Tag: Halloween Extravaganza

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Kristopher Rufty

megHan

Meghan: Hey, Krist! Welcome back to Meghan’s HAUNTED House of Books. What is your favorite part of Halloween?

Kristopher: I couldn’t imagine not being a fan of Halloween. Next to Christmas, it’s the one day when everyone can be a kid again. People celebrate horror and openly admit to being entertained by it. Plus, it’s just so much fun. That’s never changed throughout all my life.

Meghan: Do you get scared easily?

Kristopher: I don’t know if “easily” describes it. But a lot of things do scare me. Now that I’m older and a father, I have worries that I never thought about when I was younger. Plus, I’ve seen relatives get sick, friends have passed away, and marriages haves ended. I never thought I was indestructible when I was younger, but such fears never crossed my mind. Now they dwell there.

Meghan: What is the scariest movie you’ve ever seen and why?

Kristopher: Probably The Changeling with George C. Scott. I saw it when I was very young and some of it really disturbed me. Even now, I still feel the same way I did as a kid whenever I watch it. The images, locations, and music just really messed me up all those years ago.

Meghan: Which horror movie murder did you find the most disturbing?

Kristopher: Probably the flashback seen in The Changeling. I don’t want to give it away, but that one bothered me when I saw it for the first time. Still does.

Meghan: Is there a horror movie you refused to watch because the commercials scared you too much?

Kristopher: I don’t think so. If anything, it had the exact opposite influence on me. The scarier the better. Especially when I was younger. I’d talk about the trailers with my friends, and we’d imagine what the movies would be like. Usually, they didn’t come close to our imaginations, but sometimes they far exceeded them.

Meghan: If you got trapped in one scary movie, which would you choose?

Kristopher: Probably Just Before Dawn because of the beautiful scenery. I’d just have to make sure I steered clear of the inbred family.

Meghan: If you were stuck as the protagonist in any horror movie, which would you choose?

Kristopher: Maybe the Scream series since, until recently, the core group have lasted so long.

Meghan: What is your all-time favorite scary monster or creature of the night?

Kristopher: The werewolf, for sure.

Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween tradition?

Kristopher: All of it. I don’t think I enjoy one more than the other. It’s all a buffet of scary fun.

Meghan: What is your favorite horror or Halloween-themed song?

Kristopher: Monster Mash. I have loved it since I was a little kid.

Meghan: Which horror novel unsettled you the most?

Kristopher: The Girl Next Door. Nothing comes close. Jack Ketchum was a master, and he stuck to the basics in that story and conjured up a truly disturbing book based on real events.

Meghan: What is the creepiest thing that’s ever happened while you were alone?

Kristopher: A candle flew off a shelf and smacked into a wall right in front of me. I think it was going after my wife at the time. She’d been standing where the candle hit seconds before it launched. I entered the room just as it took flight. Once, in the same place, when I was completely alone, I watched hand-prints appear on the ceiling and vanish within seconds of emerging. Needless to say, we moved out of there first chance we got.

Meghan: Which unsolved mystery fascinates you the most?

Kristopher: I’m fascinated by most with a supernatural element. Unsolved murders and things like that don’t really fascinate me much. But anything with “monster sightings” or paranormal components will hook me in. If it involves a cryptid, even better. Water monster sightings also interest me a lot.

Meghan: What is the spookiest ghost story that you have ever heard?

Kristopher: Surprisingly, I haven’t heard a bunch. But there was a local legend about a Wildman that lived in the woods around my house growing up. When I was a kid, I swore I saw him once. I was in the woods and saw a man just walking around, dressed in ragged clothes and carrying an ax. I told people, and that was when I learned about the “Wildman.” Don’t know how true that story was, but I did see the man.

Meghan: In a zombie apocalypse, what is your weapon of choice?

Kristopher: Unlimited gun supply. I’d want them to be as far away from me as possible. No up-close battles if I can help it.

Meghan: Okay, let’s have some fun. Would you rather get bitten by a vampire or a werewolf?

Kristopher: Werewolf!

Meghan: Would you rather fight a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion?

Kristopher: Probably a zombie apocalypse. But an alien invasion would be quicker, if I was on the losing side.

