A Devilishly Dreadful Watch Night Special
O, my sweet dear, how I have longed for you.
How long has it been since I held you tight?
I can remember your tender kisses,
How you would hug me when I held you tight.
I would call out to you, my precious love,
LIke I did at night when I held you tight.
But that would wake you—startle you with fright—
Then I would loose my chance to hold you tight.
I wish it didn’t work out this way, love,
Wish I didn’t stray from holding you tight.
But I can’t change that now—can’t make it right—
I cannot go back to holding you tight.
O, dear Lord, I know what I did was wrong!
My dear love, let me hold onto you tight.
She was the queen and I a stupid fool,
It felt so good holding her, not you, tight.
But she, the king’s love—not mine to have—
I should have never stopped holding you tight.
Caught—I was ashamed—I tried suicide,
Thinking I’d never again hold you tight.
But the king, upon learning, spit a curse.
Undead! Not living as I hold you tight.
Shhh, dear, please don’t fight me here on this night,
I can’t help it—can’t stop holding you tight.
I am forced to feed—drain you of your life—
When all I want to do is hold you tight.
Hush now, my love, it will be over soon—
You are growing cold as I hold you tight.
I’m so sorry, my dear, they are not fine!
Swear I came this watch night to hold you tight.
I drank the children’s, hot, red precious blood.
I held them, just as I now do you—tight.
They’re no more, and now so are you,
Cold—limp—as I lay here holding you tight.
Poet’s Note:
This poem is a work of Gothic horror fiction and a prequel to Vesuvian Vampire, written in the ghazal form. It engages Varney the Vampire as an inherited Gothic figure rather than a fixed canon character, drawing from the penny-dreadful tradition in which Varney’s origins remain fragmented, contradictory, and unresolved. Elements such as shame, suicide, curse, and recurrence are synthesized here into a coherent imagined origin shaped by desire, guilt, and damnation. Watch Night functions as a liminal setting for that reckoning—a vigil transformed into visitation. This piece is part of the ongoing Devilishly Dreadful series.
© 2025 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.
First published on tristanrobertlange.com, December 31, 2025.
Tittu
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Author:
Tristan Robert Lange (
Offline) - Published: December 31st, 2025 08:12
- Comment from author about the poem: 🎄HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE EVERYONE!!!🎄 I’m now published in an anthology featuring authors from across the Poconos, PA. All proceeds benefit the Pocono Liars Club — a collective of authors and editors dedicated to supporting and mentoring local writers. Available in paperback and Kindle, please consider purchasing one and supporting a great cause. https://a.co/d/58uxM69
- Category: Gothic
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Comments3
It has always been so interesting to me how various emotions and traits can be reconciled in myth, monsters and the fantastic. Here the allegory comes through and issue of fidelity and infidelity seem paired with lover and monster and undead. Well done Tristan Happy New Year to you
Soren, thank you. That’s exactly why I love myth and the fantastic…they let moral fracture stay visible. Love, betrayal, curse, and hunger all breathing at once. Your reflection met that tension perfectly. And Happy New Year to you as well, my friend. 🕯️🦇🩸🙏
Good write, Tristan. I enjoyed the read.
Tristan, I must say, you truly outdid yourself in this piece; your reading brought it to life in a breathtaking manner, infused with considerable emotion. Tell me, are you also the illustrator behind the drawings?
Your poem “A Devilishly Dreadful Watch Night Special” delves into themes of love, loss, and the consequences of one’s actions. The poet expresses a deep yearning for a lost love while grappling with the guilt of betrayal and the horror of their current state, which is characterized by undead existence and violence. In which it seems to revolve around a romantic relationship that has transformed into something dark and tragic, involving themes of desire, regret, and the macabre.
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