Halloween (poem)

Facts from the original

• "Halloween" is a poem written by Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1785.
• It was first published in 1786 and is included in the Kilmarnock volume.
• It is one of Burns's longer poems and employs a mixture of Scots and English.
• John Mayne from Dumfries, South West Scotland—a comparatively obscure follower of the Scottish Muses—had attempted a poem on Halloween in 1780.
• Mayne's poem has twelve stanzas and notes Halloween pranks, with the line "What fearfu' pranks ensue!", and the supernatural "Bogies" (ghosts).
• Mayne's poem appeared in Ruddimans Weekly Magazine, November 1780, published by Walter Ruddiman in Edinburgh.
• Burns evidently saw and was influenced by Mayne's composition, as he communicates with Mayne's work and echoes 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 poetry, recited by Scots at Halloween, revolves around country and town life; using Scots alongside English, he gives an account of the charms of the West of Scotland.
• The poem has 28 stanzas.
• English Wikisource has the original text related to this article.
• The article is categorized under 1785 poems, Poetry by Robert Burns, Narrative poems, Halloween, and Halloween fiction.