévreux Lente agonie Asséchée, dépourvu de soins La Matrone périt Les restes frêles Sombrent lentement Sous les chutes de cuivre et de terre Rances sédiments Prospérité en guise d'appât Délaissée en vue du trépas Torturé, rongé par l'émoi Révoqué, l'appel de la foi Maléfice, par ce matricide Condamné à jamais au vide Lentement, telle la voie d'une ride Incisives, serres du suicide Perché sur le dos des remords Désespoir, encore et encore Terrifiante emprise sur le corps Sans arrêt, visions de sa mort... "Après quelques jours, les hallucinations se sont manifestées. Plus elle apparaissait, plus nous perdions le contrôle. C'est alors qu'un à un, les membres de la famille disparurent. Leur tristesse et leur agonie ont eu raison de leurs âmes, affaiblies par le poids de cette décision fatale, leurs corps retrouvés tordus, lacérés ou empalés aux pieds de ces arbres, leurs visages déformés par la souffrance, la peur- les nuits sont de plus en plus insoutenables, accablées de réveils humides, de sanglots et sueurs froides, les cris et Hurlements de douleur incontrôlables, incommensurables et inouïs, et ce chaque soir, incessamment... la seule solution se trouve là, avec les fantômes de millions d'êtres abandonnés..." Pris au piège entre vie et mort Errant les chemins familiers Guidant ses proches vers la sépulture Rassembler sa progéniture à jamais
Submitted by VladTheImpaler666 — Jul 01, 2026
Elle Avance avec liesse Le sourire narquois et seyant Au bras de son mari, la belle Il Avance sans un stress Le sourire moqueur, effrayant Au creux de son regard, le vil Un item si attachant malgré tout De charme, de grâce Une union vraisemblablement faste Recèle au tréfonds Cache À l'aube du couple L'étincelle d'apparence éternеlle Sans l'ombre d'un doute La fеrveur installe la sécurité Aveugle de chair Du revers de la main, sont balayées D'étranges manières Du revers de la main, sont balayés Comportements crépusculaires Jour après jour La lumière s'estompe Puis peu à peu Les soupçons remontent Pourquoi ces absences? Comment, ce silence? Regards furtifs Vagues et secrets Sans un motif Manquant à l'appel Manquant à l'appel Pourquoi ces absences? Comment faire confiance? De crainte et d'émoi De nature inquisitive est-elle L'enquête à résoudre Au son de la cacophonie de questions assaillant sa tête L'emportent, anxiété et curiosité dans lesquels elle s'empêtre Dans les décombres, dissimulée, une sépulture Ce havre, où le bourreau affiche ses trophées et autres restes en pourriture "C'est à ce moment que l'évidence m'apparût, je devais l'arrêter, le plus rapidement possible et par tous les moyens. De vivre avec lui sachant les horreurs perpétrées... un affront irréparable, qui ne peut rester impuni..." Dégoûtée par le parfum du trépas macéré S'enfonçant, poussée par sa malsaine curiosité Ses yeux chastes violés par l'exposition du Grotesque L'immondice de ces enfantins restes Éprise par un tourment de haine qui l'appelle Elle empoigne une arme, n'importe laquelle Une mélodie dissonante Familière qui la hante Dans ce sordide repère Tapissé de peaux et de chair Au fond de la tanière se lance à l'uxoricide Cette femme amoureuse, blessée, mais lucide Une nouvelle orgie de chaire Alors que sa lame tranche les artères
Submitted by VladTheImpaler666 — Jul 01, 2026
Secluded from the untrained eye From frail hearts to grieve No pyres light the way to this depraved den of obscurities Seldom used winding trail Where lost paths interweave Many brought to this cold place With mislead hopes, as corpses leave Left, right West, south Turn around and twist once more The labyrinth warps the bearings sore Up, down East, north Disoriented, completely lost Readied to pay the final cost Unbound in this unknown clearing Fenced in by endless trees Victims beaten or tortured Bled on the dew-drenched floor Ages passed on this earth Like moths to flame Gathered in this circle of Death Their essence, the ground claims Gallons, gallons By the soil consumed Minerals return to the ground Sapped by the roots that surround Gallons, gallons By the millions poured Gorged the flora for centuries Pigment cured through endless seeds Crimson, crimson The saps turn crimson Massacres leaving their marks The crimson stains even their barks Crimson, crimson Shoots grow crimson Years of torment have endowed The canopy with crimson boughs Vortex of the violence and hate The twisted and the sick The cold, calculating As well as the fiend Swaying in the breeze The tallgrass offers a veil So remains are concealed In the red-stained flowing blades Scavenger birds in murders Circle the hallowed grounds To feast on the cadavers None will ever be found Vortex of the violence and hate The twisted and the sick The cold, calculating As well as the fiend Every cut Every severed limb Succumb to the terror Every drop Every artery slit Feeding the disaster All these lives All these primal grins Addicted to slaughter All will bow To the crimson trees Be it vessel or slayer Ever-expanding halo of blood Masters, apprentices, all sins converge Never, unending, exacting purge Ever, darkening, crimson boughs Every cut Every severed limb Succumb to the terror Every drop Drink the crimson trees Feeding the disaster
Submitted by VladTheImpaler666 — Jul 01, 2026