There have been accounts and stories of people attempting the following. As it is a traditional song that suffers from an anonymous author, people have generally assumed that it is more than a poem and instead is a list of instructions to direct someone on a journey to a realm called "The Further". As by now you've probably guessed, this possibly ancient rhyme was the inspiration for the film Insidious. I'm sure there has been debate as to what the Further is, I personally believe that it is the venturer's own personal Hell and it is curiosity and foolhardiness that leads one there. The author describes "thick yellow smoke, hideous thoughts and bodiless eyes". Believe what you will and try what you want, unfortunately copies of the poem seem scarce on the internet, so I share my copy with you. Enjoy adventurers.
Into the Further You Go:
To start your venture into the fray, first you settle at the end of the day
plead to prepare you for what you may see.
You thank Him for placing the fruits on the tree
and as the ticking takes you further below,
into the Further you go.
You light your home with a single flame
to guide you out and far from declaim.
Away from the smoke and what you may see,
to flee back to safety, the light is the key
and as the ticking takes you further below
Into the Further you go.
Close your eyes and sharpen your mind for
all weariness you leave behind,
any links to love and the world must be shed
for what lies below longs to hide in your head
and as the ticking takes you further below
into the Further you go.
Meditate for an hour and a second
keep your mind here and refrain from flection.
Contemplate the Further and what you may see.
Let your mind open and your soul will be free
and as the ticking takes you further below
into the Further you go.
As you steady in this state
explore and venture but do not wait
for any company you decided to stem.
Go on without, in Here you can’t see them.
And as the ticking takes you further below
into the Further you go.
Take the candle you lit before
and venture out of the nearest door
your sanctuary has gone and your home disappeared.
Welcome to the Further and all that you’ve feared.
And as the ticking takes you further below
into the Further you go.
Normality now is to see blinking red lights,
near and around you in the curling rise
of yellow smoke and fog you were sure
definitely was not there before
and as the ticking takes you further below
Into the Further you go.
Your ears and the eternal night play tricks
that the faucet overflows with the waters of Styx.
The reddest lights continue to gore
as the smoke leads you to the front of His door.
And as the ticking takes you further below
deeper into the Further you go.
A warning to all adventurers beware,
the bodiless eyes bid a scarlet glare
to alert that you’re here to their invisible peers.
Behind its door, their warnings He hears
and as the ticking takes you further below
deeper into the Further you go.
If you grow scared your journey must stop
the Further comes alive to bargain a swap
of their empty blackness for your beating heart
go in through the door for the end to start
and as the ticking takes you further below
Deeper into the Further you go.
On the other side of the gated way
the flames of Hell much further away,
hideous thoughts and smells abound
their faces spin around and around
and as the ticking takes you further below
deeper into the Further you go.
They stare out at you from a single frame
their mouths moving quietly and uttering blame
and hate for you and all that you’ve done
you’ll feel to end, your mind will run.
I counted three the time I went.
In a tall mirror their faces bent
and curved around like a painted frown
that one could find on the face of a clown.
These are the faces of the people you’ve lost.
The ones you envisioned and the ones that cost
you heartache and longing for months on end
your thoughts of goodbye up to Heaven you’d send.
But no, here they are they swirl in the mirror
down in the Further, life becomes dearer
than anything that could’ve sparked the idea
to share a midnight somewhere but here.
In front of the glass you lose your mind
crouched in the dark the door behind
you’ll hear it slam shut regardless of luck.
Inside the Further you’re stuck.
