Thirteenth midnight splits open. bleeding through the sky Your house exhales a rotten fog. begging you to stay inside Lanterns ooze black flame that writhes like living tar Once the lanterns wake hungry. nothing runs very far Shadows break their limbs to reach you. stretching in unnatural ways Your reflection in the window smiles. even when your face obeys The Hollow Lantern spirits crawl like shattered puppets on wet stone Every sound you try to swallow comes back in a deeper moan Walls vibrate. whispering your secrets with perfect clarity Your breath comes out wrong. carrying someone else’s voice entirely You feel them slide beneath your skin Pulling out everything you tried to pin All the guilt you tried to drown Claws its way back up. dragging you down Hollow Lanterns rise tonight Eyes glowing cold. mouths dripping blight If you hear your name called twice. do not turn If the floor starts shaking. let it burn Once a year the lantern brood Feeds on terror. tears. and blood mood Your offerings shake violently. as if rejecting your hope Hair tangles into figures. tears smear into a looping rope The creatures lick the air. tasting every fear you hide Their silhouettes twitch. broken. flickering from side to side One crawls up the wall behind you. limbs bending like wet wire It presses its face to yours. whispering. “you are what we desire” The ceiling cracks. something peers through You look away but it still sees you Your own heartbeat turns against your chest Pounding like a creature trying to infest Hollow Lanterns rise tonight Eyes glowing cold. mouths dripping blight If you hear your name called twice. do not turn If the floor starts shaking. let it burn Once a year the lantern brood Feeds on terror. tears. and blood mood Give them panic. give them dread Feed the void the parts you shed Lantern cracks. fluid spills Something ancient bends your will Hold still. let the night invade Once it enters. you cannot fade If you scream. they swarm like flies If you cry. a new one rises Lanterns fade when dawn breaks thin But their whispers linger in your skin If you survived this nightmare feast You are marked by the Hollowed. never released Next year when the bells begin Hope your fear tastes less within
