Bats are small furry creatures that chomp on insects while
flying through the air with the greatest of ease...Their sharp
little fangs gave birth to vampire lore in different parts of
the world. Ever heard of a vampire bat? *shudder* (scared
myself again :)
Bat Facts
A bat is born naked and blind and pale.
His mother makes a pocket of her tail and catches him.
He clings to her long fur by his thumbs and toes and teeth.
And then the mother dances through the night doubling and looping,
soaring, somersaulting - Her baby hangs on underneath.
All night, in happiness, she hunts and flies. Her high sharp cries
like shining needlepoints of sound go out into the night and,
echoing back, tell her what they have touched.
She hears how far it is, how big it is, which way it's going:
She lives by hearing.
The mother eats the moths and gnats she catches in full flight;
in full flight the mother drinks the water of the pond she skims
across.
Har baby hangs on tight.
Her baby drinks the milk she makes him in moonlight or starlight,
in mid-air.
Their single shadow, printed on the moon or fluttering across
the stars, whirls on all night; at daybreak the tired mother flaps
home to her rafter.
The others are all there.
They hang themselves up by their toes, they wrap themselves in
their brown wings.
Bunched upside down, they sleep in air. Their sharp ears, their
sharp teeth, their quick sharp faces are dull and slow and mild.
All the bright day, as the mother sleeps, she folds her wings
about her sleeping child.
Remember: Never disturb a hibernating bat! Bats load up on
all the calories they need to survive the winter during the spring,
summer and fall. Just the few minutes it takes for a bat to wake
early from hibernation can burn all of it's energy, and it would
surely starve. Even bats deserve a life!
A few other things I noticed:
Bats are usually found nesting in haunted houses or caves or
flying with witches.
Maybe this is because both witches and bats are night creatures?
No one has ever turned into a vampire because they were bitten
by a bat, except in folklore.
How come owls don't have bad reps? They hang out at night too...
A really cool Halloween website can be found here
Here's a little poem I wrote for my guests:
The gig is up, the friends are here
They all came hither from their crypt
All mighty fanged, all big lipped
To exchange their story with a peer
In this corner stands a creature
Black flowing cape, large red eyes
A well muscled man of exceptional size
Big teeth are his primary feature
Here stands a man of extraordinary girth
Friend of the children, afraid of fire
He tries very hard but gets stuck in the mire
Human and yet not, for he had no birth
The next man-thing is known by his fangs
Soft silky fur, superhuman strength
He's not too friendly (personality stinks)
He sends his victims out with a bang
The next guy is decked out in all his own duds
He shuffles and limps, drops balls of dirt
He snatches pretty women, but doesn't mean to flirt
He could make good use of a pile of suds
This shape changing dude hangs out in the dark
Movie theatres and department stores are his best
Watch out for muggers you meet in the park
But he's most famous for eating up pests
I guess there's little to say about man-made beasts
Godzilla, Rodan, all other creatures we know
Most of them seem to take a back seat
To rest in between wrecking Tokyo
Halloween
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