15+ Chilling Horror Poems

(15 to start, 25+ to explore)

Horror poetry seeks to evoke fear and unease in the reader, often through themes of death, the supernatural, or the macabre. While similar to gothic poetry, it isn’t confined to a specific historical period or style. Horror poetry can use visceral and unsettling imagery, tension, and suspense to disturb and shock readers.

It’s a genre that pushes boundaries and plays on human fears and phobias. Poets like H.P. Lovecraft and authors like Stephen King have explored this genre.

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Annabel Lee

by Edgar Allan Poe

‘Annabel Lee’ by Edgar Allan Poe is a lyrical narrative ballad about a man haunted by his lost lover, Annabel Lee.

'Annabel Lee' by Edgar Allan Poe is one of the very best examples of horror in poetry, as it is an icon of the American Gothic movement in literature.

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee;

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"> 78/100

The Listeners

by Walter de la Mare

‘The Listeners’ by Walter de la Mare describes a traveler knocking at the door of a deserted home inhabited by phantoms at night in a forest.

The poem conjures a classic horror setting with an abandoned house covered in wild growth in the middle of an apparently less frequented forest. The nighttime and the imagery of moonlight on the door and dark staircase where the 'phantom listeners' stand fill the earlier tense aura with horror. The creepy silence accentuated by the auditory imagery like knocking, smiting the door, and the horse champing the grass, particularly, 'in the silence' exacerbates the anxiety and nervousness. The poem's lack of context and unpredictability, coupled with the anapestic rhythm creating a dramatic 'da-da-Dum' sound, further amplifies uneasiness and horror.

‘Is there anybody there?’ said the Traveller,

Knocking on the moonlit door;

And his horse in the silence champed the grasses

Of the forest’s ferny floor:

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"> 73/100

Boots

by Rudyard Kipling

‘Boots’ by Rudyard Kipling is a memorable poem. In it, Kipling uses repetition to emphasize the struggle of soldiers on a forced march.

This poem qualifies as psychological horror poetry through its portrayal of mental deterioration. Unlike traditional horror that relies on external threats, the 'Boots' creates horror through repetition and psychological breakdown. The growing madness, hallucinations, and inescapable rhythm make it a pioneering work of psychological horror verse.

We're foot—slog—slog—slog—sloggin’ over Africa!

Foot—foot—foot—foot—sloggin’ over Africa—

(Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin’ up and down again!)

There’s no discharge in the war!

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Loving Someone You Can't Have

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"> 72/100

La Belle Dame sans Merci

by John Keats

‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’ by John Keats is an intriguing narrative that explores death, decay, and love with a supernatural aura.

The knight's story evokes a sense of horror as he describes being forever trapped in the lady's illusion, unable to escape her entrapment. The lady's deceptive beauty and her history of ensnaring men suggest a sinister intent, adding to the sense of dread and foreboding. The horror makes the poem a cautionary tale, reminding readers of the dangers lurking beneath seemingly enchanting facades and supernatural allure.

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,

Alone and palely loitering?

The sedge has withered from the lake,

And no birds sing.

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"> 72/100

Lines Inscribed Upon a Cup Formed From a Skull

by Lord Byron

‘Lines Inscribed Upon a Cup Formed From a Skull’ was written in 1808 and expresses Byron’s disdainful thoughts surrounding death.

Byron masterfully employs Gothic elements through the macabre transformation of a human skull into a drinking vessel. The poem's dark imagery of worms, decay, and death creates an unsettling atmosphere, while the skull's direct address to the reader adds a supernatural element that heightens the horror of mortality.

Start not—nor deem my spirit fled:

In me behold the only skull

From which, unlike a living head,

Whatever flows is never dull.

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"> 70/100

Tam O’Shanter

by Robert Burns

One of the classics of Scottish literature, ‘Tam O’Shanter’ is a poem whose influence has spread beyond the borders of Scotland. A tale of drunken misadventure mixed with faux gothic and comedy horror, this poem somehow manages to transcend the mix of styles and tell a tale that has stood the test of time.

Amidst the comedy, the poem conjures up a sense of dread that leads to the horrific sights Tam encounters. He passes places where terrible acts have taken place before finally witnessing horror for himself. The chase is a classic horror scene, and the presence of the Devil himself only adds to the horror.

