Get Real
Without planchette or candle,
in full sun
you manifest them
sitting under
a traffic light,
what they want from you
spelled out
on cardboard
signs. Don’t
look at them.
They want you
to look at them.
They need you
to believe
they’re alive, somehow
connected to you.
Believe their suffering
is your debt.
Don’t look at them.
Tap your wallet three times
and look at the light.
Implore the green glow
to release you.
Drive away.
Leave them faceless.
(Later, eating
a candy bar,
you’ll relax, realize
they have only the power
you give them.
They won’t haunt you.
You almost wish they would,
but what good
would that do,
being haunted?
Get real.)
— Ian Erinson
Halloween 2026, Day 9