Robert Burns
Halloween

James Child
Traditional Ballad

Kate Finley
Halloween

Thomas Hardy
Withered Arm

Robert Stephen Hawker
The Botathen Ghost

Washington Irving
The Legend of Sleepy Hallow
                                 Halloween by Kate Finley (2002)

      We cut out gaping holes in gourds
       and peep into cavities
       where the soft eyes of our
       parents used to be.
       Owls and cats know what's what.
       Under a large open moon
       they watch for signs
       as we walk on toward
       the fire that consumes.
       There will be restitution,
       a price to pay, maybe
       not tomorrow, but soon.
       When boys on the cusp,
       hooded and masked,
       will stand on the doorstep
       revealing little else but hunger
       and mothers will still wait
       outside, fearing the child
       will be swallowed up
       by the wild lit window,
       where a small candle makes a
       warmth within the fearsome thing.