Short StoriesNo. 9711 · The 2026 edition
Halloween (poem)
A hauntingly rhythmic exploration of All Hallows' Eve's eerie enchantment.
Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at en.wikipedia.org.
This poem immerses readers in the spectral mood of Halloween, weaving imagery of twilight shadows, wandering spirits, and the otherworldly chill that descends on the night when the boundary between worlds thins.
About this
A Wikipedia article on Robert Burns's 1785 poem 'Halloween', first published in 1786 in the Kilmarnock Edition. It covers the poem's length and language, its likely debt to John Mayne's 1780 Halloween poem, and Burns's own note on the night's witches, devils and fairies. Quoted opening verse, explanatory notes on place names, and references complete the entry.
The list
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Halloween 1785
Poem by Robert Burns; 28 stanzas mixing Scots and English; first published 1786 in the Kilmarnock Edition; links to John Mayne's 1780 Halloween poem.
Facts from the original
- 'Halloween' is a poem written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1785.
- It was first published in 1786.
- The poem is included in the Kilmarnock Edition.
- It is one of Burns' longer poems, with twenty-eight stanzas.
- The poem employs a mixture of Scots and English.
- John Mayne, a poet from Dumfries and a comparatively obscure follower of the Scottish Muses, attempted a poem on Halloween in 1780.
- Mayne's poem has twelve stanzas and notes Halloween pranks, quoted as 'What fearfu' pranks ensue!'.
- Mayne's poem also references the supernatural associated with the night, including 'Bogies' (ghosts).
- Mayne's poem appeared in Ruddimans Weekly Magazine, November 1780, published by Walter Ruddiman in Edinburgh.
- Burns appears to have seen and been influenced by Mayne's composition, communicating with Mayne's work and echoing some of his imagery.
- According to Burns, Halloween is 'thought to be a night when witches, devils, and other mischief-making beings are all abroad on their baneful midnight errands'.
- Burns's note adds that fairies in particular are said to hold a grand anniversary on that night.
- A note describes Cassilis Downans as certain little, romantic, rocky, green hills in the neighbourhood of the ancient seat of the Earls of Cassilis.
- A note describes the Cove of Colean as a noted cavern near Colean house, famed in country story, like Cassilis Downans, as a favourite haunt of fairies.
- The article's categories are 1785 poems, Poetry by Robert Burns, Narrative poems, Halloween fiction, and 1786 in Scotland.
- External links include the full text of Halloween at Wikisource and Poems And Songs Of Robert Burns by Robert Burns.
From the original
Robert Burns wrote 'Halloween' in 1785, and it first appeared in print in 1786 as part of the Kilmarnock Edition. It ranks among his longer works, running to twenty-eight stanzas and mixing Scots dialect with English. The article opens with an engraving after John Masey Wright, then quotes the poem's opening lines about fairies dancing on Cassilis Downans and riders prancing beneath pale moonlight near Colean. The background section explains that John Mayne of Dumfries, a fairly obscure follower of the Scottish Muses, had already tried his hand at a Halloween poem in 1780. Mayne's twelve-stanza effort touched on Halloween pranks ('What fearfu' pranks ensue!') and the night's supernatural associations, including 'bogies' or ghosts, and it appeared in Ruddimans Weekly Magazine in November 1780, published by Walter Ruddiman of Edinburgh. Burns evidently knew Mayne's piece and responded to it, echoing some of its imagery. Burns himself described Halloween as a night when witches, devils and other mischief-making beings roam abroad on baneful midnight errands, with fairies said to hold a grand anniversary. Three endnotes gloss the poem's place names: the Cassilis Downans are small romantic rocky green hills near the old seat of the Earls of Cassilis; the Cove of Colean is a noted cavern near Colean house, also famed in local story as a fairy haunt. References and external links point to collected Burns editions, the BBC, and the poem's full text at Wikisource.