When chapmen billies leave the street,

And drouthy neibors, neibors meet,

As market days are wearing late,

An' folk begin to tak the gate;

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"> 65/100

The Hag

by Robert Herrick

‘The Hag’ by Robert Herrick is short poem that imagines with haunting detail a witch’s emergence into the night.

Herrick's poem was clearly written to instill terror in the heart and soul of the reader. Every piece of imagery found within is offered to illustrate the corruptive and terrifying presence of the witch. The readers of the poet's time would have found such descriptions overwhelming, given the fervent religious hysteria surrounding witches.

The Hag is astride,

This night for to ride;

The Devill and shee together:

Through thick, and through thin,

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"> 57/100

The Cremation of Sam McGee

by Robert Service

‘The Cremation of Sam McGee’ is one of the best-known poems of Robert W. Service. The poem presents the cremation of Sam McGee who freezes to death in the prospect of gold.

The genre of this poem is horror with a mix of humor. It tells a creepy story about death and a ghost, but it also makes readers smile or laugh at times because of how strange and unexpected the ending is. The mix of spooky and silly moments keeps the poem entertaining and gives it a campfire-story kind of feeling that readers don’t forget.

There are strange things done in the midnight sun

By the men who moil for gold;

The Arctic trails have their secret tales

That would make your blood run cold;

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Incident

by Natasha Trethewey

‘Incident’ was published in the former United States Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey’s 2006 collection “Native Guard”. This poem features one of the African-American speaker’s reactions after watching the cross-burning by Ku Klux Klan members.

The poem fits into the horror genre due to its unsettling portrayal of racial violence and the deep fear it instills in the speaker and their family. The imagery of the burning cross creates a chilling atmosphere, illustrating the reality of hate and its impact on lives. This genre forces readers to confront the darker aspects of humanity, revealing how such acts of cruelty can lead to lasting trauma and fear within a community.

We tell the story every year—

how we peered from the windows, shades drawn—

though nothing really happened,

the charred grass now green again.

#10

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A First War Childhood

by Stephen Spender

Stephen Spender’s ‘A First War Childhood’ captures his vivid childhood memories of fear and war during 1916, highlighting both trauma and the heroism of British soldiers.

In this poem, Stephen Spender concentrates on the real life horrors of war and the pervading sense of anxiety it brings. Elements of his surroundings are transformed through the use of literary devices, becoming sentient beings who wish to do him harm.

March 1916,

The middle of a war

- One night long

As all my life -

#11

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"> 38/100

Close Shave

by Charles Mungoshi

‘Close Shave’ explores the fragility of life by highlighting the myriad dangers that surround us every moment of our lives.

The imminent sense of danger in the poem and the apparent threat of violence imbues a degree of horror into the text. Likewise, the title alludes to the violence of figures like Sweeney Todd and further adds to the poem's sense of horror.

A plane roars above

rattling the loose sheets of the roof.

Clearly he hears the click-click

of the barber’s cold shears

#12

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And There Was a Great Calm

by Thomas Hardy

‘And There Was a Great Calm’ by Thomas Hardy describes the horrors of WWI, the end of the war, and the ‘Great Calm’ which came on November 11th, 1918.

There had been years of Passion—scorching, cold,

And much Despair, and Anger heaving high,

Care whitely watching, Sorrows manifold,

Among the young, among the weak and old,

#13

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District and Circle

by Seamus Heaney

‘District and Circle’, written by Seamus Heaney, depicts parts of a journey, or of several journeys, on the London Underground.

Again the growl

Of shutting doors, the jolt and one-off treble

Of iron on iron

#14

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Harriet Beecher Stowe

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Dunbar was inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, as it was one of the first works of literature to shed light on the brutality and cruelty of slavery.

She told the story, and the whole world wept

At wrongs and cruelties it had not known

But for this fearless woman's voice alone.

She spoke to consciences that long had slept:

#15

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I now had only to retrace

by Charlotte Brontë

‘I now had only to retrace’ by Charlotte Brontë describes a speaker’s harrowing journey through a rapidly darkening landscape.

I now had only to retrace

The long and lonely road

So lately in the rainbow chase

With fearless ardour trod

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15+ Chilling Horror Poems

(15 to start, 25+ to explore)

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15+ Chilling Horror Poems

(15 to start, 25+ to explore)

by Edgar Allan Poe

by Walter de la Mare

by Rudyard Kipling

by John Keats

by Lord Byron

by Robert Burns

by Robert Herrick

by Robert Service

by Natasha Trethewey

by Stephen Spender

by Charles Mungoshi

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