Scary Halloween Poems for Little Goblins
Yvonne, a retired teacher/librarian, has written many multi-skilled thematic units and book recommendations for elementary school children.
Black Star stares as if to cast a spell.
naturegirl7 on Zazzle
Spooky Poetry Books for Read Alouds
One of the most thrilling parts of Halloween is to sit in a darkened room lit by candlelight or a jack-o-lantern and listen to ghost stories and scary poems. I've always been partial to the spooky poem books.
My favorite poetry books of scary poems for older children (fourth grade and tweens) are Jack Prelutsky's, Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep and The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight: More Poems to Trouble Your Sleep.
A good one for children, third grade and older is Halloween Poems, selected by Myra Cohn Livingston. Another old favorite, that is no longer readily available in new condition, is Witch Poems, edited by Daisy Wallace and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. But there are many used copies around and there's always the public library.
For the wee ones, I recommend Who Said Boo? Halloween Poems for the Very Young written by Nancy White Carlstrom. This darling book is a very UNscary collection of poems for small children.
There's nothing like a spooky poem to get the blood flowing and make a Halloween night even spookier. The following books are guaranteed to entertain tween audiences with tales, written in verse, of monsters and other fantastic creatures.
I picked out some of my favorite poems and added some Youtube recordings of select poems to give you a hint of what's in these spooky books.
Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep by Jack Prelutsky
Jack Prelutsky's poetry books for children are classics. Just the thing for spooky read alouds by candlelight. These also might inspire young poets to create some spooky rhymes of their own and could be the jumping off point for a creative writing thematic unit.
Around Halloween, I read Prelutsky's Nightmares and the Headless Horsemen books to the fourth and fifth graders when I was a school librarian. I usually dressed as a witch, lit the Jack-o-lantern and turned the lights down low to set the scene.
The Vampire
from Nightmares
"The night is still and somber,
and in the murky gloom,
arisen from his slumber,
the vampire leaves his tomb..."
The Werewolf
from Nightmares
"The full moon glows, foreboding
and I quake from head to feet
for this night I know, in the town below,
the werewolf prowls the street..."
Night's Creatures
Vampire and werewolves on the night of the full moon.
The Wizard
from Nightmares
"The wizard, watchful, waits alone
within his tower of cold gray stone
and ponders in his wicked way
what evil deeds he'll do this day..."
Wizard in Black
Headless Horseman Rides Tonight: More Poems to Trouble Your Sleep - Jack Prelutsky
The More book is also good for those scary read aloud sessions.
The Mummy
from Headless Horsman Rides Tonight
"In the darkness of a sepulcher
beneath the shifting sands,
the mummy stirs within its sheath
of rotten linen bands...."
The Zombie
from Headless Horsman Rides Tonight
"Upon your bed you sleep in pain
for nightmares whirl within you brain.
You waken with a fearful start
as horror grips your heart.
You sense a presence standing there,
then all at once it meets your stare.
A zombie waits within your room
and with it dwells your doom..."
The Sorceress
from Headless Horsman Rides Tonight
"In flowing dress
the sorceress
begins her evil toil.
She stirs her vat
of filth and fat
and sees it seethe and boil..."
Headless Horseman
from Headless Horsman Rides Tonight
"The headless horseman rides tonight
through stark and starless skies.
Shattering the silence
with his otherworldly cries,
he races through the darkness
on his alabaster steed.
The headless horseman rides tonight
wherever the fates would lead..."
Scary Stories and Poems
Halloween Poems - Selected by Myra Cohn Livingston
This is a delightful collection of slightly scary, sort of funny little poems by many different authors. Middle elementary children would enjoy writing some patterned after the ones in this collection. It might also inspire them to read other works by the poets featured here.
Skeleton (From Halloween Poems)
by Lee Bartlett
Tink, plonk, konkle;
Midnight
Wind-chime;
Clinking, clanking, dancing
To the
Tonkle, plink, konk
Of its
Own
Hollow,
Dangling
Bones.
Public domain
Witch Poems - Selected by Daisy Wallace
This wonderful, very slightly scary collection of poems about witches is illustrated by the renowned, artist Trina Schart Hyman. One of my favorite poems is In the Witches Kitchens.
These would be fun for the children to copy and illustrate to be displayed on a thematic bulletin board or in a class booklet.
Witch Poems - List of Poems
Witches' Spells: Miss Trust's Incantation by Lyman Frank Baum
Witches' Spells: Mounting Their Broomsticks by Lyman Frank Baum
Witches' Spells: To Make Their Enchanted Horses Fly ... by Lyman Frank Baum
Witches' Spells: To Raise A Wind by Lyman Frank Baum
Chanson Innocente: 2, Fr. Tulips by Edward Estlin Cummings
The Witch! The Witch! by Eleanor Farjeon
Poison Ivy! by Katherine Gallagher
Curses! First Witch by Michael Patrick Hearn
Curses! Second Witch by Michael Patrick Hearn
Wicked Witch's Kitchen by X. J. Kennedy
Witch Baseball by Steven Kroll
The Witches' Ride by Karla Kuskin
Witch Goes Shopping by Lilian Moore
Witches' Menus by Sonja Nikolay
The Wee Woolly Witchie Of Whistlewood Way by Jack Prelutsky
Wild Witches' Ball by Jack Prelutsky
A Short Litany by Anonymous
Wicked Witch's Kitchen
by X.J. Kennedy
from Witch Poems
"You're in the mood for freaky food?
You feel your taste buds itchin'
For nice fresh poison ivy greens?
Try Wicked Witch's kitchen!..."
Witches' Menu
Sonja Nickolay
from Witch Poems
"Live lizard, dead lizard
Marinated, fried.
Poached lizard, pickled lizard
Salty lizard hide..."
Y.L. Bordelon
Who Said Boo? Halloween Poems for the Very Young
Very UNscary Poems
Who Said Boo is a colorful book that is a perfect read aloud for the little ones on Halloween. Nothing scary here, just nice little rhymes that wouldn't scare a fly. Many of these little poems lend themselves to role playing and acting out.
On Halloween Night
by Nancy White Carlstrom
"This is the way the cat walks
pit pat, pit pat
This is the way the cat walks
On Halloween night..."
© 2010 Yvonne L B
Tell us a spooky tale or just say BOO!
anonymous on November 05, 2012:
@magentaxbanana: your no the onlyone
RaintreeAnnie from UK on October 31, 2012:
Spooky!! Love these Halloween poems.
MJ Martin aka Ruby H Rose from Washington State on October 25, 2012:
great boo stories, love em, thanks
magentaxbanana on October 10, 2012:
I love these. (:
LucyMac LM on September 30, 2012:
I liked some of the poems here.
anonymous on September 26, 2012:
im scared
Joan Haines on October 08, 2011:
Boo!
emmaklarkins on October 02, 2011:
Perfectly spooky! Blessed :)
anonymous on September 28, 2011:
WOW! You spelled scary e-x-q-u-i-s-i-t-e. I like this lens.
Beepopalula on June 26, 2011:
I like the headless horseman. Cool lens !
SeaSerpent on October 27, 2010:
Beautiful.
WorldVisionary on October 10, 2010:
Loved this lens - the photos are great!
bdkz on August 13, 2010:
Congratulations! You've been SquidBoo Blasted. Happy Halloween!
Robin S from USA on August 13, 2010:
Excellent choices!
