30+ Spooky Poems About Witches, Ghosts & Black Cats (Fun!)
Thirty original Halloween poems about witches, ghosts, and black cats — rhyming verses you can print, chant, and read aloud tonight, no permissions needed.
Every poem below is original to this post, which means you can print the whole set, stick it in a poetry corner, and never worry about a permissions email. No line is copied from another site.
What is in this post:
- Section 1: 10 rhyming witch and cauldron poems — chants, list rhymes, and a witch who is allergic to her own broom
- Section 2: 10 friendly ghost verses for kids and classrooms — nothing that will frighten a five-year-old
- Section 3: 10 black cat and trick-or-treat candy rhymes — counting rhymes, porch rhymes, and one cat full of sugar
- Every poem carries a use-case, a voice count, and actions, so a class can perform it tomorrow
Most Halloween poem roundups send you hunting. You get a title, a first line, maybe the poet’s name, and then you discover the poem is still in copyright and cannot be photocopied for twenty-eight children. This set is built the other way round: thirty original rhymes organised into three blocks that work as a class programme, with the performance notes included. Say them in a circle, send them home on a bookmark, or read one at bedtime.
Who is this post for:
- Teachers who need a Halloween poetry block they can photocopy on Friday
- Parents reading aloud to children roughly 4 to 10
- Anyone running a Halloween party, a Sunday school class, or a library story hour
- A child who has been asked to “bring a poem” and left it until the night before
TL;DR — the quick version
– 30 original poems: 10 witches and cauldrons, 10 friendly ghosts, 10 black cats and candy
– All free to print, share, and perform — no permissions needed
– Section 1 chants are built for a whole class to say together
– Start with the Top 3 Picks table if you need one poem in the next five minutes
Table of Contents
- Rhyming Poems About Witches and Cauldrons
- Friendly Ghost Verses for Kids and Classroom
- Spooky Black Cat and Trick-or-Treat Candy Rhymes
- Top 3 Picks
- Frequently Asked Questions
Top 3 Picks
| # | Best for | Why I like it | Go read |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A whole class saying one poem together | A repeated line the youngest child can join in on, and no line that needs explaining | Three Witches in the Kitchen |
| 2 | A nervous reader who needs to succeed | Four lines, one joke, and a rhyme so easy it cannot go wrong | The Ghost Who Says Sorry |
| 3 | Bedtime on Halloween night | It sends the witches and the cat to bed before it sends the child | Sweet Tooth Spell |
rhyming poems about witches and cauldrons
Teacher lists for this keyword — We Are Teachers’ thirty-poem roundup is the big one, updated for 2026 — almost always give a title and one line, then send you hunting for the rest. So here are ten rhyming poems about witches and cauldrons you can print in full, built on easy couplets, a chantable refrain, and the kind of spell ingredients a child can actually picture: a broomstick, a kettle, a cauldron, and someone else’s hat.
### 1. The Witch Who Was Allergic to Brooms (Silly Read-Aloud)
[ 🧹 sneeze on every third line ]
The witch who was allergic to brooms
Sneezed all the way to the moon;
She barely got up past the trees
And she’s back in her kitchen by noon.
She tried a mop, she tried a rake,
She tried a garden hose;
She sneezed on every one of them
And blamed it on her nose.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 5 to 9, and anyone who has ever been hopeless at one specific thing
- ⏳ The Timing: Opening poem for a Halloween poetry block
- 📍 The Medium: Read aloud with real sneezes, which is not optional
- 💡 Why this works: The witch is defeated by her own sinuses rather than a hero, so the joke is on the witch and the child is on the winning side
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a wicked witch with one who cannot get her transport started
### 2. Three Witches in the Kitchen (Chant for a Circle)
[ 🍲 stir the air on the refrain ]
Three witches in the kitchen,
Stirring up a brew;
Three witches in the kitchen,
And one of them is you.
One adds salt, one adds thyme,
One adds something strange;
Three witches in the kitchen,
And nothing is arranged.
