The Ghost Light

This stage that nigh an hour ago did pulse with golden light,
Now hosts a pale and solitary flame.
As a ghostly cast assembles in the wines in time to play
Their tragedies beneath the gilded frame.
Walk with me beneath the painted sky
Sombre dramaturgies composed for you and I.

"Heed not the shadows- there's nothing to fear
Cross your heart, don't be afraid, bear the lantern high;
And onward, my dear..."

Thrills of the dark with racing hearts and the draw of the more obscure.
When the city draws the blind at night, and the gaslight flickers low
They wander through their secret ways, their mysteries to know.
And creeping through the alleyways, they spy the unlocked door
That leads into the haunted dark of the sleeping Music Hall.

Now standing on the threshold, their lantern casts it's beam
Through a deepening gloom of the fearful room it reveals the dusty scene:
The memories of a thousand tragic curtain calls prevail,
Forgotten masks that come alive and howl their dreadful tales.
Turning to the iron stair that leads unto the stage
And knowing not what lies ahead upon this fateful page,
They climb on through the darkness proceeding without care
Hand in hand, oblivious to the terrors that lie there.
This legacy of a hundred years is engrained upon these boards
On night the First, when the spirits dance to the aires of ghostly chords.
Yet this spectral dress rehearsal is not meant for mortal sight
And quicker than their beating hearts the spirits snuff the light

'The air turned cold as ice, and then the nightmare did begin.
The last sight as the candle died: the shadows closing in..."

Out went the candle, and they were alone in the dark

Trapped in this drama they screamed in the dark
Yet nought but a flurry of footprints was found..

"Take my hand as we linger 'neath the arch
Drive away the horrors as we stride upon the stair.
Climb the crimson carpet that winds into the dark
Brace yourself, take a breath and give not to despair.
Heed not the shadows - there's nothing to fear
Cross your heart, don't be afraid, bear the lantern high;
And onward!
Heed not the shadows - there's nothing to fear,
Cross your heart, don't be afraid, bear the lantern high;
And onward, my dear..."