THE WITCHES' SPELL

Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth, boil and bubble.
Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

HALLOWEEN

Witch's fiddle, turnip middle,
Scoop it all out with a spoon.
Curve mouth and eyes
with a careful knife
Beneath a Hallowe'en moon.

Witch-broom handle, long wax candle,
Stick spell-firm in the hole.
Find a match,
Step back and watch
Hushed as a Hallowe'en mole.

Witch keen sight, strike bright light,
Match to the greasy wick.
See faint flame
Flick and Falter,
rise and stutter.
Part of the Hallowe'en game.

Witch-black cat; put turnip hat
gently back on the top
Turn out all noon.
Watch yellow eyes, mouth's flamed red rays.
Hark for a Hallowe'en tune.

For the witch's fiddle
And the witch's cat
And the crack
Of a witch broom handle
Sing a haggard song
On a moonless night
To a turnip lantern candle.

JOHN KITCHING

HALLOWE'EN FRIGHT

Who goes there
stopping at my door
in the deep dark dead
of the moonless night

Who goes there
turning the handle of my door
without a creak or rattle
slowly
round and round?

Who goes there
through the open-crack door
sliding
without a sound
across the carpeted floor?

Who goes there
with its shadow on the wall
passing with a sigh
and a shiver
through the mirror?

Who goes there
moving by the curtain
coming always closer
silent as a shimmer in the silvery light?

Who goes there
in the clothing of a dream
in the breath of fear
with no noise
ever near ever near
who goes...
HERE!

ROBERT FISHER

RECIPE

If I tell you this tale you might wince,
It concerns an odd mixture for mince,
Made from dogs' teeth and tails
By a witch from North Wales
In a pot with a pattern of chintz.
You take pigs' ears and lemons and cheese,
And the wings and the stings from queen bees,
Some frogs live and frisky,
A cupful of whisky,
Some slugs and a few black eyed peas.
Boil it an hour or two,
Season with essence of shrew;
If it turns out too salty,
The frogs must be faulty -
There's nothing at all you can do
(Except throw out the whole beastly brew)

SHELAGH McGEE

W IS FOR WITCH

I met a wizened woman
As I walked on the heath,
She had an old black bonnet
Her small eyes peeped beneath,
Her garments were so shabby
She couldn't have been rich,
She hobbled with a crutchstick,
And I knew she was a Witch.

She peered at me so slyly
It made my heart feel queer,
She mumbled as she passed me,
But what couldn't hear.
I smiled at her for answer
And wished her a good day
She nodded and she chuckled
And she hobbled on her way.

And so I got home safely.
I didn't drop the eggs,
My nose had grown no longer,
My legs were still my legs,
I didn't lose my penny
0rtumble in a ditch -
So mind you smile and say 'Good Day'
When you meet a witch.

ELEANOR FARJEON

I'M COMING...
(Song of a mean witch, sung in the dark)

I'm coming...
to guzzle your gizzards
and knobble your knees
to mingle your innards
and jam your barees

I'm coming...
to whiffle your waffle
and bully your beans
to sniffle your snoffle
and grobble your greens

I'm coming...
to splatter your mallocks
and grind your grooves
to gollop your grollocks
and splay your trooves

I'm coming...
To stick a newt down your chute
and cock in your snooks
to put a root in your hoot
and to stick up your dukes

I'm coming...
to bungle your brains
and hull your baloo
to wrack you in pains
and doodle you too

Who's coming...
to who?

I'm coming...
to YOU!

ROBERT FISHER

CHARM AGAINST AN EGG-BOAT

You must break the shell to bits, for fear
The witches should make it a boat, my dear;
For over the sea, away from home,
Far by night the witches roam.

ANON

An old superstition says that when a boiled egg has been eaten, the bottom of the shell should at once be broken. This was to prevent the witches from using the unbroken shell as a boat to sail the sea and brew up storms.

THE WITCHES SONG

'Hoity-Toity! Hop-'o-my-Thumb!
Tweedldee and Tweedledum!
All hobgoblins come to me,
Over the mountains, over the sea.
Come in a hurry, come in a crowd,
Flying, chattering, shrieking loud;
I and my broomstick fidget and call -
Come, hobgoblins, we want you all!
'I must have a pot of mischievous brew;
You must do what I tell you to:
Blow through the keyholes, hang to the eaves,
Litter the garden with dead brown leaves;
Into the houses hustle and run,
Here is mischief and here is fun!
Break the china and slam the doors,
Crack the windows and scratch the floors
Let in the cockroaches, mice and rats,
Sit on the family's Sunday hats;
Hiding and stealing everything little,
Smashing everything thin and brittle:
Teasing the children, tickling their heels -
Look at them jumping! Hark to their squeals!
Pinch their elbows and pull their hair,
Then out again to the gusty air!

'Flutter the birds in in their sheltered nests,
Pluck the down from the ducklings breasts,
Steal the eggs from the clicking hen.
Ride the pigs round and round the pen!
Here is mischief to spare for all -
Hoity-Toity, come at my call!
Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Come at my summons - come to me!'

Thus said a witch on a windy night,
Then sailed on her broomstick out of sight.

RUTH BEDFORD

THE SPELL OF A WITCH

I am making a magic spell,
With a toad and a goblin's yell.
A phantom's scream, a dragon's feather,
It smells as good as good as ever.
With frog's toes and lizard's legs,
I think I'll add some rotten Eggs.
I scream and shout I moan and yell,
I've just found a snail's shell.
I'll add a pinch of dirty weather,
With a poison dragon's feather.
I stir my brew, I stir my brew,
Some for and some for you.
Spooky, spooky dark and damp,
I met a wizard I met a tramp.
The wizard gave me a puppy dog's tail,
The tramp gave me a toad and a snail.
I stir my brew, I stir my brew,
Some for me and some for you.
I'll add some poison I'll add some blood,
I think it smells rather good.

GILLIAN PARKER (aged 9)