I'm not a huge poetry reader, so I was pleasantly surprised that I did not have to struggle to understand the meanings of the poems in Always Haunted. The poet's imagery makes the poem feel like a small movie. The poems in this collection mix and match stanza forms. My experience reading these different forms kept the reading more manageable. I liked her use of historical information in creating a poem. If you are new to poetry, this collection is a must-read.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Always Haunted is a collection of poems perfect for Halloween. This was a great collection of atmospheric poems to help set the mood for Halloween and had fun illustrations at each section. What fascinated me the most with this collection was how the author had used cold cases, hauntings and legends to gain inspiration for each poem, and each poem is followed with information about the tale/story it was inspired from.
This was creepy, spooky, and haunting in the best possible ways for spooky season!

I’m a repeat reader of LindaAnn LoSchiavo’s poetry. I know that it will be fresh, original, and descriptive. There are chills and thrills aplenty in Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems. There’s also beauty and an attention to some of the forgotten horrors of history. Because let’s face it: you aren’t going to find much that’s scarier than what humans are capable of. The author also provides notes about the history behind her poetry, which is fascinating.

These poems about the evils of history aren’t necessarily for the squeamish (although if you’re squeamish, a book of eerie poetry is probably not for you), but they’re written extremely well. They pull you into the story.

The history-inspired poem that I was most sucked into was not your usual crime, however. “Hetty Green, the Witch of Wall Street” was about Hetty Green, who is known as the United States’ first female tycoon. What a fantastic idea for a subject of a poem! It was so descriptive!

Of course, not every poem is eerie. Some are lighthearted. They’re placed perfectly throughout, breaking up the creepiness of some of the darker poems and providing the reader with a moment to draw breath before the next unearthly entry. From Emily Post’s advice regarding the supernatural, to an updated take on Dracula, each was fantastic.

Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems is a perfect spooky read

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for gifting me this book. My opinions are my own. Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems is available now.

LindaAnn LoSchiavo's Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems, is distinctly more than that. This smart, well-crafted collection strays beyond the graveyard (though it goes there, too!) to deliver a chilling variety of topics. Historical horror, true crime, multi-cultural mythology . . . it's all here, in twenty-four poems including a few haibun and one microfiction.

Although the collection begins with a lyric -- the quietly breathtaking "Samhain" -- the majority of these poems are narrative. In the timeless tradition of storytelling in meter, LoSchiavo makes frequent use of blank verse. This is an effective choice. When well used, blank verse approximates the natural rhythms of English, allowing the "crafted" aspect of the poem to get out of its own way and let the story flow. And flow it does, through retellings of Sleepy Hollow and A Night on Bald Mountain, to a celebration of "Elizabeth Siddal Rossetti, Cemetery Superstar" to the dark historical "Don't Monetize Those Poltergeists."

Many other verse forms appear in this collection as well -- again, in the service of storytelling, and often women's history. One Italian sonnet celebrates "Hetty Green, the 'Witch of Wall Street", while an abecedarian (26-line poem incorporating each letter of the alphabet as a first letter) deals with murder and its vengeful feminine aftermath. A pair of bilingual haibun celebrate Our Lady of the Holy Death.

There is much to learn as well as to enjoy in these poems -- fortunately, LoSchiavo includes unobtrusive notes for the curious. Several original black and white illustrations complete this intelligent, diverting, and at times extremely creepy seasonal entertainment.

My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

LindaAnn LoSchiavo’s "Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems" is a chilling and evocative collection that takes readers on a haunting journey through the dark and mysterious realms of All Hallows' Eve. Perfectly blending macabre imagery, historical crimes, and the supernatural, this anthology of 24 poems brings Halloween to life in a way that will resonate with readers long after the spooky season has passed.

LoSchiavo taps into the eerie essence of Halloween with poems that explore everything from horrific true crimes committed on October 31st to encounters with witches, vampires, and poltergeists. The collection’s verses weave a tapestry of fear, suspense, and fascination, capturing the unsettling beauty of autumn and the unsettling thrill that Halloween brings. Each poem feels like its own ghost story, creating a vivid world of supernatural beings, dark secrets, and untold horrors.

