Always Haunted
Poems About Suicide
by LindaAnn LoSchiavo
Trick or treat twisted with treachery
Haunting and harrowing visions of All Hallows’ Eve here include horrific crimes committed on October 31st, a honeymoon homicide, mysterious witches, amorous vampires, dead serious poltergeists, along with a pageant of autumnal imagery sure to evoke goosebumps beyond the spooky season.
Wearing the cunning costume of a Hallowe’en poetry collection, 24 poems and numerous full-page illustrations reimagine macabre true crimes and explore injustices.
REVIEW
5 out of 5
I know it’s not spooky season anymore, but I was absolutely delighted by this collection of poems and illustrations that brought chills running over my skin while I’m wrapped up warm and snug in my favorite blanket with a cup of cocoa by my side. Although it’s hard to pick a favorite, A Sleepy Hollow Hallowe’en might be it – but that might just be because I have fond memories of visiting the cemetery there when I was younger. LoSchiavo does an excellent job evoking powerful imagery with her words, and the illustrations match up quite well with the poems. If, like me, you believe spooky season should be a year-round affair, then you absolutely need to snag this collection and enjoy a little extra spooky to add to your holidays!
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“Always Haunted” showcases LoSchiavo’s formal versatility: abecedarians, haibun, prosepoems, sonnets, and the decasyllabic lines of poems that seem otherwise unconstrained. She’s equally adept at shifting among tones, from the eerie to the ironic. Her work is encrusted with images and phrases that intrigue and frighten you―long after you’ve closed the book. ― Carl Bettis, E.I.C.,tiny frights(USA)
This collection is a delight to every devotee of weird poetry and the weird in general. LindaAnn LoSchiavo draws upon the deep heritage of strangeness symbolized in the ancient festivals of Samhain and Hallowe’en, not to mention prior literary works from Shakespeare, Washington Irving, and even Emily Post. But this book is no exercise in antiquarianism: the author captures the essence of fear and presents it to an audience in well-crafted poems and prose poems, and the sum total of her efforts is a potent poetic gem that deserves repeated re-readings. ― S. T. Joshi, E.I.C., Spectral Realms (USA)
A bewitching collection of poetry that feels both elemental and fantastically well-crafted.LoSchiavo has an incredible eye for the macabre that is to be found all around us.― Krishan Coupland, E.I.C., Neon Books (Great Britain)
Necromancer LindaAnn LoSchiavo is a mystical maverick of paranormal poetry, a voice that knows how to enter the dark and find music in it. ― Dr. Mark Benecke, President, Transylvanian Society of Dracula (Berlin)
It’s rare to find a book that can entertain, send chills down your spine, and be so informative that you are inspired to look up more about the subject. In “Always Haunted,” LindaAnn LoSchiavo does just that. Ghosts, witches, and victims — women whose voices were silenced by circumstances — speak loudly and clearly through LoSchiavo’s poetry. Their stories are at times tragic, empowering, and vengeful, as diverse as their histories, and they all return to “life” in LoSchiavo’s book. She even imagines how Dracula could thrive in our world of social media. “Always Haunted” is definitely worth reading. Just make sure the lights are on. ― Linda Gould, E.I.C., Japanese Ghost Stories and Kaidankai (Japan)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Native New Yorker and award-winner, LindaAnn LoSchiavo is a member of British Fantasy Society, HWA, SFPA, and The Dramatists Guild.
Titles published in 2024: “Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems” [Wild Ink], “Apprenticed to the Night” [UniVerse Press], and “Felones de Se: Poems about Suicide” [Ukiyoto].
Forthcoming: “Cancer Courts My Mother” [Prolific Pulse Press, 2025].
Book Accolades earned: Elgin Award for “A Route Obscure and Lonely” and Chrysalis BREW Project’s Award for Excellence for “Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems.”