• ‘I COULDN’T bear to look around, in case he was actually there. As long as I didn’t look back, I could keep him as a phantom.’ – Sebastian Barry

It happens just when you feel safe:
Behind you there’s a sound
That makes you want to find out what
It is by turning round.

But if you turn around you do
Not know what you will see:
Suppose it’s something horrible
– Too horrible to flee?

Better perhaps to make believe
You’ve heard nothing at all
And tuck your head between your legs
And try to curl up small.

But even so your back can feel
A ripple in the air,
Which means what’s there is coming here
– Oh Terror, Oh Despair!

And then a touch and then a noise:
This Fear will never end
– Until the touch proves gentle and
The noise is “Hiya, friend!”

Have a truly frightening Hallowe’en.

ROBERT ILSON