One of the most compelling aspects of "Always Haunted" is how it reimagines real-life injustices and macabre events through the lens of poetry. These aren't just whimsical ghost tales; LoSchiavo's verses often delve into chilling truths, making the collection feel both timeless and immediate. Whether she's conjuring images of a honeymoon homicide or exploring the restless spirits of wronged souls, each poem is layered with emotion and historical depth, drawing readers into a world where the boundaries between the living and the dead blur.

Fans of Halloween and gothic poetry will appreciate the vivid language and atmospheric writing that LoSchiavo employs throughout. Her ability to evoke goosebumps and a lingering sense of dread through her words alone is masterful, and the accompanying full-page illustrations only add to the immersive, spooky experience. The hauntingly beautiful imagery that accompanies the poems elevates the collection, making it a visual as well as a literary delight.

"Always Haunted" is more than just a seasonal read—it’s a celebration of the strange, the sinister, and the supernatural. The collection will appeal to lovers of gothic literature, horror enthusiasts, and anyone who enjoys immersing themselves in the mysterious and macabre. With its chilling themes, rich autumnal imagery, and harrowing explorations of injustice, this book of poems will cast a spell on readers, ensuring they remain haunted long after they turn the final page.

Publishing date: 01.10.2024
Thank you to Netgalley and Wild Ink Publishing LLC for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

I expected: Spooky poems
I got: Spooky poems and almost short stories
The book left me: Not as spooked as I wanted

Poetry style:
Freestyle and prose, a little folketaley

Amount of poems:
24 poems and short stories

Features:
7 illustration (some repeats), 5 sections, some poems and stories based on real world events and rumors

Final ranking and star rating?
3 stars, C tier. This was an odd collection. I expected more poems, but I got a few stories too. It had some nice illustrations, love that. It wasn't scary, poems usually aren't, more uncanny or "campfire story" kind of spooky.
I think I expected something different from this. Not sure what exactly ...

A marvelous collection of poem perfect for October and Hallowe’en reading this year and every year. Poetry inspired by historical true crimes and hauntings, most in NYC accompanied by gorgeous illustrations.

The poetry really helped me set the mood for a spooky-filled month and definitely has me working my fingers on the Internet to follow up on some of her poems.

Her imagery and descriptions on many of the poems took me to the time and place, whether as a voyeur or in the moment. I could smell the crisp fall air, feel the pain, feel the urgency and decay both of the season.

My favorite poems were “A Sleepy Hollow Hallowe’en,” “The Hallowe’en Homicides, October 31, 1981,” “Hallowe’en Window Painting,” and the several poems written regarding Day of the Dead, but most all were entertaining.

The perfect read to get you into the Halloween spirit. I loved that the poems were broken into sections and some even followed true crime. There were a few sketches throughout that were just gorgeous and helped set the spooky scene. Definitely worth bringing out the beginning of each fall season.

Big thanks to Netgalley, LindaAnn LoSchiavo, and Wild Ink Publishing for letting me have an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A collection of poems about Halloween that will get you in the mood of spooky season. Including horrific crimes, witches, a romantic vampire, and ghosts of all kinds. It will leave you wanting more.

Overall, this poetry collection was good. Just because I gave it a 3.5 stars, does not mean it is not good, it was just average and in the middle of the road for me. I got what I came here for - Halloween poems. They were very interesting, I was expecting the witches and ghosts, not the crimes that were committed on Halloween. The ones on the crimes were great and while they went into detail, they weren't that gory. The pictures were stunning and the section headers are simple, yet elegant. LindaAnn did explore the Day of the Dead celebrations in a few poems and those were my favorites. The biggest "thing" I have is that I wanted more poems.

That's about all I will say as I don't want to go into too much detail and give any of the poems away.

