Monday, May 11, 2020

Rougarou



image from pinterest.com


Rougarou

“The Rougarou saw his shadow; four more weeks
of crayfish season.”--Cajun saying.

Werewolves are not real. This is the prevailing axiom;
but I’m here to tell you, for some of us, monsters are
real. Like UFO’s, those of us who’ve seen them have
a hard time convincing others.

Last year I visited an old high school sussie, who lives
alone in a clapboard cabin deep in the Louisiana 
swamp. He hunts alligators and snakes for a living.

I arrived at his hut after dark. There are no roads.
I had rented a boat. There were a couple of lantern
lights on inside. I could hear spirited zydeco music.
I tied off the boat on his dock. Approaching the front
door, I shouted: T. Leon! Ca Va, you old couillion!

There was no answer. I slowly opened the door.
Leon was on the floor on his back with his throat
ripped out. There was a fire in his stove.

I heard a close by blood-curdling wolf-howl,
followed by loud growling. I fled for my life,
but Leon haunts my dreams, and his shadow
shouts on a nightmare scream.


Glenn Buttkus

Prosery

Posted over at d'Verse Poets Pub

11 comments:

Jade Li said...

I love that opening Cajun quote. I like how you draw the MC into the darkness, where such horror is revealed, then leave him with a lasting haunt. Good horror story!

indybev said...


This is a great story, Glenn … but it exceeds 144 words, you scamp!

Linda Lee Lyberg said...

Excellent story Glenn!

kate said...

Well told, my blood is still curdling ....

Glenn Buttkus said...

You're right, Bev. I had kept count until I typed it up, then some words were dropped, others added, and then did not recount. I'm a bad boy, for sure.

Kerfe said...

I can hear that scream.

sarah said...

Nice folksy tone, Glenn. We're sitting by a fire, with a glass of something warming, telling ghost stories, and I half believe you. Later on, when I'm walking home alone down a dark lane, I'll know you were telling the truth.

Kim M. Russell said...

I like the way you took the Cajun saying and developed it into an original scary story, Glenn! The opening paragraph makes excellent use of verisimilitude, setting the reader up for a ride into the darkness of the Louisiana swamp.

brudberg said...

I didn't count the words... didn't feel too long for me. Love the setting with the cabin in the swamp... but honestly... it could have been a gator...

Mary Hood said...

Great story. And yes, hard to convince someone of your reality when it differs from theirs

Merril D. Smith said...

This is excellent! I love the tone, and I can imagine someone actually telling this story.
And ending with that scream--I feel like I can hear it.