Stir it left, stir it right,
Stir it till it glows;
Three witches in the kitchen,
And nobody knows.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 4 to 9, and any class big enough to split into two groups
- ⏳ The Timing: The centrepiece of a Halloween assembly, or a five-minute movement break
- 📍 The Medium: Chanted in a circle — group one takes the refrain, group two takes the rest
- 💡 Why this works: The repeated line means every child can participate, including the ones who cannot yet read a whole stanza
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a spell nobody can pronounce with a kitchen everybody recognises, plus two classes saying it together
### 3. My Teacher Is a Witch on Tuesdays (Playground Rhyme)
[ 📚 look sideways at the nearest teacher ]
My teacher is a witch on Tuesdays,
I’ve seen the broomstick in her room;
She marks our sums in purple ink
And mutters at the moon.
She spells the word “tomorrow”
In three different ways, for fun;
She marks the register in rhyme
And finishes before the sun.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 6 to 10, and any child who suspects a teacher of being magical
- ⏳ The Timing: A read-aloud that gets a laugh out of a whole class at once
- 📍 The Medium: Read aloud, or copied onto the back of a spelling test for a teacher with a sense of humour
- 💡 Why this works: The evidence is all ordinary school life — purple pen, spelling, the register — which is what makes the accusation land
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a flying witch with one who cannot spell “tomorrow” the same way twice
### 4. The Cauldron’s Recipe (Rhyming List Poem)
[ 🥄 count the ingredients on your fingers ]
A pinch of pepper, a spoon of salt,
A cup of something cold;
A feather from a pillow fight,
A coin that’s nine years old.
A ribbon that a kitten chewed,
A biscuit, hard as stone;
A whistle that a kettle makes,
A sock without its own.
A ripple from the washing line,
A hiccup, and a wish;
A shadow that the curtain made,
A single silver fish.
Stir it slowly, stir it twice,
And never ask it why.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 6 to 10, and any child who likes a rhyming list
- ⏳ The Timing: A writing starter — read it, then ask each child for one ingredient
- 📍 The Medium: Printed and used as a model for a class recipe poem
- 💡 Why this works: Every ingredient is a real household thing, and the closing instruction refuses to explain the spell, which is exactly what children want
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces eye of newt and toe of frog with a sock, a biscuit, and half a Saturday
### 5. The Witch Who Lost Her Hat (Short Rhyme)
[ 🎩 pat your head, then look confused ]
My hat has gone, my hat has flown,
It’s somewhere on the breeze;
I’ll find it when the moon comes out —
Or keep it, if it’s pleased.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 4 to 8, and any child who loses something every week
- ⏳ The Timing: A four-line filler between longer poems
- 📍 The Medium: Printed on a card and hidden for a child to find
- 💡 Why this works: It is four lines, so it is memorisable in about ninety seconds, which makes it the ideal first recitation
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a search for a lost object with a witch who negotiates with her hat
### 6. Grandma’s Cauldron Simmers (Warm Family Rhyme)
[ 🍜 breathe in the smell of soup ]
Grandma’s cauldron simmers
On the stove on Halloween;
It’s only soup and dumplings,
But the steam looks rather green.
She says, “There’s nothing magic
In a ladle or a pot” —
Then she stirs it once, and winks, and says,
“We’ll see if it is or not.”
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 4 to 9, and every family with a grandmother who does not explain herself
- ⏳ The Timing: A Grandparents’ Day read, or any Halloween dinner
- 📍 The Medium: Read aloud at the table, ideally with a real pot on the stove
- 💡 Why this works: It replaces the witch entirely with a grandmother, and the wink does all the supernatural work in one line
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a cackling crone with a grandmother and her soup
### 7. The Witch’s Shopping List (Funny List Rhyme)
[ 📝 mime writing a very long list ]
One jar of beetles, two cans of fizz,
Three silly spells in a box;
Four teaspoons of thunder,
Five pairs of stripy socks.
Six bad moods, seven good,
Eight candle stubs, and then
A note that says, “Please drop it off
At number nine, the glen.”
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 6 to 10, and any child learning to count in rhyme
- ⏳ The Timing: A maths-and-poetry crossover on a wet playtime
- 📍 The Medium: Printed and paired with a blank list for the child to continue
- 💡 Why this works: The numbers run in order so the poem teaches counting while the list gets sillier, and “the glen” is a punchline no child expects
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a witch’s cupboard with a witch doing her weekly shop
### 8. Two Witches on One Broom (Counting Rhyme)
[ 🧙 hold up fingers as the witches arrive ]
One witch on a broomstick
Can fly across the town;
Two witches on a broomstick
Will bring the broomstick down.
