Darkness: Poems of Extreme Horror

by Eric Kapitan, Adam Beckley (Illustrator)

Enter a world filled with serial killers, cannibalism, unnatural love, creatures hiding in the dark and so much more! Filled with blood, gore and unforgiving horror. This aint your mom's poetry book! Once you start reading you may think you know what to expect. You will find that the further you go, the more the darkness spreads.

Genres: Poetry, Horror

48 pages, Paperback

First published September 22, 2015

About the author

Eric Kapitan fell in love with the horror genre at a young age. Binge watching Horror Movies such Halloween and Night of the Living Dead. It wasn't long before Kapitan wanted to tell Horror stories of his own. Never afraid to push the boundaries, Kapitan believes Horror should be hard hitting and leave an impression.

Eric Kapitan currently resides in Vermont. He enjoys spending time with family/friends, drinking a nice cold Vermont beer, and going to Horror conventions.

Reviews

[Tyler Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

It starts off with a warning "Warning: The poems in this book contain graphic violence, sex, gore and adult language. It is not recommended for anyone under the age of 18 or those who are easily offended."

True, but mostly I was underwhelmed, or I should say many of the poems just missed the mark for me. Where-as the last dark poetry book I read was dark because it dealt with feelings of depression and while it could be gorey/graphic it was meaningful, these were just....horrific and demented for the sake of it. And I like my demented horror but sadly many of the 36 poems just missed the mark for me and others were ok enough but I didn't love them either. I think trying to make a horror story into a poem is just difficult.

There were a few I did really like though, "The Realization" which freaking scared me because hello to the fear of being buried alive! "Halloween Night" because I love Halloween, it's a short poem but I loved it in it's atmosphere, and "Daddy" is the perfect revenge poem, Daddy got what he deserved. Oh and the scariest to me was "The Little Tiny Spider" because fucking spiders man! SPIDERS *runs for the hills*

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[Horror Underground · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review from HorrorUnderground.org

Darkness: Poems of Extreme Horror

Author: Eric Kapitan


In what author Eric Kapitan describes as Exploitation Poetry, a seemingly new style of prose, we are given poems that push the boundaries of tasteful art and extremist horror. This collection features all manner of vile, reprehensible acts of violence. Beneath the hard to swallow, confrontational prose lies a heavy layer of love and adoration for the things that inspire Kapitan.

While written like it came from the words of a character in an Edward Lee novel, there is a high level of elegance and care for the chosen wording and structure. Take the poem First Time for example, the effort and thought behind the meaning gives a huge punch to the final lines.

Along with First Time, some of my other favorites that stand out are Puzzle (how can you resist a poem about opening Lemarchand’s toy?), Halloween Night, The Little Tiny Spider, and The Sun, just to name a few.

To be honest, this is a quick read. At around 50 pages, snapping through Eric’s prose is a breeze. I read it three times in one sitting and then came back to it a few days later after I let it soak in. The poems are absolutely captivating to me. I felt several of the ominous poems calling me back to reread them. With it being such a quick read, this is going to become part of my annual Halloween rituals. Turn down the lights. Light a candle or two and try and freak myself out. I know for certain that this book will.

[Dawn Colclasure · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wicked!

I have searched for good horror poetry and I found it in this book. The poems in this book are definitely not for people who are easily offended. Some of these poems were like stories and I wanted more! These poems were definitely creepy and made me look over my shoulder as I read them. The poem inspired by Hellraiser, “Puzzle,” was really good. I am also a Hellraiser fan. I enjoyed reading this book and will likely read it again!

[Gothdoll666{In Rue's Pocket} · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love poetry and I love horror. Sadly I didn't love this collection.

It was not extreme in the horror aspect to me. There were also not enough poems that really stuck with me. I like when a collection of poetry figuratively hits me in the stomach. I want to think about the poems and its possible meaning and turn them over and over in my mind and recite them from heart. I did not feel that with this collection of poetry.

I do recommend this collection of poetry to people who like horror and poetry.