Horror NovelsNo. 2976 · The 2026 edition
Halloween
A chilling poem that captures the eerie spirit of Halloween night.
Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at en.wikipedia.org.
This poem explores the haunting atmosphere of Halloween, with imagery of ghosts, goblins, and the mystical veil between worlds. It evokes the thrill and fear of the holiday, celebrating the macabre in a rhythmic, lyrical style.
About this
A Wikipedia article on 'Halloween,' the 1785 poem by Scottish poet Robert Burns, covering its background, analysis, and characteristics. It explains the poem's publication in the Kilmarnock volume, its mixture of Scots and English, and its debt to an earlier Halloween poem by John Mayne. The page also notes the poem's length, Burns's own description of the night, and links to the original text on Wikisource.
Facts from the original
- 'Halloween' was written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1785.
- It was first published in 1786 and is included in the Kilmarnock volume.
- The poem 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, attempted a poem on Halloween in 1780.
- Mayne's poem has twelve stanzas and makes note of pranks at Halloween ('What fearfu' pranks ensue!') as well as the supernatural associated with the night, such as 'Bogies' (ghosts).
- Mayne's poem appeared in Ruddimans Weekly Magazine, November 1780, published by Walter Ruddiman in Edinburgh.
- Burns apparently saw and was 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'.
- Analysis: Burns's poetry revolves around country and town life, the life he knew, and by using Scots alongside English and by the power of his expression in both, 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.
From the original
Halloween is a poem by the Scottish poet Robert Burns, written in 1785 and first published in 1786 as part of the Kilmarnock volume, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. It is one of Burns's longer works and blends Scots with English. The poem's background leads back to an earlier effort on the same subject: John Mayne of Dumfries, a comparatively obscure follower of the Scottish Muses, composed a twelve-stanza Halloween poem in 1780 that noted pranks at the holiday and the supernatural, using the word 'Bogies' for ghosts. That piece appeared in Ruddiman's Weekly Magazine in November 1780, published by Walter Ruddiman in Edinburgh. Burns evidently saw and was influenced by Mayne's work, communicating with it and echoing some of its imagery. Burns himself described Halloween as a night when witches, devils, and other mischief-making beings are abroad on their 'baneful midnight errands.' In analysis, Burns's poetry revolves around the country and town life he knew, and by pairing Scots with English and by the power of his expression in both, he gives an account of the charms of the West of Scotland. The poem has 28 stanzas.
