Haunted House.......... Poem by vijay menon

Eerie silence pervading at nightfall;
Is punctured by howling of dogs.
I scurry to my bedroom.

Panting and perspiring profusely;
Mopping my forehead dry.
Fear grips me and I close my eyes;
The only sound I hear.
Is the beat of my heart…!

The main door creaks;
Signaling the arrival.
Of the nocturnal intruder.

Many have seen an old man;
One leg in-toed.
Some say he is a cuss,
For my home;
Lurking in the precincts.

Where I dwell?
Is it a hallucination?
Or apparition?
I sulk and cringe in my bed.

Oblivious of what he does;
In other rooms of my house.
Old timers believe,
A man who was killed.
By a sword.

Visits the place every night;
But they vouch.
He is innocuous;
Is it just a heresy?
I do not know.

But for me;
Another sleepless night ahead.
With my nocturnal visitor,
Frightening me in my home.

Afraid, he might avenge;
And do, what others did.
To him many years ago.