Halloween Poems

The Apparition John Donne (from Songs and Sonnets, 1633)

When by thy scorn, O murdreuses, I am dead Thou callst for more,
And that thou thinkst thee free And in false sleep will from thee
shrink;
From all solicitation from me, And then, poor aspen wretch,
neglected thou
Then shall my ghost come to thy bed, athd in a cold !uicksil"er sweat wilt
lie
And thee, feignd "estal, in worse arms shall see; A "erier ghost than I#
Then thy sick taper will begin to wink, What I will say, I will not tell thee now,
And he, whose thou art then, being tird before, $est that preser"e thee; and
since my lo"e is spent,
Will, if thou stir, or pinch to wake him, think Ihad rather thou shoulst painfully
repent,
Than by my threatnings rest still innocent#
The Hag Robert Herrick (16!)
The %ag is astride, &o east, for his food,
This night for to ride; 'ares now range the wood;
The 'e"ill and shee together( ut husht in his laire he lies lurking(
Through thick, and through thin, While mischiefs, by these#
&ow out, and then in, On $and and on )eas,
Though ner so foule be the weather# At noon of &ight are working,
A Thorn or a urr The storme will arise,
)he takes for a )purre( And trouble the skies;
With a lash of a ramble she rides now, This night, and more for the
wonder,
Through rakes and through ryars, This ghost from the Tomb
Ore 'itches, and *ires, Alfrighted shall come,
)he followes the )pirit that guides now# +ald out by the clap of the
Thuder#
Halloween ("ora #a$ Preble)
I,m not afraid on %alloween I do not fear a single thing
ecause my *other said On %alloween you see,
I should not fear those funny things ecause I know they really are
ut laugh at them instead# &ot what they seem to be#
For orange faces in the night For ghosts and goblins, witches,
spooks,
That stare with eyes so wide, And other scary folks
Are only pumpkins on a porch We hear about on %alloween
With candlelight inside# Are really only -okes#
And there are no such things as ghosts # # #
Those .gures shining white,
Are only children -ust like me
Wrapped up in sheets so tight#
If You've Never (%lsie #elchert &owler)
If you,"e ne"er seen an old witch If you"e ne"er heard the night owls,
/iding through the sky00 +rying, 1Whoo0whoo0whoo23
Or ne"er felt big bat,s wings And ne"er -umped at pumpkin eyes
Flopping, as they 4y00 5leaming out at you00
If you,"e ne"er touched a white thing If all of these e6citing things
5liding through the air, 7ou"e ne"er heard or seen,
And knew it was a ghost because Why then8you"e missed a lot of fun,
7ou got a dreadful scare00 ecause 9 thats %A$$OW::&;
This is Halloween (Doroth$ 'rown (hom)son)
5oblins on the doorstep, Whirling apple parings,
<hantoms in the air, Figures draped in sheets,
Owls on witches, gate posts, 'odging, disappearing,
5i"ing stare for stare# =p and down the streets#
+ats on 4ying broomsticks, >ack0o0lanterns grinning,
ats against the moon, )hadows on a screen,
)tirring round of fate0cakes, )hrieks and starts and laughter00
With a solemn spoon# This is %alloween;
Halloween (* Dean &arnell)
)omething,s watching you this %alloween 'ont go out alone this %alloween#
)omeone,s watching you this %alloween# Walk around alone this %alloween#
$ate at night don,t cut across the park Turn around an you may get a fright
)omeone could be waiting in the dark# )omething e"ils lurking in the night#
'on,t go knocking on doors this %alloween# 'ont go watching .lms like
%alloween#
If you knock on doors this %alloween If you watch a .lm like %alloween
)caring strangers in your creepy masks It could scare you out of your
wits
7our trick or treating games may be your last# Then haunt you on this night of
the witch#
5et a fright on %alloween
On this night of %alloween
Anything will make you scream
On this night of %alloween#
Creepy (* Dean &arnell)
ats are creepy Fog is creepy
/ats are creepy *ist is creepy
+ats are creepy too The moors are creepy too
All out in the dead of night &ot knowing what is out there
Their eyes are watching you# +an really frighten you#
irds are creepy 'olls are creepy
ugs are creepy *asks are creepy
Trees are creepy too +lowns are creepy too
A wood that,s empty,s also creepy Im sure you"e got a hidden fear
With owls that t,wit t,woo# that puts the creeps up you#
Thunders creepy
$ightnings creepy