Meghan: Would you rather drink zombie juice or eat dead bodies from the graveyard?

Kristopher: Ew! Zombie juice. Unless it was just one bite from a dead body.

Meghan: Would you rather stay at the Poltergeist house or the Amityville house for a week?

Kristopher: Amityville. The Poltergeist house is terrifying!

Meghan: Would you rather chew on a bitter melon with chilies or maggot-infested cheese?

Kristopher: Nasty! The melon, for sure.

Meghan: Would you rather drink from a witch’s cauldron or lick cotton candy made of spider webs?

Kristopher: Give me the cauldron.

Boo-graphy: Kristopher Rufty lives in North Carolina with his three children and pets. He’s written numerous books, including All Will Die, The Devoured & the Dead, Desolation, Pillowface, and more. When he’s not writing, he’s obsessing over gardening and growing food. For more about him, please visit his website.

All Will Die —
A year after a group of teenagers were brutally murdered in the mountains, their parents return to the scene of the crime in hopes of luring the killer out of hiding. Unfortunately for them, they are successful. Though they expect the fight of their lives, they quickly learn how unprepared they are for the savage brutality that awaits them. One by one, they will experience exactly what their children endured in their own night of hell.

Their obsession has led them to this nightmare and their one chance at retribution. But if they don’t succeed…

Bone Chimes 2 —
A woman battles a madman to save the package she ordered…and her life! A Christmas party in the mountains is invaded by otherworldly creatures. A man teams up with his son’s favorite toy to kill someone. And a Halloween prank might lead to the end of two boys’ innocence.

These are just a few of the stories in Bone Chimes 2, the second collection from Kristopher Rufty that features nine more demented tales for fans of monsters and childhood fears brought to life. With an introduction by Aron Beauregard, this collection will leave you squirming with fear and delight!

Bone Chimes

CHARACTER INTERVIEW: Noah Archer (The Enlightenment Project, Lynn Hightower)

megHan

Meghan: Hi Noah. Welcome and thank you for joining us today. What is one word you would use to define yourself?

Noah: Haunted

Meghan: Do you see yourself as “the good guy” or the “bad guy”?

Noah: The good guy

Meghan: What does the plot require you to be? How does this requirement limit you?

Noah: My need for keeping the dark part of my life private means I cannot be honest with the ones I love and that I bring dark things into their lives.

Meghan: What is your quest?

Noah: To find a way to give my patients a fast track sure fire way to meditation. So that they can deal with depression, addiction… and the haunting and possession of dark entities.

Meghan: What do you hope to accomplish, find, or become during the course of your book/series?

Noah: To find a protocol for people who are possessed or oppressed by dark demonic entities. To keep them safe, to give them their lives back.

Meghan: What do you like about the other main characters? What do you least like about the other main characters?

Noah: Father Perry Cavannaugh, an episcopal priest, rescued me from possession when I was just eleven. He was young then, and has always been like a brother to me, and he has guided me through the dark part of my life, and I owe him everything. I love my wife, Myra, my sons. I am very fond of my friend and associate Dr Hilde-Sweetwater, and when she did not believe I was possessed as a child, and was horrified by my beliefs, it was humiliating, and I felt betrayed.

Meghan: When was the last time you lied. What made you do it?

Noah: A lie of omission. I never told my wife about the possession, and when it came back to threaten our children, she felt angry and betrayed and I had to earn back her trust or lose our marriage.

Meghan: Who have you betrayed lately?

Noah: Myra, by that lie of omission.

Meghan: Would you say that you are an optimist or a pessimist?

Noah: A hopeful pessimist

Meghan: What is your superpower?

Noah: Life experience – this happened to me, and it shook me to my core, but I survived and now I am going to help other people survive.

Meghan: What is your biggest secret?

Noah: That I was possessed at the age of eleven.

Meghan: Do you live in the right world? How necessary are you to your world?

Noah: I am in the world that I love.

Meghan: What is your role in this setting? Are you okay with this role or would you like to change?

Noah: I have everything I want. I am a neurosurgeon doing the work I have wanted to do since I was a child. I have a family I love. I have everything I want and my goal is to keep it.

Meghan: Did you turn out the way you expected?