Three witches on a broomstick
Will land you in a tree;
Four witches on a broomstick
Will break it — you will see.
So if you meet a broomstick
With a witch or two or four,
Wave nicely, step aside, and let
Them find their own front door.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 4 to 8, and any child who likes counting things that go wrong
- ⏳ The Timing: A movement break where children hold up fingers as you read
- 📍 The Medium: Printed and performed at the front of the class with a volunteer holding up the correct number of fingers
- 💡 Why this works: The maths is real — more witches, worse flight — and the advice in the last stanza is unexpectedly sensible
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a single dramatic witch with a practical problem about capacity
### 9. The Little Witch’s First Spell (Gentle Rhyme)
[ 🌿 whisper it, because the mat is asleep ]
The little witch’s first spell
Was meant to charm the cat;
She mixed the words and said them twice
And flattened out the mat.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 4 to 8, and any child at their own first attempt
- ⏳ The Timing: A read-aloud after a lesson that did not go to plan
- 📍 The Medium: Printed and given to a child who is learning something hard
- 💡 Why this works: The failure is small and funny rather than cruel, and the witch is never mocked for trying
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a powerful sorceress with a beginner who got one word wrong
### 10. The Cauldron Song (Chant to End the Circle)
[ 🔮 cup your hands around an imaginary cauldron ]
Cauldron, cauldron, round and deep,
Keep the secrets that you keep;
Cauldron, cauldron, hot and low,
Tell us nothing. Let it go.
Fire, fire, small and bright,
Burning quietly tonight;
Smoke, smoke, curl and climb,
And take the wishes home on time.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 5 to 10, and any group that needs a calm ending
- ⏳ The Timing: The last poem of a Halloween session, said quietly in a circle
- 📍 The Medium: Chanted with cupped hands, twice as slowly the second time
- 💡 Why this works: The rhythm slows the room down, which is exactly what a class full of sugar needs at the end of an hour
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a spell that does something with a spell that deliberately does nothing
friendly ghost verses for kids and classroom
The trick with ghost poems for young children is to make the ghost the underdog, not the threat. These ten are built for school — the friendly ghost verses for kids and classroom that a teacher can read to a five-year-old without a single parent email — and every one of them puts the ghost in an ordinary, slightly embarrassing situation: queueing, apologising, reading in the library.
### 11. Boo Practice (Action Rhyme)
[ 👻 do the boos at the volume written ]
I practised all my boos today,
I did them high, I did them low;
I booed the kettle and the cat
And then I let the whole thing go.
My mother said, “That’s plenty, dear.”
My father said, “Oh, no.”
I’m saving up a bigger one
For somewhere they can’t go.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 3 to 7, and any child who has just learnt that shouting gets attention
- ⏳ The Timing: A five-minute noise break that is over before it becomes a problem
- 📍 The Medium: Performed standing up, with a real BOO on the last line
- 💡 Why this works: It gives the child permission to shout inside a poem, so the volume is declared legitimate
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a scary ghost with a child practising to be one
### 12. The Politest Ghost (Manners Rhyme)
[ 🎩 tip an imaginary hat ]
The politest ghost I know
Says “please” before he boos;
He knocks upon the window
And waits for me to choose.
If every ghost were half as kind,
I wouldn’t mind at all.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 3 to 7, and any class working on manners
- ⏳ The Timing: A read-aloud during a classroom rules discussion
- 📍 The Medium: Printed and used as a prompt for “what should the ghost say next?”
- 💡 Why this works: It teaches the expected behaviour by putting it in the mouth of a creature with no reason to be polite at all
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a terrifying spectre with one who knocks and waits
### 13. The Ghost in the Coat Closet (School Rhyme)
[ 🧥 open an imaginary closet door ]
There’s a ghost in the coat closet
Who lives behind the coats;
He minds his own pale business
And never brags or gloats.
