The 12th Annual USMB 2021 Halloween Thread

mudwhistle · Sep 30, 2021

mudwhistle · Sep 30, 2021

mudwhistle · Sep 30, 2021

mudwhistle · Sep 30, 2021

mudwhistle · Sep 30, 2021

12 Terrifying Ghost Stories You Shouldn't Read Alone

www.huffpost.com

mudwhistle · Sep 30, 2021

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

The complete, unabridged text of The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe, with vocabulary words and definitions.

poestories.com

The Fall of the House of Usher

by Edgar Allan Poe
(published 1839)

Son coeur est un luth suspendu;
Sitot qu'on le touche il resonne.
-De Beranger.

DURING the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. I know not how it was --but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit. I say insufferable; for the feeling was unrelieved by any of that half-pleasurable, because poetic, sentiment, with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible. I looked upon the scene before me --upon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domain --upon the bleak walls --upon the vacant eye-like windows --upon a few rank sedges --and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees --with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveller upon opium --the bitter lapse into everyday life --the hideous dropping off of the veil. There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart --an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. What was it --I paused to think --what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher? It was a mystery all insoluble; nor could I grapple with the shadowy fancies that crowded upon me as I pondered. I was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion, that while, beyond doubt, there are combinations of very simple natural objects which have the power of thus affecting us, still the analysis of this power lies among considerations beyond our depth. It was possible, I reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression; and, acting upon this idea, I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in unruffled lustre by the dwelling, and gazed down --but with a shudder even more thrilling than before --upon the remodelled and inverted images of the gray sedge, and the ghastly tree-stems, and the vacant and eye-like windows.

Nevertheless, in this mansion of gloom I now proposed to myself a sojourn of some weeks. Its proprietor, Roderick Usher, had been one of my boon companions in boyhood; but many years had elapsed since our last meeting. A letter, however, had lately reached me in a distant part of the country --a letter from him --which, in its wildly importunate nature, had admitted of no other than a personal reply. The MS. gave evidence of nervous agitation. The writer spoke of acute bodily illness --of a mental disorder which oppressed him --and of an earnest desire to see me, as his best, and indeed his only personal friend, with a view of attempting, by the cheerfulness of my society, some alleviation of his malady. It was the manner in which all this, and much more, was said --it the apparent heart that went with his request --which allowed me no room for hesitation; and I accordingly obeyed forthwith what I still considered a very singular summons.

read more here....https://poestories.com/read/houseofusher

mudwhistle · Oct 1, 2021

Road Runner · Oct 1, 2021

mudwhistle said:
View attachment 545897

I'm on my way to bed right now, but is that a cake? Also, I hope you don't mind if I advertise my three Halloween activities that will take place for my thirteen days of Halloween starting October eighteenth!!

HAPPY HELLOWEEN

Road Runner · Oct 1, 2021

So let me go ahead and explain this really quick so hopefully I can find some participants.

1. Virtual Halloween Trick-or Treat-Although this event will take place Halloween night at my Spooktactular Halloween party, I thought that I would start talking about it now. In order to participate you will have to either post a picture of yourself in your Halloween costume, or any picture of a Halloween costume that you find over the internet beneath another poster. (That little devil was me btw hehe.

I just don't like posting pictures of my face due to identity theft issues, but I had a mask on so that one was alright.

) So then you must type the words trick-or-treat and then the other poster posts a picture of candy.

(Only one trick-or-treat per poster though so everybody has a chance, this means that you can't trick-or-treat the same person but you can still have multiple trick-or-treats.)

2. Virtual Pumpkin Carving Contest- This one will be pretty fun too that takes place all the way up to Halloween for my thirteen days of Halloween (although most entries will probably be later than sooner) and what you need to do is if you carve a pumpkin, post a picture of it in my thirteen days of Halloween thread and the poster with the most likes wins!!

(And will be crowned USMB's most spooktactular pumpkin award)

3. Virtual Halloween Costume Contest- (I forgot about this one) This one works like the pumpkin carving contest.

(And it's only a part of my spooktactular Halloween party)

4. Spooky Story Contest- So, this one is for all of the writers out there like myself. This will also be starting with my thirteen days of Halloween thread and I'll be looking for entries for the scariest story and the winner will be crowned on Halloween night at my spooktactular Halloween party and once again the winner will be announced with the most likes.

And that is it guys!! This information will be posted again, I just wanted to give you all the heads up about it now and I'm hoping that it'll all go over well. Oh, and about me dressing up as the devil and being a Christian,.. well,.. I think everybody with any brain cells in their head is aware of this by now but obviously it's fake and just a costume lol and that doesn't mean that I've converted to Satanism or anything. Well, I'm off to bed for now,.. but YAY HALLOWEEN SEASON HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN!!!!