Samhain & Celtic RootsNo. 6300 · The 2026 edition
Halloween (poem)
Get spooked by this classic Halloween poem that captures the eerie magic of the haunted night.
Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at en.wikipedia.org.
This poem evokes the chilling atmosphere of Halloween, with imagery of shadows, pumpkins, and ghostly whispers. It celebrates the thrill of fright and the supernatural wonders that emerge when the veil between worlds grows thin.
About this
A Wikipedia article on "Halloween", a poem by the Scottish poet Robert Burns written in 1785. It covers the poem's 1786 first publication in the Kilmarnock Edition, its length and its mix of Scots and English, and the earlier 1780 Halloween poem by John Mayne that likely influenced Burns. The page also includes an excerpt of the opening stanza, Burns' own explanatory notes on fairies and place-names, references, and external links to the full text.
The list
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01
Halloween 1785
Poem by Scottish poet Robert Burns, written 1785 and first published 1786 in the Kilmarnock Edition; one of his longer poems at twenty-eight stanzas, mixing Scots and English.
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02
Halloween (John Mayne) 1780
Earlier poem on the subject of Halloween by John Mayne of Dumfries, described as a comparatively obscure follower of the Scottish Muses; twelve stanzas, noting pranks and "Bogies", published in Ruddimans Weekly Magazine, November 1780.