LindaAnn LoSchiavo is a dramatist, writer, and poet. A native New Yorker, LoSchiavo has received nominations for the Pushcart Prize, Rhysling Award, Best of the Net, the IPPY Award, CLMP's Firecracker Award, Balcones Poetry Prize, and Dwarf Stars. She is a member of Science Fiction Poetry Assoc., The British Fantasy Society, and The Dramatists Guild. Her newest collection is Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems.

Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poem features twenty-six horror poems, most of which are written in LoSchiavo’s trademark blank verse style. The poems are divided into six sections, each focusing on a unique trope regarding Hallowe’en, like “Graveyard” or “Haunting.” The poems in each section, though not directly connected to each other, are certainly connected to the sectional trope, and this organizational style almost reads like half a dozen intimate rooms in an ancient gothic manor, where readers are given a few minutes to peruse the room and meet the ghosts who haunt it before moving on to the next room. As such, the collection never gets tiresome or weary, as readers are only given so many poems in each section, so this is a well-paced collection, as well.

For the most part, the poems are lyrical descriptions or narratives about their subjects. This is typical fare for Loschiavo, so readers familiar with her previous work will not be surprised nor disappointed. However, scattered throughout the book, Loschiavo branches away from her favored blank verse, and offers up a few hybrid pieces. Poems like “Erasure at Nightfall” and the “Our Lady of the Holiest Death” series read almost like short stories or prose poems, but they are decorated with the occasional flutter of delineated poetry lines. The hybridity of these pieces works with their subjects, as ambiguity and unknown are a part of the horror; furthermore, for readers who are prone to overemphasize metrical feet when reading, these poems will provide a fresh break from the thick iambic pentameter throughout the rest of the collection.

Overall, Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems is a short, fun collection of Hallowe’en based poems. These poems are cleverly illustrated, so the book is pretty hefty despite only having a few dozen poems. The poems themselves are the typical fare that one would expect from Loschiavo—elegant descriptions of terrifying events or clever spooky narratives in a rolling iambic pentameter—only the author occasionally throws in a hybrid prose piece to make sure readers are on their toes. This is a solid collection, and it’s coming out early enough in October to be ready in time for Hallowe’en, so readers or horror poetry can be ready and waiting to have this clever book on their shelves.

This is a perfect collection of harrowing poetry to read for this year's spooky season. People read Twas the Night Before Christmas so why not a reading or two from a beautifully creepy book which celebrates Halloween? Just a thought.

These are all bite sized chilling poems dealing with all manner of horrific subjects. Sleepy Hollow, vampires, ghostly apparitions, poltergeists, love turned murderous, and almost everything in between.

Some are based on true life events and are explained at the end, which I really enjoyed. But each one portrays the terrors you would want in this genre. Rarely do so few words provide such a visceral punch.

And these poems are beautiful, belying the goosebumps which will flare up as you're reading. This is simply a fantastic collection of horror poetry that you'll want to read again and again. I highly recommend it.

This has put me in such a mood for fall and spooky season. What a great collection we have here. Loved every verse and ate it all up!

Generally, poetry is so very personal and reliant upon . . . well, vibes, that truly, reviewing it often speaks more to personal tastes, or feeling, than anything else. Mostly, I just didn't really vibe with this collection, on a number of levels.

I found the first poem uncomfortable to read stylistically (personal taste); the second one I simply didn't vibe with; the third I liked somewhat but the vibe still wasn't quite there for me; the fourth threw me for all new reasons.

Technically - many of the poems employ the style of breaking phrases midway across two lines, with (what feels like) no other nod to rhythm; others run into large paragraph block(s) with no linebreaks. Neither are a style I particularly enjoy, and especially the former often feels hiccupy to me while reading.

Tonally - in Halloween, horror, or generally for eerie stories and poems I happily enjoy both lighthearted (whether silly or serious) or seriously unsettling or creepy tones . . . but in general, especially for a small collection, it really needs to decide on one or the other. This one . . . didn't.