He’s there when we come in from break,
He’s there when we go home;
I think he’s waiting for a coat
That he can call his own.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 5 to 9, and every school with a coat closet nobody checks
- ⏳ The Timing: A read-aloud on a wet playtime when coats are everywhere
- 📍 The Medium: Printed and pinned beside the coat pegs
- 💡 Why this works: The ghost’s motive is lonely rather than frightening, and the last stanza quietly makes the reader feel for him
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a haunted attic with a school coat closet and a ghost who wants to fit in
### 14. My Ghost Friend Sleeps Over (Bedtime Rhyme)
[ 🌙 hold up one finger for the lamp going off ]
My ghost friend sleeps over on Fridays,
He hovers above the bed;
He doesn’t eat toast, he doesn’t drink milk,
He just likes being read to instead.
He dims when I turn off the lamp,
He brightens in the dark;
He hasn’t got a shadow and
He’s brighter than a spark.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 4 to 8, and any child who wants a night-time companion
- ⏳ The Timing: The Friday bedtime poem, read with the big light already off
- 📍 The Medium: Read aloud by torchlight
- 💡 Why this works: It turns the dark into a friendly place by making the ghost brighter in it, which is the opposite of what a frightened child expects
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a haunted bedroom with a friend who cannot eat toast
### 15. The Ghost Who Says Sorry (Classroom Kindness Rhyme)
[ 🙏 say sorry to the nearest piece of furniture ]
The ghost who says sorry
Bumps into the wall;
He drifts through the doorway
And trips in the hall.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 4 to 8, and any class practising apologies
- ⏳ The Timing: The four-line poem to use when a child needs to hear that mistakes are normal
- 📍 The Medium: Printed on a small card for a calm corner
- 💡 Why this works: The ghost apologises to objects, which is silly, and the silliness is what makes the kindness stick
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a moaning phantom with one who is simply clumsy and polite about it
### 16. Ghost Parade (Action and Counting Rhyme)
[ 🥁 march on the spot for the whole poem ]
One ghost marching, two ghosts marching,
Three ghosts in a row;
Four ghosts floating past the gate,
Five ghosts, soft and slow.
Six ghosts humming, seven humming,
Eight ghosts out of sight;
Nine ghosts standing at the door
And ten ghosts saying goodnight.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 3 to 7, and any group that needs to move
- ⏳ The Timing: A transition activity between two quieter sessions
- 📍 The Medium: Performed as a line that walks around the classroom, one ghost per child if you have ten
- 💡 Why this works: The counting gives the poem a built-in ending, and the last line slows everyone down for the next task
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a jump-scare with a parade that counts itself out
### 17. The Ghost Who Couldn’t Say Goodbye (Gentle Verse)
[ 👋 wave, then wave again ]
The ghost who couldn’t say goodbye
Stays floating by the door;
He waves a little wavy wave
And waves a little more.
We’ve said goodnight about nine times —
He says it once again.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 4 to 9, and any child who stalls at bedtime
- ⏳ The Timing: A read-aloud for a child who will not stay in bed
- 📍 The Medium: Read aloud quietly, with a real wave at the end
- 💡 Why this works: The child recognises themselves in the ghost, so the poem makes the behaviour funny instead of shameful
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a ghost who vanishes with one who will not leave
### 18. A Ghost in the Library (School Rhyme)
[ 📖 turn an invisible page ]
There’s a ghost in the library
Who reads at half past eight;
He turns the pages with his breath
And always shuts the gate.
He likes the ones with castles,
He likes the ones with frights;
He put a bookmark in the best
And reads it every night.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 5 to 10, and any library or reading corner
- ⏳ The Timing: The poem to read when a class first visits the school library in October
- 📍 The Medium: Printed and propped on a shelf, with a bookmark left nearby
- 💡 Why this works: The ghost is a reader, which quietly makes reading the spooky, enviable activity
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a haunted house with a library and a ghost with good taste
### 19. The Shy Ghost of Room Three (Classroom Read-Aloud)
[ 🤫 whisper the whole thing ]
The shy ghost of Room Three
Hides behind the shelf;
He only comes out after school
To introduce himself.
