Dracula Plans His Annual Hallowe'en Soiree / Hallowe'en Window Painting by LindaAnn LoSchiavo

Dracula Plans His Annual Hallowe’en Soiree

Near Hallowe’en, routine tension sets in.

Expected entertainment, catering,
Décor: a bachelor like Dracula
Tries to outdo last year’s event— though some
Attended by mistake and won’t return.

Tradition dictates hospitality’s
Essential to his kind.  Longevity
Must be preserved.  Drinks are but one concern.
His entourage deserves to be amused.

Instead of necks turned red as after-birth,
Refreshments can be served by a blood bank,
Thanks to a generous donation made.

Exquisite concentration on details
Is a tourniquet for his unquiet mind,
Obsessed with real estate, castle upkeep,
Demands imposed by vamphood’s life-in-death.

His party plans completed, its checklist ticked,
The Transylvanian lord licked his lips,
Succumbed to tempting pleasure-crested pricks.

  

Hallowe’en Window Painting 

Ghosts rise, my brush broad-stroking outdoor glass,
The store already closed, fluorescents on,
Illuminating my half-finished sketch.

Stray skeletons, masked witches, pumpkin kings,
All smiles and hope, parade down bat streaked blocks,
Embracing trick-or-treat bags — pirate’s loot.

Despite my weariness, my brush takes flight,
Creating doors that open to a reign
Of orange bliss just harvested: plump yams,
Carrots, spaghetti squash. A scarecrow smirks,
His jack-o-lantern head lit, menacing
Owls, bellowing harsh candlelight. Unnerved,
I freeze, aware I’m not alone, about
To curse the closed mouth sky, providing no
Clues where this strange farm lies — nor how to leave.

Sly skeletons, loud witches, pumpkin kings
Approach, aggressive country primitives.

My horsehair brush is weaponized, collects
Enough white tempera to cover each one,
Obliterating malefactors with
Ruthless efficiency. Strong stubborn winds
Convey me to a secret corridor
That’s underneath the Brooklyn store where I
Was working on my mini masterpiece—
Completed in my absence. Can it be?

A painted scarecrow meets my eyes and winks.

Native New Yorker. Poet. Writer. Dramatist. In 2024 LindaAnn LoSchiavo had three poetry books published in 3 different countries; two titles won multiple awards. 

In 2025-26 two titles are forthcoming: “Cancer Courts My Mother” and “Vampire Verses.”

BlueSky: @ghostlyverse.bsky.social