I enjoyed these poems. I liked the halloween theme and that they had a lot of content in them. The art images throughout also added another element and I found myself looking at the images for a while. I feel they complemented the poems very nicely. I enjoyed the overall theme of the poems and have some favourites. I liked that the tone is not too serious too. I would definitely recommend these poems to my friend who loved halloween and vampires to read.

Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems by LindaAnn LoSchiavo is a spine-tingling collection that captures the eerie essence of Halloween with a lyrical touch. LoSchiavo weaves together the macabre and the mystical, conjuring up verses that feel like they’ve been whispered from the shadows.

Each poem in this collection is like a mini ghost story, full of dark imagery and haunting rhythms that transport you straight into the heart of autumn’s most bewitching night. LoSchiavo’s mastery of language shines through as she plays with themes of death, the supernatural, and the thin veil between the living and the dead. The poems are rich with atmosphere, making you feel the chill in the air and hear the rustle of leaves underfoot.

What makes Always Haunted stand out is its ability to balance traditional Halloween spookiness with deeper, more introspective moments. LoSchiavo doesn’t just rely on the usual ghouls and ghosts; she digs into the psychological aspects of fear and the unknown, offering a fresh take on what it means to be haunted.

The collection’s pacing is spot-on, with shorter, punchy pieces that hit you like a sudden gust of cold wind, and longer, more meditative poems that invite you to linger in the shadows a bit longer. There’s a rhythm to the way the poems are arranged that keeps you engaged, pulling you deeper into the Halloween spirit with each turn of the page.

Whether you’re a fan of the eerie and unsettling or just love the atmosphere of Halloween, Always Haunted delivers. It’s a collection that’s perfect for reading by candlelight on a crisp October evening, where the line between the real and the imagined blurs just enough to make you check over your shoulder.

The Review

What a powerful and remarkable read. The author did a wonderful job of balancing themes of horror and the supernatural with true crime and historical injustice against women. The imagery (both the original illustrations and the imagery in the author’s writing) allowed the reader to be transported instantly into these poetic stories. The infusion of so many styles of poetry, from the almost Shakespearean retelling of the legend of Sleepy Hollow to the modern-day examination of Dracula’s social media presence, allowed the reader to be entertained while tapping into an emotional wellspring that horror and poetry fans can enjoy.

There were many powerful moments found in this book that spoke to the Halloween fan in all of us, as well as the meaningful moments in history when women fell victim to everything from fear to crimes, both social and personal. One great example that was a favorite of mine was Hetty Green, the Witch of Wall Street, showcasing how women are often misrepresented in life whenever they succeed where men have failed. The power of these poems and the way they illustrate how horror often mirrors real life made this a powerful collection.

The Verdict

Heartfelt, highly creative, and entertaining author LindaAnn LoSchiavo’s “Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems” is a must-read collection of poetry this fall. The incredible imagery and haunting presence each poem brings will keep readers coming back to this book time and time again.

Deliciously spooky Halloween poems based on true life events. A classic book of poems that you'll want to re-read every Halloween!

Always Haunted is a collection of 24 poems. The poems are centered around Halloween with themes of witches, vampires, ghosts, and even true crimes that took place on October 31st. The poems are well written and some end with a note to add context, which I appreciate. The book is fantastic, and it is perfect for anyone interested in poetry and Halloween.

It may still be summer, but I was so excited to see this Halloween themed book of poems. Always Haunted is a collection of poems and short stories about crimes committed on October 31st. I loved that so many of the poems reimagined true crimes. There were a few illustrations sprinkled throughout the book. There are included footnotes which gave a bit more information about the stories. I found myself researching some of the stories and crimes mentioned in the book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours

This was so interesting and different from what I thought it will be. I think the writing was good and I can never say no to a book related to Hall0ween. What I liked the most is the fact that the poetry was based on real stories and the footnotes really helped to give more information about the poem. I think this a good quick book to read this year for Halloween.