Tristan Robert Lange

Poet | Mystic | Existential Voice | Human with a haunted halo

Tristan Robert Lange is a poet whose work blends existential depth, gothic imagery, and spiritual subtext. This site is home to their published poems, reflections, and creative journey.

Devilishly Dreadful: The Wild Kids of America; or, The Children of Fright

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Victorian woodcut engraving of runaway youths huddled in a dark underground storm drain, looking up through an iron street grate into a rainy alley with glowing gas lamps. The kids wear dark coats and hoodies, illuminated by the cyan light of smartphones and a laptop. Dense black crosshatching and dramatic shadows throughout. Tittu signature bottom left, tristanrobertlange.com at bottom center, TRL seal bottom right.
Image: AI-generated using Gemini and modified by the author; Poetry: written by Tristan Robert Lange, Human-authored.
Listen to the dramatization of Devilishly Dreadful: The Wild Kids of America; or, The Children of Fright

CONTENT WARNING
This tale contains strong language, disturbing themes, and graphic violence. Reader discretion is advised.

We run through the dark streets in ev’ry town,
Through the alleys, sewers—our homes underground—
Away from the coppers looking to grab us,
Take us all away, tie us, leave us bound.

We’re faster than them.
And we love mayhem.

They come for us all—
We’re not gonna fall—

We’re more than they realize.

We span creed and class and even ages—
Races—children from all over the place;
The beginnings, our quick separation
From our immigrant parents—gone—no trace.

Put within cages,
Our fury rages;

We creep through the streets,
Ev’ry night this repeats.

Far more than they realize.

They forget we’re in the age of the web;
We exist like ghosts beyond the dank streets,
Recruiting numbers in every kid’s room.
Our reach goes past the bedroom and the sheets.

What does your kid do?
Do you think they’re true?

Where’d that wallet go?
Think again—you know

Way more than you realize.

We’re scaling up on the good kid ladder,
We’re homeless, yet within ev’ry home;
We know your ev’ry move—we’ll come for you—
Think you can run? Well, we’ve stolen your chrome.

No cars to flee with;
Mister, we’re not myth.

You can scream tonight,
We love to hear fright

Much more than you realize.

Nobody likes a knife put to their throat—
The pain can be felt before there’s a slice—
But know this, Mister fucking President,
We kids right here have stopped being so nice.

Vice President—here—
Is shaking in fear.

See, it’s him we’ve framed,
For your death, he’s blamed;

And, no, they won’t realize.

They won’t know what hit them or why you’re dead,
“What’s come of this country,” they’ll all decry,
They will seek out any conspirators,
As old Vicey here is about to die.

Yet we know your codes—
All of this forebodes

Bad for your country;
They’ll all gain entry,

Once they all realize.

POET’S NOTE:
This is the sixth part of Season 2 in my series, Devilishly Dreadful.

For Macabre Monday. Inspired by The Wild Boys of London; or, The Children of Night, this Ghostly Gallop reimagines the penny dreadful’s urban child-gang panic through the horrors of family separation, deportation, broken foster systems, and a country that creates its own monsters before pretending not to recognize them.

© 2026 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.

Tristan Robert Lange's handwritten signature: Tittu.

Tomorrow, Macabre Monday

Devilishly Dreadful:

Valentine’s Voice

Monday, October 26, 2026
Square Victorian Gothic illustration of a terrified gentleman in a dim study, covering his mouth and raising his hand defensively. A towering, top-hatted shadow with clawlike fingers looms behind him. An oil lamp illuminates books, papers, and an inkwell. Tristan Robert Lange's website and author insignias appear along the bottom.
Image: AI-generated using DALL-E and modified by the author; Poetry: written by Tristan Robert Lange, Human-authored.

Now Available

Devilishly Dreadful: A Macabre Monday Series, Season 1 on Vinyl

Perfect spooky Halloween entertainment for age-appropriate family and friends. Recommended for ages 16+

Devilishly Dreadful: A Macabre Monday Series, Season 1 on Vinyl.

https://elasticstage.com/soundcloud/releases/tristan-robert-lange-devilishly-dreadful-a-macabre-monday-series-album

Coming Soon

Gothic promotional artwork for Annabel Lee by Tristan Robert Lange, performed by Appalachian Virtual Ensemble. Inside a ruined stone cathedral, a grand piano stands beneath towering Gothic arches beside a pipe organ and a cello. White roses and creeping vines adorn the crumbling architecture. Through the central archway, a full moon illuminates a turbulent sea and a distant structure on a rocky cliff. The title Annabel Lee appears in luminous white script across the center, with the composer's name above and Appalachian Virtual Ensemble below.
Annabel Lee | Original Composition by Tristan Robert Lange | Appalachian Virtual Ensemble | October 23, 2026.

© 2026 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.

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Tristan Robert Lange
Hi, I’m Tristan Robert Lange — a poet who writes at the crossroads of existentialism, emotional depth, societal critique, and the gothic. My work often journeys into the human psyche, weaving dark and atmospheric imagery with profound emotional insight. I draw inspiration from literary voices such as Edgar Allan Poe, Jim Morrison, Charles Baudelaire, Sylvia Plath, Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker, among others. Their influence fuels my pursuit of vivid imagery and unflinching exploration of the macabre, the mysterious, and the sacred-in-subtext. My poetry is both confessional and visionary, haunted and haloed, carrying the weight of suffering but always straining toward transcendence.

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