Noah: Yes. The possession has fueled my entire life. For the better.

Meghan: What, if anything, would you change about your life?

Noah: That’s hard for me. My first impulse would be to tell you that I would like to never have been possessed. But I think this is what made me and I think my work is important. So the one thing I would change would be to have been honest with Myra about this from the beginning of our relationship. To trust her to love me, or give her the option of turning away if she did not want this in her life.

Meghan: How do you feel about your author?

Noah. I adore her. She listens to everything I say.

Meghan: If the two of you got together for coffee, what would you want to say to them?

Noah: We get together for coffee every day. Her voice is my voice.

Boo-graphy: Lynn Hightower grew up in Kentucky, and graduated from the University of Kentucky, where she studied creative writing with Wendell Berry and earned a degree in Journalism. She also teaches novel writing in the Writer’s Program at UCLA. Survival jobs include writing television commercials, catering waitress, and bartender for one day.

Her books have been included in the New York Times List of Notable Books, the London Times Bestseller List, and the W.H. Smith Fresh Talent Awards. She has received the Shamus Award, and been nominated for the Kentucky Literary Award, the Kentucky Librarians First Choice Award, and the Mary Higgins Clark Award. Hightower’s books have been published in numerous foreign countries, including Great Britain, Australia, Japan, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Israel and The Netherlands.

Hightower spends ridiculous amounts of time curled up reading, but also enjoys small sports cars and tame horses. She is married to The Frenchman, writes full time, shares an office with her Belgian Shepherd, Leo the Lion, plays bad but fierce tennis, loves to dance and is learning to Tango.

Hightower enjoys canoeing and is witty after two glasses of wine. She has studied French and Italian, but is only fluent in Southern.

Hightower is a Kentucky native, and lives in a small Victorian cottage with a writing parlor.

Noah Archer is a renowned neurosurgeon, with an impressive success record. He has a happy home, with his beloved wife Moira, their two adopted sons, and a dog who’s a very good girl.

But Noah keeps a dark secret, shared only with his old friend Father Perry Cavanaugh. When he was just a boy, he was possessed by a demon – and it was only thanks to the exorcist priest that he survived.

Now, Noah works at the cutting edge of medical science and religion, researching the effects of spirituality on the brain. His current research study – The Enlightenment Project – promises breakthrough treatments for depression, addiction and mental illness, and preliminary results are astounding.

But after a late-night emergency surgery, Noah returns to his office to find Father Perry waiting for him, with a terrible warning. The Enlightenment Project may not be closing the door to the darkness at all . . . but instead letting it in.

Demonic possession is now a recognized psychiatric condition, and the number of exorcist priests in the US has quadrupled in the last decade. As well as being a thrilling read, THE ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT is an intelligent and fascinating view into the complex worlds of both the medical and the supernatural.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Lynn Hightower

megHan

Meghan: Hi, Lynn. Welcome to Meghan’s HAUNTED House of Books. It’s an absolute pleasure to have you here today. What is your favorite part of Halloween?

Lynn: Halloween is a family favorite. I love the delicious spooky aura, the costumes, and the candy.

Meghan: Do you get scared easily?

Lynn: No

Meghan: What is the scariest movie you’ve ever seen and why?

Lynn: The Haunting of Hill House – both versions, the oldest and the newest – because of the dark threatening presence that is unexplained and utterly malevolent.

Meghan: Which horror movie murder did you find the most disturbing?

Lynn: The original movie for Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The scene where the hero gets in the truck and finds all the people pods and realizes what has really been going on haunts me to this day.

Meghan: Is there a horror movie you refused to watch because the commercials scared you too much?

Lynn: No, I’m brave. If the story intrigues me, nothing will stop me from watching it.

Meghan: If you got trapped in one scary movie, which would you choose?

Lynn: A vampire movie set in turn of the century Paris.

Meghan: If you were stuck as the protagonist in any horror movie, which would you choose?

Lynn: The Conjuring so I could throw myself on the mercy of Ed and Lorraine Warren to get me out of the mess I was in.

Meghan: What is your all-time favorite scary monster or creature of the night?

Lynn: I always loved Barnabus Collins of Dark Shadows which was a thing when I was a little girl.

Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween tradition?

