poe-mance

I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief --oh, no! --it was the low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well. Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me.

I'm having a little romance with Edgar Allen Poe this week, inspired  by the spirit of the season and all things spooky. I am not a fan of modern horror, but I love the good old classic stuff: a man sealed in by a brick wall, a heart pulsating loudly under the floorboards, a costume ball crashed by a sinister uninvited guest...

The Sylvia Beach Hotel on the Oregon coast has each room decorated for a different author. Mike and I once stayed in the Edgar Allen Poe room, which will give you that Halloween vibe any time of  year.

At the flip of a switch, the blade really swings over the bed. There is a closet door that opens to a brick wall (with toes pointing out), lush dark walls and decor, and a black stuffed raven, which probably still stares at guests today. Evermore.

I've been treating/subjecting the kids to dramatic poetry readings, and I think the first Poe I ever heard as a child is still my favorite today.


ANNABEL LEE
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea. 

Family: Thanks to Aunt Gail, I have an audio cassette preserving that great old 3-D's record. But do any of you  have the original vinyl? Mom? Carl?


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!