Wind is creepy too
The loneliness of outer space
would put the creeps in you#
Who Will Trick-or-Treat With Me
The .rst year she was a pumpkin %er si6th year, she was all in pink
and she donned a bright orange smock# <rotecting us all from danger,
%er daddy took her trick0or0treating, as she kicked and 1karate0chopped3
the air
though she had not learned to walk# as 1?imberly, The <ower /anger#3
The ne6t year she was a bunny When she was se"en, she wore a
yellow gown#
and on one leg, she would hop )he was 1eauty,3 to say the least,
while her left ear stood up straight insisting that her little sister,
and the right would swing and 4op# by default, was the 1east#3
Then a bride costume from 5randpa; In my heart I knew the time would
come;
a long skirt and lacy blouse, and this year our walk together ends#
but she tripped o"er the train # # # )he said, 1its not cool for mom to go;
so daddy carried her to each house# I want to walk with all my friends#3
The fourth year brought us $ion ?ing )o, Im .guring out what I will say;
and she roared both day and night# rehearsing one e6cuse after another,
)he was either 1)imba3 or was 1&ala#3 in case she notices the 1ghost3 behind
her
@I ne"er could get that right;A walks a little bit like her mother;
The ne6t %alloween as she got dressed, And I still ha"e %alloweens to
come;
she -ust kept on asking why00 my other daughter is only three#
if she was indeed B)upergirl,B What worries me is # # # when she
grows up,
why then could she not 4y2 who will trick or treat with me2
No Tricks - !ust Treats" (* +,1+ -race #andr$, .sed with )ermission)
It,s %alloween 0 and the sounds are frightening The children dont run 9 They"e
no reason to hide
With cats and bats 0 and thunder and lightening They an6iously knock and await
whats inside
With moans and groans and screeches and growls They know that their bounty will be a
real treat
)creams and shouts, and shrill shrieks and howls As they watch their bags .ll up with
candy and sweets
7et children in costumes still playfully trot
From house to house and block to block
&ot fearing the spirits, translucent in 4ight
Or the Bghoulies and ghosties,B which glow in the night
#evil's Night
'on,t go out on 'e"il,s &ight# <lease heed my words, stay under the
co"ers,
)tay in your bed and keep on the light# and tell your friends and your sisters,
$ittle demons and ghouls ha"e their fun all right, and of course your brothers#
outside on the streets this 'e"il,s &ight# )tay in bed, dont e"en peek
through the shutters,
Ccause a goblin or ghost may spook you to
stutters#
7ou don,t want to know
what mischief they cause# >ust wait until daybreak on %alloween
'ay,
On %alloween :"e they run without pause, when you know all the ghouls and
ghosts are away#
4ying and laughing, and breaking the laws, They hate the daylight, 1its no fun,3
they say#
you really don,t want to see the mischief they,"e caused# )o -ust please, please wait
to Trick or Treat on %alloween 'ay#
Haunte$ House
There,s a house upon the hilltop The demons there are whirling
we will not go inside, and the spirits swirl about#
For that is where the witches li"e, They sing their songs to %alloween#
Where ghosts and goblins hide# 1+ome -oint the fun,3 they shout#
Tonight they ha"e their party, ut we do not want to go there,
All the lights are burning bright, so we run with all our might
ut oh we will not go inside And oh we will not go inside
The haunted house tonight# The haunted house tonight#
The %o&lin
There,s a goblin as green I answered, 1&o thank you,
as a goblin can be# now please, go away;3
Who is sitting outside ut the goblin as green
and is waiting for me# as a goblin can be#
When he knocked on my door Is still sitting outside
and said softly, B+ome play;B and is waiting for me#
witch 'ong of the Witches witch (/illiam Shakes)eare 0 from #acbeth)
'ouble, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble#
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
:ye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder,s fork and bling0worms sting,
$iDard,s leg and howlet,s wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
$ike a hell0broth boil and bubble#
'ouble, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble#
+ool it with a baboon,s blood,
Then the charm is .rm and good#