Lynn: Trick or Treat.

Meghan: What is your favorite horror or Halloween-themed song?

Lynn: Ghostbusters

Meghan: Which horror novel unsettled you the most?

Lynn: The Haunting of Hill House

Meghan: What is the creepiest thing that’s ever happened while you were alone?

Lynn: When I wrote The Piper, I was living in a haunted house and so all the stuff in the book I did not have to make up. That is not as good an idea as it sounds. We moved.

Meghan: Which unsolved mystery fascinates you the most?

Lynn: I love those mothman appearances that happened before the bridge collapsed and all o those people died. So mysterious.

Meghan: What is the spookiest ghost story that you have ever heard?

Lynn: The true life events behind The Conjuring.

Meghan: In a zombie apocalypse, what is your weapon of choice?

Lynn: Shotgun

Meghan: Now let’s have some fun. Would you rather get bitten by a vampire or a werewolf?

Lynn: Vampire

Meghan: Would you rather fight a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion?

Lynn: I can run faster than a zombie.

Meghan: Would you rather drink zombie juice or eat dead bodies from the graveyard?

Lynn: I’ll take a glass of red wine instead.

Meghan: Would you rather stay at the Poltergeist house or the Amityville house for a week?

Lynn: Poltergeist

Meghan: Would you rather chew on a bitter melon with chilies or maggot-infested cheese?

Lynn: Melon

Meghan: Would you rather drink from a witch’s cauldron or lick cotton candy made of spider webs?

Lynn: Pass on both. I have standards.

Boo-graphy: Lynn Hightower grew up in Kentucky, and graduated from the University of Kentucky, where she studied creative writing with Wendell Berry and earned a degree in Journalism. She also teaches novel writing in the Writer’s Program at UCLA. Survival jobs include writing television commercials, catering waitress, and bartender for one day.

Her books have been included in the New York Times List of Notable Books, the London Times Bestseller List, and the W.H. Smith Fresh Talent Awards. She has received the Shamus Award, and been nominated for the Kentucky Literary Award, the Kentucky Librarians First Choice Award, and the Mary Higgins Clark Award. Hightower’s books have been published in numerous foreign countries, including Great Britain, Australia, Japan, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Israel and The Netherlands.

Hightower spends ridiculous amounts of time curled up reading, but also enjoys small sports cars and tame horses. She is married to The Frenchman, writes full time, shares an office with her Belgian Shepherd, Leo the Lion, plays bad but fierce tennis, loves to dance and is learning to Tango.

Hightower enjoys canoeing and is witty after two glasses of wine. She has studied French and Italian, but is only fluent in Southern.

Hightower is a Kentucky native, and lives in a small Victorian cottage with a writing parlor.

Noah Archer is a renowned neurosurgeon, with an impressive success record. He has a happy home, with his beloved wife Moira, their two adopted sons, and a dog who’s a very good girl.

But Noah keeps a dark secret, shared only with his old friend Father Perry Cavanaugh. When he was just a boy, he was possessed by a demon – and it was only thanks to the exorcist priest that he survived.

Now, Noah works at the cutting edge of medical science and religion, researching the effects of spirituality on the brain. His current research study – The Enlightenment Project – promises breakthrough treatments for depression, addiction and mental illness, and preliminary results are astounding.

But after a late-night emergency surgery, Noah returns to his office to find Father Perry waiting for him, with a terrible warning. The Enlightenment Project may not be closing the door to the darkness at all . . . but instead letting it in.

Demonic possession is now a recognized psychiatric condition, and the number of exorcist priests in the US has quadrupled in the last decade. As well as being a thrilling read, THE ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT is an intelligent and fascinating view into the complex worlds of both the medical and the supernatural.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Cass Kay & Poppy Minnix

megHan

Meghan: Today we welcome Cass and Poppy to the blog. They have chosen, as podcasters tend to do, to record their answers to the interview. I do hope you enjoy. Ladies, take it away…

Punch Keys is a podcast offering writer support to keep you punching those keys! Novelists Cass Kay and Poppy Minnix chat over their triumphs and blunders of novel writing, writer tribes, navigating the industry, and embracing the voices that keep them up at night. Expect blunt, real talk about writing, why it can be so challenging, but also why punching the keys is worth every word.

