Tales From The Crypt

The bearded man led us down the porch steps and onto the lawn, his boots crunching through an icy layer of snow, which had begun to fall the moment he mentioned the crypt in the backyard. With its frozen tears, the sky wept down upon us as we got closer and closer to the tomb. “This way…” Josh said, beckoning my mother and I a little closer with a dark glint of glee in his eyes. “Don’t be afraid…” He opened the door to the crypt where members of the Beekman family were laid to rest: stones laden with green moss, melted candles, a human bone…  (Cue thunder and lightning.)

Visiting the Beekman crypt with Josh was a highlight of my visit to the farm several years ago. The history of the mansion Brent and Josh call home is peppered with tales of paranormal activity, ghost stories and sinister happenings. Brent even invited a local ghost-whisperer to the farm to help make sense of the mysterious midnight creeking and clanging that takes place in the house.

I couldn’t let Halloween pass without a little tribute to the dark things that keep us on our toes, that give us goosebumps, make our hearts beat a little louder, make us hold our collective breath in stunned silence. Below are five eerily-beautiful things and an excerpt from one of my favorite Edgar Allan Poe poems called Dreamland.

By a route obscure and lonely,
Haunted by ill angels only,

Where an Eidolon, named Night,
On a black throne reigns upright,

I have reached these lands but newly
From an ultimate dim Thule-

From a wild clime that lieth, sublime,
Out of space- out of time

Bottomless vales and boundless floods,
And chasms, and caves, and Titan woods,

With forms that no man can discover
For the tears that drip all over;

Mountains toppling evermore
Into seas without a shore;

Seas that restlessly aspire,
Surging, unto skies of fire;

Lakes that endlessly outspread
Their lone waters- lone and dead,-

Their still waters- sad and chilly
With the snows of the lolling lily.

Photos: http://pinterest.com/andrewr/darkness/

Andrew Ritchie is the creator of Martha Moments, a blog devoted to Martha-Stewart related content and her community of supporters. He lives and works in Toronto, Canada, and has been a longtime friend of Brent & Josh, Beekman 1802 and Sharon Springs. Each week he’ll scour the world (wide web) to find the 5 most beautiful things to inspire you. Follow Andrew on Pinterest.