"The River of Dread" is a masterful piece of horror poetry that uses striking imagery and sound…

The poem is rich with dark imagery: "ghostly valleys," "dismal forests," fish with "scales like night," and trees with "twisted limbs, like…

"The River of Dread" is a masterful piece of horror poetry that uses striking imagery and sound devices to create a palpable sense of unease and fear in the reader. It reminds us that even familiar elements of nature can become terrifying when viewed through the lens of the supernatural or the psychologically disturbed.

The poem is rich with dark imagery: "ghostly valleys," "dismal forests," fish with "scales like night," and trees with "twisted limbs, like a devil's snare." These descriptions build an oppressive, foreboding atmosphere that permeates the entire piece.

Dr Benskin employs personification effectively, giving the river agency as it "tore its path" and "carried anxiety." This technique amplifies the sense of the landscape being alive and malevolent.