Magic, zombies, and leprechauns: any of the three will get Cass’ attention. She’s a dark urban fantasy writer who loves to pull from history, blend in the weird, and sprinkle in deeper relationships of all flavors. Every writer has an arch nemesis and hers is plotting with spreadsheets, they’re the quickest way to send her running.

Cass started her writing career as a journalist in college who moonlighted as a stage actress. Now at home with her husband, two boys, and dog, she’s discovered fiction novel writing combines her two loves–the written word and creating characters.

When not staring at a computer screen, she’s often in the garden planting bulbs, has her nose in a book, or is watching Smallville with her family.

Poppy Minnix is a paranormal romance, contemporary romance, and sci-fi author. Her debut novel, My Song’s Curse, publishing under City Owl Press, won the Paranormal Romance category in the Toronto RWA chapter’s The Catherine Contest in 2018.

Before her fall into an utter obsession with writing, she was a conference manager and also dabbled in veterinary science, corporate sales, waitressing, and was captain of a roller derby team.

GUEST MOVIE REVIEW: Halloween Franchise

megHan

Halloween Film Reviews

The Halloween franchise has been frightening audiences for generations, beginning with John Carpenter’s 1978 classic, and leading to Halloween (2018). With two more films set for release: Halloween Kills (2021) and Halloween Ends (2022), it’s the perfect time to revisit the films and see what made them so special. And also, which ones don’t quite make the cut in terms of quality.

The following is a non-spoiler review and opinion of almost every Halloween film ever made, ranked in order of importance. I am omitting the Rob Zombie versions from this list because I have not seen them and cannot make an accurate judgment. Nor do I want to.

Halloween (1978): The granddaddy of slashers. Its status is cemented in popular culture for good reason. From the opening credits to the film’s iconic musical score, it induces a sense of dread at every turn. When we hear those infamous piano keys, we feel the danger looming, knowing Michael Meyers is close. We are introduced to Laurie Strode, played brilliantly by Jamie Lee Curtis, a comely high school student who is relegated to babysitting on Halloween while her friends are off partying. She becomes the accidental heroine by fending off Michael, and protecting the children while Dr. Loomis searches for his escaped mental patient.

In terms of quality, it is still the gold standard for the franchise and slasher films in general.

Five Stars.

Halloween II (1981): Although he wrote and co-produced Halloween’s second entry, John Carpenter passed the director’s chair to Rick Rosenthal. Halloween II picks up the moment the first film ends. After Dr. Loomis fires six shots into Michael, he disappears, leaving Loomis to continue his search. With Laurie seriously injured, she is transported to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital for treatment. Michael continues his rampage, following Laurie to the hospital to finish what he started.

Halloween II doesn’t quite capture the same magic as the original, but it’s a very worthy sequel that streamlines one film to the next.

Four Stars.

Halloween (2018): I’d have to put this above all the sequels that came before it. As far as canon, this new entry pretends that nothing exists past Halloween (1978), even excluding Halloween II for no other reason that I can see, than to keep the dynamic of Laurie and Michael mysterious, meaning they are no longer brother and sister…a trope that Carpenter introduced with the 1981 sequel.

It begins with two journalists visiting Smiths Grove Sanitarium in hopes of getting a face-to-face with Michael Myers, who, according to the new timeline, was captured before the events of Halloween II. He eventually escapes during transport and tracks down the journalists, retrieving his original mask in the process. He now has no other motive but to locate his non-sibling, Laurie Strode, who has been preparing for this moment her whole life, barricading herself into a cage of crazy and excluding everyone around her, including her daughter.

The end showdown is nothing short of amazing, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the lore come full circle.

Three and a half stars.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989): Although it blends with Halloween 4, I personally prefer this one for its darker atmosphere. Donald Pleasance reprises his role as Dr. Sam Loomis, protecting Jaime Lloyd (Danielle Harris), the daughter of Laurie Strode, from her murderous uncle. In this timeline, Laurie is dead, making it all the more confusing for modern moviegoers who are only familiar with the recent entries.

Halloween 4 and 5 are fun by themselves, but fail to move the franchise forward in significant ways.