He practises his boo-ing
When everyone has gone;
He’s getting very good at it —
He’ll do it in the spring.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 5 to 9, and every child who needs a while to warm up
- ⏳ The Timing: A read-aloud in the first weeks of term
- 📍 The Medium: Printed and pinned to a classroom display about being brave
- 💡 Why this works: The ghost’s timidity is treated as normal and temporary, which is the message a shy child needs without being told directly
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a terrifying ghost with one who is not ready yet
### 20. The Ghost Who Helped With Homework (Funny Rhyme)
[ ✏️ write your own name in the air ]
A ghost came by to help me
With my spelling, late last night;
He wrote the answers on the glass
And got them nearly right.
He spelled “friend” as “frend”,
He spelled “broom” as “boom”;
My teacher marked it “nearly” and
Drew a ghost with a broom.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 6 to 10, and any child who has ever had help that was not quite help
- ⏳ The Timing: A Friday read-aloud when the spelling test comes home
- 📍 The Medium: Printed and handed to a child with a marked spelling book
- 💡 Why this works: The joke is at the ghost’s expense and the teacher’s response is generous, so a child who got something wrong feels fine about it
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a ghost who frightens children with one who is bad at spelling
spooky black cat and trick-or-treat candy rhymes
Black cats and trick-or-treat bags are where children’s Halloween poems get genuinely atmospheric, because a cat at night is already a little unnerving and a bag of sweets is already important. These ten spooky black cat and trick-or-treat candy rhymes run from a cat who sits on the fence without blinking, through a porch light that never comes on, to a cat who has eaten the entire bag and regrets nothing. Nothing here is violent, and nothing here is too sweet either.
### 21. The Black Cat on the Fence (Spooky Read-Aloud)
[ 🐈 hold very still indeed ]
The black cat sits upon the fence,
He sits there every night;
He hasn’t any collar,
He hasn’t any light.
He watches all the children go
From door to door for sweets;
He doesn’t blink, he doesn’t purr,
He doesn’t move his feet.
And when the street is empty
And the lanterns all go dim,
The black cat stretches, yawns, and steps
Down softly, and is gone.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 7 to 11, and any child ready for atmosphere rather than jokes
- ⏳ The Timing: The poem to end a Halloween reading on, with the lights lower
- 📍 The Medium: Read aloud slowly, with a long pause before the last four words
- 💡 Why this works: Nothing supernatural is confirmed, and the cat simply leaves, so the reader is left to decide what they saw — which is how real Halloween atmosphere is built
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a hissing, scratching monster cat with one that only watches
### 22. Candy Countdown (Counting Rhyme)
[ 🍬 hold up ten fingers and lower one per line ]
Ten little candies in my bag,
Nine are getting low;
Eight are chewy, seven are hard,
Six are soft as snow.
Five are chocolate, four are sour,
Three I’ll save for you;
Two are gone already and
One is stuck to my shoe.
And none of them were broccoli,
So Halloween was good.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 4 to 8, and any class counting backwards from ten
- ⏳ The Timing: A maths warm-up on the day after Halloween
- 📍 The Medium: Performed with fingers, one lowered per line, ending with both hands empty
- 💡 Why this works: The countdown is genuine maths practice and the final joke lands because every child has eaten the evidence
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a poem about sweets being delicious with a countdown that admits they have all gone
### 23. The Cat Who Guards the Porch Light (Spooky Verse)
[ 💡 switch on an imaginary light ]
The cat who guards the porch light
Has been there all year round;
He watches every postman
And every scratching sound.
On Halloween he sits up straight
And lets the lantern glow;
He knows the ones who knock politely
From those who ring and go.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 6 to 10, and every house with a cat and a porch
- ⏳ The Timing: A read-aloud before trick-or-treat begins, so the rules sink in
- 📍 The Medium: Printed and taped inside the front door beside the sweet bowl
- 💡 Why this works: It sneaks in the etiquette of the night — knock and wait — inside a poem about a cat doing his job
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a black cat as a bad omen with a black cat as the household’s doorman
### 24. Trick-or-Treat Bag (Funny Rhyme)
[ 🛍️ swing an imaginary bag ]
My bag is made of paper,
My handle’s made of string;
It holds a hundred sweets and then
It doesn’t hold a thing.
