It’s Dark In Here: a collection of horror poetry and art
Amanda Ruzsa
Independently Published, 2025
ISBN-13: 979-8292292692
Ebook, 89 ppg.
Horror poetry has a way of staying with you, especially if it has art to go with it. Reading the horror poetry collection It's Dark In Here: a collection of horror poetry and art by Amanda Ruzsa has that kind of impact. These poems are not just poems meant to scare readers, but they also haunt those who dare to read them. They linger as dark moments that are difficult to escape from, attaching themselves to the soul and slowly feasting on the reader's sense of security.
The poem “Trapped” really has a suffocating feel to it. With lines like “The tides are high/Ripples of water swirling/Around me” and “Even as I tread water/Darkness spreads.” It really made me feel isolated and confined.
“Bent Neck Lady” was really creepy. Okay, first of all, I have to say that the image of a lady with a bent neck is in itself disturbing. The poem is also creepy: “I feel the sticky breath of rot/Warming my tear-streaked face/If I could move, I still would not/For fear she’d then give chase.” This nightmarish creature “with gnarled claws” haunts a new home and the speaker in this poem is terrified of it. The accompanying artwork of this “bent neck lady” is equally terrifying.
“She Played for the Devil” is a very haunting poem. “Her bow dances/on strings that cannot break” seems to imply that this unseen player of a violin that is buried deep within the earth plays nonstop. This is confirmed by the lines “She’s cursed/She’s trapped/And she mustn’t stop playing.” This poor soul is doomed to play for all eternity and should she ever slip or stop, then chaos ensues in the world above her. I loved how this poem was written. It shares what happens if she stops playing the violin, and why she must continue to play no matter what.
Some of the poems had surprise endings: “She Eats the Dark” and “Hung” and “Home Invasion.” Other poems really touched on dark moments as well as horrific events. There’s a good mix of monstrous creatures and horror in all of these poems. All of these poems created a haunting and terrifying reading experience.
It's Dark In Here is a frightening collection of horror poetry and art. The artwork accompanying the poems is dark and creepy. It’s certainly a must-read for fans of horror poetry, as well as a collector item that contains some stellar art from some of today’s outstanding independent artists.
Five stars
Disclaimer: I downloaded a copy of this ebook as part of my Kindle Unlimited subscription. This review is entirely voluntary.
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