Three Stars.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988): Some people will disagree that I put H5 ahead of H4, and in some ways, I understand. This entry rejuvenates the franchise, bringing back Myers as a central character, unlike the misdirection of Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

We are now introduced to Jamie Lloyd, Laurie’s daughter. After learning of Laurie’s demise, we understand that Michael is now stalking his niece, hoping to snuff the family bloodline.

Two and a Half Stars.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982): Michael Myers is nowhere to be found here. Halloween II was meant to be the last entry with Myers, leading to this new installment with the intent of extending Halloween lore in different directions. I personally like it, but it was a colossal flop, no one understood why it was called H3 when it departed from its previous “sequels” with no Shape to be found. It was intended to be an ongoing annual event, each year giving a new Halloween inspired theme, but unfortunately that never came to fruition. Go into it with an open mind, and you might enjoy it.

Three Stars.

Halloween H20 (1998): The year says it all. Twenty years later, this is the original Halloween (2018) forgetting H4 and H5 even exist. Laurie Strode is alive again, and she no longer has a daughter named Jamie Lloyd, she now has a son named John (Josh Hartnett) and is the headmistress of a private boarding school called Hillcrest Academy, where she has been hoping to avoid the inevitable confrontation with her brother. Her nightmares becomes a reality when Michael tracks her down, and a confrontation escalates.

This is Scream era, late ‘90s fare. If you enjoy this style, give it a shot.

Two Stars.

Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995): Before there was H20, the franchise gave one last crack at Michael’s existing reign. Paul Rudd is Tommy Jarvis, Pleasance is back as Loomis, and Michael is back as, well, himself. Donald Pleasance passed away during the filming, so the studio had to finish the film without him, and it shows. Some new lore is introduced here, in the form of something called Thorn. Hated it then, hate it now. But other than some side nonsense, it’s a fun watch if you don’t take it too seriously.

Two Stars.

Halloween Resurrection (2002): A sequel to H20 that wants to kill Laurie Strode within the first twenty minutes. I saw this in the theater and walked out immediately after said event. I’ve since seen it in its entirety and wished I hadn’t, citing temporary insanity as the cause. It revolves around a TV crew, showcasing their clichéd early 2000s internet broadcast that features a group of contestants spending a night in the Myers house. Surprise, Michael shows up. Busta Rhymes says, “Trick or treat, Motha Fu***,” and everything just sucks. Bottom of the barrel for me. Avoid it if you can.

One Star.

So there you have it, my loose reviews of the Halloween films. Let me know if you agree.

Cheers,
Phil Thomas

Boo-graphy:
Phil Thomas is an author and screenwriter from the suburbs of Philadelphia. He is a member of the International Association of Professional Writers & Editors and The Horror Writers Association. He is also the former co-host of What Are You Afraid Of? a weekly horror and paranormal show that lasted for over 150 episodes. The show still airs on Para-X radio on Friday evenings at 9:00 pm, where you’ll find interviews with wonderful guests such as Lloyd Kaufman, Katrina Weidman, Joe R. Lansdale, Grady Hendrix, Greg Bear, Daniel Kraus, and many more.

Check out his website and sign up for his mailing list so he can further control your mind, and please direct your angry hate mail to him here. You can stalk him on Twitter and Facebook.

His short stories have been featured in several anthologies, including Monsterthology 2, Nightside: Tales of Outré Noir, Coming Through in Waves: Crime Fiction inspired by the Songs of Pink Floyd, Books of Horror: Volume 3, Part 2, and the upcoming collection, Seven Doors of Fate, set to release in 2023.

His debut novel, The Poe Predicament, was published by Foundations Books on October 4, 2021 and hit the bestseller list.

Stuck in another time, Richard Langley just wants to find his way back home.

Richard is a former college professor, wandering a local neighborhood bookstore, where he stumbles upon the find of a lifetime: a signed copy of Tamerlane and other poems.

He is soon swept to another era. He is alone, confused, and his only mission is to get back to where he came from.

While struggling to adapt to his nineteenth-century environment, Richard meets a man he must help exonerate from false accusations in order to restore history’s original timeline and, ultimately, find his way back.

What Richard did not count on, was that man being the owner of the signature—Edgar Allan Poe.