Scary Poems: 10 Original Horror Poems

1. The Third Stair

The first stair creaks, the second sighs, the third stair holds its breath, and every night at half past two it counts the house to death.

It counts the cups, it counts the chairs, it counts the coats on hooks, it counts the children in their beds and writes them in its books.

So when you climb to bed tonight, step over, never on, for once the third stair counts to you, by morning, you are gone.

2. Knock, Knock

Knock, knock, at the window pane. Knock, knock, it’s only rain. Knock, knock, a slower sound. Knock, knock, from underground.

Who’s there? the little sister cries. No one, says the dark, and sighs. No one who? she whispers, small. No one you remember at all.

3. Grandmother’s Teacups

She kept her teacups in a row, six roses and one blue, and every night since she was buried someone moves them, too.

We leave them straight, we wake to find them turned toward the hall, as if she’s waiting for a guest who hasn’t come to call.

Last night I counted seven cups. This morning there were eight. The new one has my name on it, and underneath, a date.

4. The Doll on the Shelf

She sits upon the highest shelf with painted, patient eyes, and never moves while I’m awake, and never tells me lies.

But when I wake, her hands have moved, her dress is wet with dew, and on my pillow, folded neat, a note that says: Found you.

Pairs with: The Doll in the Donation Bin, a complete story about a doll who always comes back.

5. The Campfire Count

Four of us walked into the wood, four of us sat by the fire, four of us sang the songs we knew as the sparks climbed higher and higher.

But five of us laughed at the punch line, and five of us said goodnight, and five of us lay in the tent that night, and only four saw light.

6. The House at the End of the Lane

The house at the end of the lane is kind, it leaves its porch light on, it sweeps the leaves, it lights the stove, it calls when you are gone.

It knows your name, it knows your shoes, it keeps your favorite chair, and every child who knocked one night is still in there, somewhere.

7. Midnight Mirror

I brushed my teeth at midnight and my reflection grinned, though I was only yawning and the window let in wind.

I turned to go to bed then, she stayed there in the glass. She’s waiting for the morning, when she’ll be the one who’ll pass.

8. Halloween Guest

A ghost came to the door tonight in a sheet of faded white. We gave him sweets and asked his name; he only said, “Tonight.”

He came again at half past ten and then at half past one. The sheet my mother sewed in ’89 was tucked around her son.

9. Lullaby for the Thing Under the Bed

Hush now, hush now, under the bed, don’t you whisper, don’t lift your head. The child is sleeping, the lamp is low, the floorboards know where the shadows go.

Hush now, hush now, close your eyes, we all have someone we hide from at night. You keep the dark, and I keep the light, and neither of us will look tonight.

10. The Last Line

I wrote a poem about a ghost who read the lines I wrote, who waited for the final verse with something in her throat.

I wrote her hair, I wrote her dress, I wrote her standing near. I did not write the hand that’s now so cold behind my ear.

Famous Scary Poems Worth Reading

If you enjoy these, the classics are well worth your time. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” (1845) is the best-known scary poem in English, built on a single repeated word, “Nevermore.” Walter de la Mare’s “The Listeners” (1912) follows a traveler knocking at a silent house that seems to be full of ghosts who will not answer. Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” (1862) is a strange, unsettling story about two sisters and the goblin men who sell forbidden fruit, and Robert Burns’s “Tam o’ Shanter” (1791) tells of a drunken farmer who stumbles on a witches’ dance.

What they share with the poems on this page is restraint. None of them explains everything. They let a sound, a repeated phrase or a closed door do the work, and they trust the reader to imagine what stands on the other side.

How to Read a Scary Poem Aloud

Slow down more than feels natural, especially at the end of each stanza. Let the rhymes land, and pause for a full breath before the final line, which is where nearly every poem above hides its twist. Lower your voice rather than raising it; a whisper carries better in a dark room than a shout. If you want something longer to read aloud afterwards, try the campfire scary stories or a few scary riddles with answers.

Scary Poems — FAQ