T’was upon a dark and eerie Salem night in 1861,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAUMvtum5r
The blood moon shone like a ruby-lantern and the war had begun,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTOO1Pt0kap
The air was thick and frosty and the bats and owls ruled the sky,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgTi06rfqR
And inside a wooden house I sat, wailing so much that I almost died.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWk9gKSHYp
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaNcBn8Lsy
Oh, how I missed Regan Hawthorne, my nineteen-year-old sister,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSdfjkm56x
Oh, how I missed my Regan, my enchantingly dearest sister,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyX3HKFjxfJ
Oh, how I loathed the day The Grim reaper rapped upon your door,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvUmROaKEU
I despised the very day your heart ceased beating and you fell to the floor,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4A9Hfkn3Q2
I missed the good ol’ days when you picked me up and laid me in your lap,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAoGqRyZq7m
I missed the days when you read books for me while I curled up in your lap,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ls3OwilGY
The night the scarlet fever slayed you and left your dead body in the bed,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7wSW76Dzni
Was the very day tears drenched my eyes and left me bawling on my bed,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0WpdyqhYHH
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZpHtzEZuA
I couldn't stand living without my dearest sister in my life,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWTU8eYIfj
No, I couldn't stand living living a life filled with sorrow and strife,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQEfwJfSxl6
I thought, I thought, and I thought, and suddenly I knew exactly what to do,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhgYHl0xjw
I went to my bedside table and opened the crimson box laying there,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4pG9lbuXHa
I opened it, and I saw the emeralds, green as the color of a pear.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJ1Dj4nhjn
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjyi2mydzQy
I picked up one of the emerald stones and laid it upon my open hand,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBD36UJLY3j
It smelled of dreams, desires, hopes, happiness, and it was sleek as sand,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8Uhq7HNWF
I closed my eyes, the only thing I could see now was the color raven-black,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJUlmamczV
Then, I said with a loud voice: “Bring back, Oh bring me my sister back!”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrppG3nnhjf
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKFUbMgnzy
That’s when I heard a rappin’, a furious tapping, upon my bedroom door,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHwvSm0CpO
And I heard an angry hiss and spotted a pool of blood runnin’ through the floor,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dl2tfvRpd
Could it be a demon, could it be sinner, could it be a ghost behind the door?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfl02lZpDan
Or could it be a madman, brandishing a bloodied carving knife behind the door?!22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5751QS9w1
Then it hit me! The being outside my door were my dear sister Regan Hawthorne!22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiszKso5YlO
My dear dear, nineteen- year-old sister who’d been with me since I was born!22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPbLVyYiG2
But I was afraid, afraid that I would meet a rottin’, reeky, and bloody corps,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0vPdy7xR6
Yes, I was deeply afraid that I would meet a disemboweled and mutilated corps.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5AY70umks
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFlKgjqsmuh
I grabbed the other emerald-stone, I picked it up, it felt both cold and warm,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYDdXo3Wm9
I said: “I want my dearest sister to return in her normal human form!”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZGLONlVU8
At that moment, the huge pool of blood started to run backwards through the floor22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUUqbDaMh3
At that moment, the furious hissing and growling stopped behind my door,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknUTy8i0Ri
The next moment, I heard someone gently knockin’ upon my bedroom door.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbuMoGGSFN
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqhAOr8ztE
I opened the door and what I found standing there made me scream in joy,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXEhB12Uu1
Behind the door stood my sister, and she too was smiling in pure joy,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnoJUes1pG
Her lavender nightgown looked normal and so did her hair,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFj8YcMhmK
The once gloomy and melancholy air was replaced by a huge joyful air!22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRV0x9fWBX0
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMRDiQGmVP
“Oh my dear, dear, sister! You’ve returned to me!!!” I yelled in delight,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoV3FozPxtQ
My sister hugged me and then she smiled, her eyes shone bright,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoqx98uK6K
“Oh, how I missed you little brother, my sweet, sweet, sweet little lad!”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmeYuAPonZ
“To hug you and hold you near again makes me so, so, jolly and glad!”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIOro8Virt
She crawled into bed, right next to me, and picked up my favorite short story,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡveZTsqg0sP
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow will always be my favorite short story!22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCr9HSdtTkj
“Would you like to hear me read for you about that cowardly Ichabod Crane?"22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9pblQqJkH
“The schoolmaster whose fear of ghosts and demons nearly drives him insane”.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHtDyvHzn5
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAB7Iq2jaO
I smiled and I nodded and then my sister began to read aloud,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67eZDYF8iS
While a flock of unsettling, red-eyed crows started cawing outside,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUsSBO77Ir
My sister read aloud for me while pulling funny faces and laughing,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHb3U2qU1S
My sister looked so silly that I started giggling and laughing,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFzoe92wtL
I laughed so much that I eventually started coughing!22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIQIS44aKM
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlu5LydZs9h
When she was done reading she tucked me to bed,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhNa4ZJNZ7
She said “Goodnight my little darlin’, now, please rest your weary head”,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTZsyAruYH
"Tomorrow it’s Saturday and I’m pretty sure that’ll be lots of fun!”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpMTUPMb2o
“We could play outside the whole long day beneath the sparkling sun!”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFbRZhS72yE
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVyOwNaAZS2
“What a splendid idea!” I said and hugged my big sister,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkJFtdwINi
No one in all of New England could have a better sister than my sister!22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoB1Q7Qw1LJ
She kissed me on the forehead, actually she did it twice,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ301wRPyjHS
She crawled out of bed, gave me a throwaway kiss, that was very nice!22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbANKaRCvfN
Once she’d closed the door I sat straight up in bed,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fmV5D3Maw
I felt too happy for laying down and resting my weary head,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrLzXtEuA3
“I’m so happy that my sister has returned to me!”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPBR99pOVR
“Tonight’ll be the night where I feel as happy as a young lad can be!”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGXAnAACYei
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HKSfeuGou
That’s the last thing I said before laying down and falling asleep,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrv2GoU4AT3
Out of pure joy and satisfaction, my sleepy eyes did weep,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbqtCWLaZVY
My Regan Hawthoren had finally returned to me,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYATXRS4qf
And that, that made me as happy as a young, American lad could be!22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFelWsvVyxY
So, I hope you enjoyed my story, I hope that you enjoyed it a lot!22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftZWmRTgBt
But I leave you to guess if the tale I just told you was real… or not?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaiWDDps24y
Let me give you a hint: I love my wonderful big sister, I love her a lot!
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdanjQM8LZo
Afterword:22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzBpxbaVPA
When writing A New England Ballad: The Night She Came Home, I found myself returning to the works that first introduced me to the uncanny pull of gothic horror. Stephen King’s Pet Sematary showed me the grief-fueled desperation that makes us willing to disturb the natural order, no matter the cost. W. W. Jacobs’ The Monkey’s Paw impressed upon me how dangerous wish-fulfillment can be, especially when driven by love and longing. And Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven revealed the beauty and rhythm of sorrow, the way grief can take on a voice of its own in the darkness of the night.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzku8l0Ylsf
This ballad is, in many ways, a small homage to these literary works, a blending of grief, superstition, and the thin veil between life and death. I wanted to capture not only the terror of resurrection, but also the fragile sweetness of memory, and how love can turn even the most unsettling events into something almost tender.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVsXgUeg3W3
If the story feels like it strays between nightmare and lullaby, that was my intention. And if you catch an echo of King, Jacobs, or Poe in its verses, then I can only hope it stands as a humble tribute to the writers who inspired me22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo76OnijdTz
and then Add to home screen.