Halloween poems for kids are a wonderful way to bring spooky fun and creativity into the festive season. Through playful rhymes about pumpkins, ghosts, and friendly witches, children can explore language, rhythm, and imagination while enjoying the magic of Halloween. In this article, you will discover 22 plus fun and easy-to-read Halloween poems, perfect for both classrooms and home activities. From cheerful ghosts to dancing skeletons, each verse captures the joyful, lighthearted spirit of Halloween that kids will love.
20+ Halloween poems for kids
Get ready to explore over twenty delightful Halloween poems for kids that mix spooky fun with creativity, laughter, and a touch of Halloween magic.
1. Theme In Yellow – By Carl Sandburg
I spot the hills
With yellow balls in autumn.
I light the prairie cornfields
Orange and tawny gold clusters
And I am called pumpkins.
On the last of October
When dusk is fallen
Children join hands
And circle round me
Singing ghost songs
And love to the harvest moon;
I am a jack-o’-lantern
With terrible teeth
And the children know
I am fooling.
2. Mystic Magination Night! – By Patricia L. Cisco
On one mystic, magic night,
Jack O Lanterns glowing bright,
kids with bags of candy sweet,
roam door to door and street to street,
all dressed up for trick or treat!
Wizards with wands, pirates with hooks,
monsters and clowns with spooky looks,
kings and queens with capes and crowns,
a princess in her royal gown,
witches with warts and fairies with wings
movies stars with sparkling rings,
vampires with fangs that bite,
ghost that boo all dressed in white.
Imaginations taken flight,
on that one mystic, magic night.
Oh, the fun of Halloween,
be young or old or in between!
3. A Vampire Bit My Neck Last Night – By Kenn Nesbitt
A vampire bit my neck last night.
And, though it sounds insane,
some zombies chased me down the street
and tried to eat my brain.
A mummy shambled after me.
Godzilla stomped my face.
I nearly I got abducted by
an alien from space.
When Frankenstein attacked me
I escaped, but then almost
got tackled by a skeleton,
a werewolf, and a ghost.
A slimy blob engulfed me.
Then I woke up with a scream.
I’ve never been so overjoyed
to wake up from a dream.
Last night I learned a lesson;
if you want to keep your head,
don’t watch a scary movie
right before you go to bed.
4. “Haunted Houses” – by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
We meet them at the door-way, on the stair,
Along the passages they come and go,
Impalpable impressions on the air,
A sense of something moving to and fro.
There are more guests at table than the hosts
Invited; the illuminated hall
Is thronged with quiet, inoffensive ghosts,
As silent as the pictures on the wall.
The stranger at my fireside cannot see
The forms I see, nor hear the sounds I hear;
He but perceives what is; while unto me
All that has been is visible and clear.
5. Haunted House Inventory – By Julie Anna Douglas
Wooden door; wide and creaky.
Sculking cat; snide and sneaky.
Skeletons; cold and clanky.
Madame Witch; old and cranky.
Ancient paintings; strange and spooky.
Watching eyes; crazed and looky.
Blackest bat; fast and flappy.
Venus Flytrap; mighty snappy.
Wailing ghosts; always moany.
Piano playing on its owny.
Time to go! Scream and shouty!
Read the sign – ‘No Way Out-y!’
6. A Quick Chant For Keeping You Safe At Halloween – By Mary Green
Hobgoblins and spellbinders,
Angels in rags,
Liar or truthteller,
Lacewitch or hag.
Over the gristle bones
Warlocks fights,
Earwigs are flying with
Elfin and sprite.
Now keep me safe this Halloween night!
7. “The Spectral Horseman” – by Percy Bysshe Shelley
It was not a fiend from the regions of Hell
That poured its low moan on the stillness of night:
It was not a ghost of the guilty dead,
Nor a yelling vampire reeking with gore;
But aye at the close of seven years’ end,
That voice is mixed with the swell of the storm,
And aye at the close of seven years’ end,
A shapeless shadow that sleeps on the hill
Awakens and floats on the mist of the heath.
8. “The Tyger” – by William Blake
When the stars threw down their spears
And water’d heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
9. Song Of The Witches – By William Shakespeare
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg and howlet’s wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Cool it with a baboon’s blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.
By the pricking of my thumbs
Something wicked this way comes.
10. The Spider And The Fly – By Mary Howitt
“Will you walk into my parlour?”
said the spider to the fly;
“Tis the prettiest little parlour that you ever did spy.
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I have many curious things to show when you are there.”
“Oh no, no!” said the little fly,
“to ask me is in vain;
For who goes up your winding stair
can never come down again.”
11. Skeleton Parade – By Jack Prelutsky
The skeletons are out tonight,
they march about the street,
With bony bodies, bony heads
and bony hands and feet.
Bony bony bony bones
with nothing in between,
Up and down and all around
they march on Halloween.