So now I’m walking home and I’m
Holding them. All. At once.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 5 to 10, and any family who has seen the bag go
- ⏳ The Timing: The night the handle finally breaks
- 📍 The Medium: Read aloud on the walk home, while the arms are full
- 💡 Why this works: The joke is entirely physical — a hundred sweets is exactly how many fits in one paper bag before it does not
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a glowing evening of plenty with a broken bag and full arms
### 25. Black Cat, Cross My Path (Superstition Rhyme)
[ 🐾 walk two fingers across your palm ]
A black cat crossed my path tonight,
I stopped and let her pass;
She looked at me the way a cat
Looks at a patch of grass.
I didn’t run, I didn’t shout,
I didn’t make a fuss;
I said, “Good evening,” tipped my hat —
And she came home with us.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 5 to 10, and any child who has been told a black cat is bad luck
- ⏳ The Timing: A read-aloud on Halloween night, or any time superstition comes up
- 📍 The Medium: Printed and read to a child who has been frightened by a superstition
- 💡 Why this works: It dismantles the superstition by being polite to the cat, and the reward is a friend rather than seven years of bad luck
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces an omen with a cat who simply decided to adopt a family
### 26. The Candy Swap (Funny Rhyme)
[ 🤝 shake hands, then take your hand back ]
At school we do a candy swap
The morning after the night;
I bring the ones I do not want
And trade them for the right.
I got a lollipop for two
Small toffees and a mint;
I think I won. My sister says
I cheated. I did not.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 6 to 10, and any class with a lunchtime economy
- ⏳ The Timing: The morning after Halloween, when bags are still in the classroom
- 📍 The Medium: Read aloud, then used to launch a fair-trading discussion
- 💡 Why this works: Every child recognises the negotiation, and the last two lines are an argument half the class will join
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces eating sweets quietly with the actual social economy of a school bag
### 27. Nine Black Cats (Nursery Counting Rhyme)
[ 🃏 count on your fingers down from nine ]
Nine black cats on a garden wall,
Eight cats in the lane;
Seven cats go creeping past,
Six come back again.
Five black cats on the doorstep,
Four cats on the stair;
Three cats in the kitchen and
Two cats everywhere.
One black cat is on my lap,
And that’s where she’ll stay.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 3 to 7, and any child learning numbers to ten
- ⏳ The Timing: A counting activity with a nursery-rhyme feel
- 📍 The Medium: Printed and paired with nine paper cats to move along a wall
- 💡 Why this works: The countdown has a destination — the one cat who ends up on a lap — so the numbers mean something
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a single sinister cat with a whole neighbourhood of ordinary ones
### 28. The Last House on the Street (Trick-or-Treat Verse)
[ 🚪 knock twice, then wait ]
The last house on the street
Has a light that’s never on;
We’ve knocked there twice on Halloween,
We’ve knocked and then been gone.
The gate is always open,
The path is always swept;
I think somebody keeps it
The way a promise’s kept.
We leave a sweet upon the step —
And one year, it was gone.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 8 to 12, and readers ready for something a little wistful
- ⏳ The Timing: The quiet poem at the end of a Halloween reading
- 📍 The Medium: Read aloud, with a pause before the final four words
- 💡 Why this works: The last line answers the whole poem in five words and never explains who took the sweet, which is exactly the restraint a spooky poem needs
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a haunted house with a house that is simply kept tidy and dark
### 29. The Cat Who Ate the Candy (Funny Rhyme)
[ 😼 act extremely pleased with yourself ]
The cat who ate the candy
Did not sleep at all;
He ran along the corridor,
He bounced off every wall.
He shredded up the curtains,
He knocked a plant to bits;
He’s sitting in the window now
With sugar in his wits.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 5 to 10, and every family that has learnt this lesson
- ⏳ The Timing: The morning after, when the bowl is empty and the cat looks guilty
- 📍 The Medium: Read aloud while inspecting the damage
- 💡 Why this works: The behaviour is exactly what a sugar-loaded cat would do, and “with sugar in his wits” gives children a phrase they will reuse
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces a spooky black cat with one who is simply wide awake and unrepentant
### 30. Sweet Tooth Spell (Closing Rhyme)
[ 🌜 say the last line as a goodnight ]
A spell for the end of Halloween,
When bags are nearly bare:
Say “candy” three times quietly
And check your coat — everywhere.
