Halloween Hike

Three people
walking along an overgrown forest path
pause to listen
to the echoes reverberating
through the trees.

They hear the distant cackle
of phantom laughter,
accompanied
by the scent of wood smoke,
and the crackle of flames.

Half-way up the trail,
they see a flickering light,
like a camp fire.

Continuing on
they come to a clearing
where three ghastly forms,
chanting a spell,
dance around a cauldron.

As if possessed,
the three people amble
to the cauldron,
pick up a three ladles
laying on the ground,
and dipping them into the brew
take a sip of the potion,
which trans forms them into bats.

Poet's Note: ▼

Line Count: 26
Form: Free verse
Word Prompt: brew, cauldron, ghastly, potion, fire, spell, cackle, phantom
Written for "Stormy's poetry newsletter & contest" 
Deadline: October 5, 2019.