Thirteen Spooky Poems for Samhain

Samhain night is a great time to sit around a fire telling spooky stories. Check out this witch's dozen of classic scary poems to read, either alone or out loud. Some are for adults, some for kids, but all are worth reading at Samhain!

Edgar Allen Poe, "The Raven"

First published in 1845, this is the classic poem of fear and terror. The narrator never tells us why there's a raven on his threshhold, but a few stanzas in we begin to realize it has to do with his lost love, the mourned Lenore. By the time we reach the end, the narrator is well on his way to madness, driven there by the "stately Raven of the saintly days of yore." For those of us who enjoy a slightly sillier version of our spookiness, watch the original Simpsons Treehouse of Horror (1990), which features Bart sqwawking "Eat my shorts!" at an enraged Homer.

Edgar Allen Poe, "Annabel Lee"

A classic bit of Poe, relating the tale of lost and doomed lovers, and the wind that "came out of the cloud, chilling and killing my Annabel Lee." By the final stanza, you'll be chilled too!

Traditional ballad, "Tam Lin"

First written down by James Francis Child in 1729, the tale of Tam Lin has been around for centuries. Young Tam Lin finds himself out on Halloween, and drawn into the arms of the Queen of the Fae in her seductive green mantle.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"

A wedding guest meets an old sailor, and finds himself the recipient of this scary narrative, originally written in 1798. Coleridge's ancient mariner relates the tale of what happened to the men of a doomed ship, and hopes to find absolution for himself in the telling of the story.

Robert Burns, "Halloween"

Burns' Scottish dialect may be hard to translate for some readers, but if you take the time to figure out the story, it's well worth it. The family in the poem particpates in some traditional Halloween customs, including divination and the pulling of oats for a blessing.

William Shakespeare, Witches Spell Scene from "Macbeth"

"Double, double, toil and trouble" is the classic line from Shakespeare's MacBeth, written in 1606. A veritable grocery list of vile spell ingredients, this is great fun to read aloud on a dark and windy night. For a bit of extra fun, read it as your little ones are doing inventory of their Halloween loot bags.

Jack Prelutsky, "It's Halloween!"

Fun and silly, this is typical Prelutsky poetry that your little witchlets are sure to enjoy.

Robert Frost, "Ghost House"

Written in classic Frost style, this poem evokes the feeling we've all gotten at one point or another, looking at an empty home site, or a field where nothing remains but the mists.

Lord Byron, "Darkness"

In 1816, young George Gordon Lord Byron wrote this eerie tale of despair and sadness in which humanity and mankind itself are defeated by the things that lurk in the dark.

Percy Bysshe Shelley, "A Lament"

While his wife was busily penning Frankenstein, Percy Bysshe Shelley was scribbling away at poems of sadness and woe. Composed in 1821, the year before his death, A Lament is a simple yet sad acknowledgement of our own mortality.

Emily Dickinson, "Because I Could Not Stop For Death"

One of Dickinson's most evocative works, this poem takes us for a carriage ride with Death himself.

John Donne, "The Apparition"

A spooky, scary poem of murder and vengeance from beyond the grave!

Edna St. Vincent Millay, "The Little Ghost"

This sweet poem tells the tale of a harmless, enchanting spirit bedecked in lace and ruffles. It's a good one to read the kids, too.