12. Halloween – By Edwin C. Ranck
A night when witches skim the air,
When spooks and goblins climb the stair;
When bats rush out with muffled wings,
And now and then the door-bell rings;
But just the funniest thing of all
Is ’cause you can’t see when they call.
13. Spooks – By Sandra Liatsos
There’s a goblin at my window,
A monster by my door.
The pumpkin at my table
Keeps on smiling more and more.
There’s a ghost who haunts my bedroom,
A witch whose face is green.
They used to be my family,
Till they dressed for Halloween.
14. Witches Wail And Werewolves Howl – By Nicholas Gordon
Witches wail and werewolves howl,
Ghosts say “Boo!” and monsters scowl,
Jack-o-lanterns grin all night
As children shiver with delight.
15. Witches Stew – By Gareth Lancaster
Bubble, blubber, squirm and gloop,
Boiling broth of bat’s tail soup.
Wobble, slobber, liquid goo,
Add the sole of one old shoe.
Spooky shadows dance around,
Of frogs and rats and snarling hounds.
Steam swirls rising to the roof,
Add one small ear and one old tooth.
Gnarly, scratchy, tickle and itch,
Stir round and round to make it rich.
Mushy, sticky, sizzle and stew,
They’re making mischief just for you
16. Tonight Is Halloween – By Dexter Kozen
Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen,
Voices whisper in the trees,
“Tonight is Halloween!”
17. The Hand Of Glory – By R. H. Barham
On the lone bleak moor, at the midnight hour
Beneath the Gallows Tree
Hand in hand, The Murderers stand
By one, by two, or three!
And the Moon that night, With a grey, cold light
Each baleful object tips;
One half of her form, Is seen through the storm
The other half’s hid in Eclipse!
And the cold wind howls, And the Thunder growls
And the Lightning is broad and bright;
And altogether, It’s very bad weather
And an unpleasant sort of a night!
18. A Trick Of A Treat – By Nancy Hughes
Dressed up little creatures
on a dark October night
run from door to door
giving everyone a fright.
They come and ring your doorbell
and before they will retreat,
they beg you for some candy
by yelling “trick or treat”.
When their bags are full,
they run home to eat their fill.
They taste a bit of everything
and by morning they are ill!
So to keep the youngsters healthy,
I’ve figured out a deal.
This year instead of candy,
I’ll give them all oatmeal!
19. My Brilliant Bogey – By Lois Collins
I had a bigger bogey than I’ve ever seen before.
I rolled it up into a ball and flicked it out the door.
It travelled down the high street then it jumped upon a bus,
The people sitting next to it made such an awful fuss.
It sat there quite politely and it watched it’s Ps’ and Qs’,
You wouldn’t think a bogey could have reached the headline news.
It had to leave town quickly so it hopped upon a plane,
It loved its home town dearly but would not come back again.
It sent me several postcards from far exotic lands,
It stood by many oceans and it rolled upon the sands.
I miss that giant bogey but I know it’s happy still,
Some people just don’t like it but I think my bogey’s brill!
20. If You’ve Never – By Elsie Melchert Fowler
If you’ve never seen an old witch
Riding through the sky-
Or never felt big bat’s wings
Flopping, as they fly-
If you’ve never touched a white thing
Gliding through the air,
And knew it was a ghost because
You got a dreadful scare-
If you’ve never heard the night owls,
Crying, “Whoo-whoo-whoo?”
And never jumped at pumpkin eyes
Gleaming out at you-
If all of these exciting things
You’ve never heard or seen,
Why then-you’ve missed a lot of fun,
Because-that’s HALLOWEEN!
21. Sammy Spider – By Lois Collins
My name is Sammy Spider and I’m really not so scary.
Of course I do have skinny legs and yes I’m very hairy.
But deep inside I’m just like you with fears and hopes and dreams.
Sometimes things ain’t simple and not everything’s what it seems.
I’ve got a family too you know, 8 girls and 14 boys.
My wife is such a brilliant mum and hand knits all their toys.
So next time that you see me all alone inside my web,
Remember my wife’s expecting again, we’re going to call him Zeb.
22. Halloween Fun – By Ada Clark
We like to go, on Halloween
All up and down our street,
Dressed up like ghosts and witches bad,
And frighten those we meet.
I like the lively jack o’ lanterns
That wink and blink at me.
The screeching bats and creeping cats
Are funny as can be.
I like to eat the pumpkin pies
That mother makes – yum, yum!
Oh, I’m so very glad each year,
When Halloween has come!
Final thoughts
Halloween poems for kids bring joy, imagination, and a touch of spooky fun to the season. Through playful rhymes, children can explore language and creativity while celebrating Halloween. Let these poems light up young minds like glowing jack o’ lanterns filled with wonder and delight.
Turn these poems into an unforgettable learning experience! Pair them with creative Halloween worksheets to spark imagination, practice reading, and celebrate the spooky season in style.
