Enter the Dark

The sign above the doorway flickers: ENTER THE DARK.

A painted arrow points into the weeds: ENTER THE DARK.

The ticket taker smiles and says, “Enjoy yourself tonight.”

You laugh, because you know it's only a game: ENTER THE DARK.

A corridor bends where corridors should never bend.

Behind you, something whispers your name: ENTER THE DARK.

A corpse sits upright inside an empty chair.

You tell yourself the breathing is a trick: ENTER THE DARK.

A chainsaw roars. A masked man charges through the smoke.

You scream, then laugh because the blade is fake: ENTER THE DARK.

A little girl stands barefoot beneath a buzzing light.

She asks you why you came alone: ENTER THE DARK.

You reach a room where every mirror shows a stranger.

One reflection turns around too late: ENTER THE DARK.

At last, you stumble through the exit into the night.

The workers wave and tell you, “Come again”: ENTER THE DARK.

But when you count the people in your group,

there is one more shadow than before: ENTER THE DARK.