Performed by Val Cole

---

POEM:

What goes on inside those walls?
What happens beyond that gate?
What are they hiding, and who
are they trying to keep out?
I have a few ideas, but I also
have my doubts. I can’t even
count the number of times
I looked through the bars
of that gate. I’ve never
seen anyone leave or enter.
A long driveway leads
to the mansion, overgrown
with weeds. Rusted luxury cars
are parked around a bronze statue
of a mustached man with a sword
in his hand. The locals around here
steer clear. I have heard several
rumors about this place.
Someone once told me that
a group of boys thought the mansion
was abandoned. They hopped the walls,
twisted the doorknob, and walked
in, but that’s not where the story
ends. They entered as boys
and left as men. When they returned
to their homes, their parents asked
them what had happened, but they
couldn’t speak. It looked like
they saw a ghost. Maybe they did?
They were never the same.
Every Halloween, the same story
gets told. Is it a cautionary tale
that will never get old? I wish
I could say that I’m not sold.
I truly don’t know what to
believe, but once I see beyond
those walls and the mansion
in all its glory, I know I want
to be a part of its story.
There’s something about this
place that pulls me in.
One night, I drove up the hill
and just stared. For the first time,
I saw the front door open. A beam
of light lit up the dark night.
I waited a few minutes, and no
one walked out. This time, I built
up enough courage and hopped
the gate. I tiptoed to the porch.
I walked toward the light
and through the door. In a flash,
I hear the door shut behind me.
The light grew brighter. Before
I knew it, I woke up in my bed,
but every day after that night,
I kept hearing this voice
in my head telling me to walk
back through that door and into
the light. So, that’s what I did
every night for the rest of my life.