A Round-Up of Halloween Poems

✨ + an invitation to write/share your own! ✨

Dear Friends,

No doubt about it: today is a major commercial holiday in the United States, and you likely find the costumes, candy, and decorations either cute or cloying. Maybe the day begins with giddy enthusiasm and ends with you navigating a minefield of half-eaten chocolate bars as you walk your dog (fellow dog owners, the struggle is real.)

But Halloween’s ancient origins are fascinating to revisit: from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. Celts believed that the veil between the living and the dead was blurred on this night, (which explains the prominence of all manner of revenants). They would wear costumes during Samhain to disguise themselves from spirits, which led to the modern custom of dressing up for Halloween. Black and orange, the colors most often associated with the modern iteration of the holiday, symbolize the transition from the harvest (orange) to winter (black).

The tradition of carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns originated in Ireland, where turnips were used (I’ll let you search some images of this—they are surprisingly haunting!). Pumpkins became more popular in the U.S., and frankly, I’m grateful for the shift—they’re friendlier and cuter, as you may find yourself agreeing.

Trick-or-treating dates back to the Middle Ages. In some European countries, children would go door-to-door singing songs in exchange for food. Now, candy corn was invented in the 1880s and was originally called “Chicken Feed” (not as cute). If anyone can tell me why, despite all logic, I remember finding candy corn tasty, I would be grateful. I think its flavor profile is pure sugar. But I seem to remember it with fondness.

November 1 is the Christian All Saints' Day. The evening before, All Hallows' Eve, eventually became Halloween. It’s also worth noting that the holiday is celebrated in varying forms around the world: in Mexico, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) honors deceased loved ones.

Now, here’s my invitation to you: I would like you to write a poem that includes the words costume, living, sugar, chill, and fear and share it with me in the comments.

No one expects perfection here! It’s about giving yourself a constraint to work within. It can merely be the start of a draft of a stanza, and it doesn’t have to be about Halloween at all. But give yourself a writing challenge today, and see what happens if you follow through…

And as always, let me know which of these poems you enjoyed most.

Oh, and what you (or your kids) are dressing up as!

Fondly,

xM

How to work with me:

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Mary Roblyn

’s wrote a gorgeous review of CWC if you would like to find out more.