Then say “goodnight” to witches,
And “goodnight” to the cat;
Say “goodnight” to the ghost outside —
He’ll say it back, just like that.
🔍 The Context Matrix
- 👤 Who is this for? Ages 4 to 9, and any child who will not settle after trick-or-treating
- ⏳ The Timing: The very last poem of the night, after the costume comes off
- 📍 The Medium: Recited quietly in bed with the lights out
- 💡 Why this works: It gives the evening a formal ending and puts every Halloween creature to bed first, so the child is simply following them
- 🚫 The Cliché it Avoids: Replaces an abrupt lights-off with a spell that tidies the whole night away
Frequently Asked Questions
### Q1. What are some rhyming poems about witches and cauldrons?
The ten poems in the first section are all rhyming verses about witches, brooms, cauldrons, and kitchen spells, written in couplets and easy quatrains. “Three Witches in the Kitchen” and “The Cauldron Song” are refrains a whole class can chant, while “The Witch Who Was Allergic to Brooms” works best as a comic read-aloud.
### Q2. Are these poems free to print for my classroom?
Yes. Every poem in this post is original, written for this page, so you can print, copy, and perform them in a classroom or at home without asking permission. For comparison, most of the poems on the big teacher roundups at We Are Teachers are still in copyright, so those pages are best used for reading aloud from a book rather than photocopying.
### Q3. What are friendly ghost poems for kids?
Friendly ghost poems make the ghost the underdog rather than the threat — a ghost who practises his booing, apologises for bumping into walls, or cannot bring himself to leave. All ten poems in the second section are written that way, so they suit children from about four years old upward, and none of them ends with a scare.
### Q4. How do I use these poems with a class?
Pick one chant, one four-line poem, and one longer poem for a fifteen-minute block. The chants in section one are built for two groups — one takes the repeated line, the other takes the rest. The four-line poems in sections one and two are short enough for a nervous reader to memorise in a single sitting, and the longer pieces in section three work as the listening poem at the end.
### Q5. What is a good poem about a black cat for Halloween?
“The Black Cat on the Fence” is the atmospheric one and “Nine Black Cats” is the counting one for younger children. If you need something funny instead, “The Cat Who Ate the Candy” describes a cat who has eaten an entire trick-or-treat bag and is now sitting in the window with sugar in his wits.
### Q6. Do you have short Halloween poems for young children?
Yes — “The Witch Who Lost Her Hat”, “The Little Witch’s First Spell”, and “The Ghost Who Says Sorry” are four lines each. Four lines is the sweet spot for ages three to six: long enough to have a rhyme, short enough that the whole poem can be held in memory after two readings.
### Q7. What is the best Halloween poem for a class assembly?
“Three Witches in the Kitchen” is the easiest to stage, because the repeated line “Three witches in the kitchen” lets the entire audience join in while a smaller group reads the descriptive stanzas. “Ghost Parade” is the alternative if you want movement, since it counts from one ghost to ten and each child can walk on at their number.
### Q8. What age are these Halloween poems for?
The set spans roughly ages three to twelve. Section two is the gentlest and suits four to eight, section one works from about five upward, and section three includes the two most atmospheric poems — “The Black Cat on the Fence” and “The Last House on the Street” — which are better for ages eight and over. Nothing in the post involves violence, gore, or ghoulish imagery.
References & Related Reading
- Halloween Poems for Kids — We Are Teachers — the biggest teacher-facing roundup, banded by grade level; useful for read-aloud titles, though most entries are in copyright.
- Halloween Poems for Kids — History for Kids — Paul Perro’s collection of short, funny Halloween poems written for children.
- Free Printable Halloween Poems for Kids — Pagine — a free printable pack of gentle, short Halloween poems for classroom recitals.
- Halloween Poems — Academy of American Poets — the curated classic list, with the Halloween poems of Benton, Teasdale, Beddoes, and others.
- Halloween Poems — Poetry Foundation — poems, articles, and audio for the season, including Sandburg’s “Theme in Yellow”.
- Halloween Poems for Kids — Storyberries — a read-and-listen collection of rhyming Halloween poems for children.
