Halloween Songs and Poems for Kids

(A fun activity to try with kids is to see how fast you can say this poem without getting tongue tied. You can also act out this poem.)

Tonight is the night
when dead leaves fly
like witches on switches
across the sky.
When elf and sprite flit
through the night on a moony sheen.

Tonight is the night
when leaves make a sound
like a gnome in his home under the ground.
When spooks and trolls
creep out of the holes,
all mossy and green.

Tonight is the night
when pumpkins stare
through sheaves and leaves everywhere.
When ghoul and ghost and goblin
host dance round their Queen.

It's Halloween!

(This is one of the most popular witch scenes of all time. Three witches are stirring up a magic spell in this scene from Macbeth. You can make a witches' brew with your kids as you say this poem. See the bottom of the article for links about making Halloween punches and brews. )

Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.
Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined.

Harpier cries 'Tis time, 'tis time.
Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot.

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron 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 owlet'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.

Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches' mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Silver'd in the moon's eclipse,
Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
For the ingredients of our cauldron.

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

When the crypt goes creak,
And the tombstones quake.
Spooks come out for a swinging wake.
Happy haunts materialize,
And begin to vocalize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.

Now don't close your eyes,
And don't try to hide.
Or a silly spook may sit by your side.
Shrouded in a daft disguise,
They pretend to terrorize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.

As the moon climbs high o'er the dead oak tree,
Spooks arrive for the midnight spree.
Creepy creeps with eerie eyes,
Start to shriek and harmonize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.

When you hear the knell of a requiem bell,
Weird glows gleam where spirits dwell.
Restless bones etherialize,
Rise as spooks of every size.

If you would like to join our jamboree,
There's a simple rule that's compulsory.
Mortals pay a token fee.
Rest in peace, the haunting's free.
So hurry back, we would like your company.

Have you seen the ghost of john?

Long white bones with the skin all gone,

Ooooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

Wouldn't it be chilly with no skin on?

(Sing the song quietly until the last line. When it is time to say "Boo," scream really loud to scare your audience.)

There was an old woman all skin and bones Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
She lived down by the old grave-yard Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
One night she thought she'd take a walk. Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
She walked down by the old grave-yard. Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
She saw the bones all lying round. Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
She went to the closet to get a broom. Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
She opened the door and BOO!

(Great poem for teaching rhymes. It is also a great example of how to deal with fear. Halloween can be a scary time for kids. This poem teaches kids what to do when they feel afraid.)

If in the dark you're frightened,
Here's all you have to do.
Say: Igga bigga,
Hunka bunka,
Dinka danka doo.
These words give you protection
From ghosts-and witches, too.
Say: Igga bigga,
Hunka bunka,
Dinka danka doo.
So if at night a monster
Should whisper, I'll get you,"
Yell: Igga bigga,
Hunka bunka,
Dinka danka doo.

I was working in the lab late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise

He did the mash
He did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
He did the mash
It caught on in a flash
He did the mash
He did the monster mash

From my laboratory in the castle east
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes

They did the mash
They did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They did the mash
It caught on in a flash
They did the mash
They did the monster mash

The zombies were having fun
The party had just begun
The guests included Wolf Man
Dracula and his son

The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, "The Crypt-Kicker Five"

They played the mash
They played the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They played the mash
It caught on in a flash
They played the mash
They played the monster mash

Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring
Seems he was troubled by just one thing
He opened the lid and shook his fist
And said, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?"

It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash
The monster mash
And it's a graveyard smash
It's now the mash
It's caught on in a flash
It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash

Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band
And my monster mash is the hit of the land
For you, the living, this mash was meant too
When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent you

Then you can mash
Then you can monster mash
The monster mash
And do my graveyard smash
Then you can mash
You'll catch on in a flash
Then you can mash
Then you can monster mash

(For younger kids, use just the part starting from "The worms crawl in..." It has funny rhymes that will be humorous to kids. The first part of the song may be too morbid for younger children. Make a worm cake to eat as you say the poem. See the links at the bottom for spooky food ideas.)

Don't you ever laugh as the hearse goes by,
For you may be the next to die.

They wrap you up in a big white sheet
From your head down to your feet.

They put you in a big black box
And cover you up with dirt and rocks.

All goes well for about a week,
Then your coffin begins to leak.

The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
The worms play pinochle on your snout.

They eat your eyes, they eat your nose,
They eat the jelly between your toes.

A big green worm with rolling eyes
Crawls in your stomach and out your eyes.

Your stomach turns a slimy green,
And pus pours out like whipping cream.

You spread it on a slice of bread,
And that's what you eat when you are dead.

If there's something strange
in your neighborhood

Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!

If there's something weird
and it don't look good

Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!

I ain't afraid of no ghost
I ain't afraid of no ghost

If you're seeing things
running through your head

Who can you call?
Ghostbusters!

An invisible man
sleeping in your bed

Oh, who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!

I ain't afraid of no ghost
I ain't afraid of no ghost

Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!

If you're all alone
pick up the phone

And call:
Ghostbusters!

I ain't afraid of no ghost
I hear it likes the girls

I ain't afraid of no ghost

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!

Well, if you've had a dose of
a freaky ghost baby
You'd better call:
Ghostbusters! Ow!

Let me tell you something
Bustin' makes me feel good

I ain't afraid of no ghost
I ain't afraid of no ghost

Don't get caught alone, oh no

Ghostbusters!

When it comes through your door
Unless you just want some more
I think you better call

Ghostbusters!

Ow!

Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!

Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!