Angry Villager Anthology--"Enemy Lines"

[The third installment of the month-long poetry sequence that began on October 1st.]

"Enemy Lines"

Julia Reyes, Writer/Proprietor of The Grantwood Gazette

I'm only here to see where the story goes, and really, I'm not even
     here.
Even as I move with the crowd I'm off somewhere in my head
Drafting the start of tomorrow's lead article for the Gazette.
I fish for synonyms for hero, string together lines
That lionize Rupert Daugherty for capturing the beast.
I keep losing focus, though, not due to the clamor around me
But because of the bitter voice editorializing deep inside me.
BLIND SQUIRREL FINDS NUT is the real headline I'd like to write.
Sales of the paper had been way up all October long
Thanks to people hankering for the latest items in "The Weekly Dish";
Now that dollar-sign-embossed balloon's been popped
By that nitwit Rupert's untimely burst of ingenuity.

Know Your October?

The following game combines crossword-type clues with a word jumble.  I've presented four October-related trivia questions, followed by the corresponding number of blanks to be filled in.  Each letter in the answers to the four questions has been drawn from the preceding Letter Pool; if needed you can copy the Pool on scratch paper and cross off letters as you go (each successful answer will increase your chances of coming up with the other correct responses).  The letters that have an asterisk (*) underneath them can then be unscrambled to form the answer to the BONUS question.

Good luck.  If you get stumped, you can check for the correct answers in the comments section to this post.


THE LETTER POOL:

M   R   A   C   E   U   K   E

L   E   R   A   L   T   U   A

N   R   I   U   S   R   L   E

I   V   N   E   D   U   A   H 

A   B   L   E   N   Y   R   C



1. Poe poem featuring the oft-quoted line "It was night in the lonesome October."

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
         *           *


2. Renowned horror writer born on October 5, 1952.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___     ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
 *               *           *


3. Popular label for those who go all-out when decorating their property for Halloween.

___ ___ ___ ___     ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
 *           *       *               *


4. Winged relative who flies in for the Family "Homecoming" in the classic Bradbury story.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___     ___ ___ ___ ___ ___


BONUS(*): Infamous nickname of 70's Halloween child-murderer Ronald O'Bryan.

___ ___ ___     ___ ___ ___ ___ ___     ___ ___ ___

Angry Villager Anthology--"Bettor Mousetrap"

[The second installment of the month-long poetry sequence that began on October 1st]

"Bettor Mousetrap"

Rupert Daugherty

I had nothing against that there monster
And didn't much care what it'd done to anyone in Grantwood.
I just wanted to prove myself to my brother Willie.
But he laughed when I said I was gonna be the one to catch
      the thing.
He teased me about me hunting abilities, as always,
Saying the only thing I'd ever caught in my thirty-five years
Was a bad case of crabs from that skank Rebecca Lancaster.
Chafed, I asked Willie if he cared to make things interestin',
And he certainly did, so we made our wager.
From there I got to thinking about the monster's reported peeping,
About how night and quiet seemed to be its closest allies.
I built my trap out of two layered squares of tarpaper that trailed
Tin cans on a string like the car bumper of a just-married couple.
Then I set everything at the foot of Rebecca's bedroom window,
Figuring that she walked around at least half-naked most o' the time.
Well, tonight the monster stepped right up for a gander,
And ended up netted not long after when it clattered away.
Now I'm hailed as a hero as the townsfolk march through the streets;
Their appreciation's gratifying, but what I'm looking forward to
Is setting down to a plateful of lobster over at The Woodstove.
Yessiree, I can't help anticipating feasting on the pricey dinner,
Knowing Willie'll be seated across from me eating nothing but crow.

Angry Villager Anthology--"Mischievous"

[The first installment of the poetry sequence that will run each day in October.]

"Mischievous"

The Mob

C'mon Tom, Charlie, Emory, and Frank,
Rupert Daugherty's caught the October bogy,
That semi-human Quasimodo that's been harassing us.
Only fitting the thing's been snared here on the eve of Halloween,
After it turned Mischief Night into a month-long campaign.

C'mon Kate, Lizzie, Ellen, and Rebecca,
You've just as much right to punish the monster's wrongs:
Sneaking in our yards, peeping in our windows,
Desecrating the cemetery, smashing Jeb Llewellyn's pumpkins,
Preying on our animals, fraying our nerves with its elusiveness,
Scaring more than the bejesus outta Cyndi Anders earlier today.
It's time that wretch met Grantwood's Unwelcoming Committee.

C'mon Tyrus, Juan, Gunther, and Angelina,
We're all of us coming together to celebrate.
Now that we've got hold of the monster at last
We aim to march it through the streets of the town,
The very thoroughfares it'd made us wary of traversing after dark.

C'mon everyone, come outside and join in.
Grab whatever's handy--knife, pitchfork, lead pipe, wooden bat.
When we get to the town square you can each take a turn.
We plan on lashing the bastard to the Founder's statue
And then bashing it open like some living piñata.
Huzzah!  Our vengeance is going to be sweeter than all of
The candy handed out to the costumed monsters tomorrow night.

Welcome to October...

...From P(umpk)inhead & Li'l Pinny.

October is the most wonderful time of the year for all those who reside in the Macabre Republic.  In honor of the holiday season, I'll be double-posting each day this month.  The blog's familiar Features (QuickLists, Book Reviews, Film Reviews, Games/Trivia, Haunted Jaunts, Photesquerie, A.G.T.V., Dark Articles, etc.) will all take on a Halloween slant.  Also, each day (starting today) will feature a new installment of the Angry Villager Anthology, a poetry sequence modeled after the American Gothic work of Edgar Lee Masters and centered on a modern version of the monster-harrying mob popularized by the classic Universal horror movies (for more background on the project, see yesterday's post, "Spoon River Redux").

"Carnivale Revisited," and "Countdown--The Top 20 Stephen King Works of American Gothic Short Fiction" have been put on hold for this month, but both will return in November to complete their respective runs.

Hope you enjoy this month's material.  Have a great Halloween season--the countdown to the 31st starts...NOW!