Scottish Country Dance of the Day

"O'er cobbled lanes where shadows creep,
And ghostly whispers dare not sleep,
A black cat prowls through midnight's veil,
With eyes aglow, a haunting tale.

Its silken fur, a darkened flame,
Moves swift as whispers speak its name;
By yew and witch, it guards the night,
The silent soul of Hallow's fright."

~ The Black Cat

"A form sits by the window,
That is not seen by day,
For as soon as the dawn approaches
It vanishes away."

~ The Haunted Chamber, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

"🎶 Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,
Now shake dem skeleton bones!"

~ Traditional

“On mounting a rising ground, which brought the figure of his fellow-traveller in relief against the sky, gigantic in height, and muffled in a cloak, Ichabod was horror-struck on perceiving that he was headless!--but his horror was still more increased on observing that the head, which should have rested on his shoulders, was carried before him on the pommel of his saddle!”

~ Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 1820

"🎶 Raven hair and ruby lips
Sparks fly from her fingertips
Echoed voices in the night
She's a restless spirit on an endless flight"

~ Witchy Woman, The Eagles, 1972

"Whatever you make of it, I do not know, but there is something very queer about the top of Ben MacDhui and I will not go back there again by myself I know.”

~ Professor J. Norman Collie, 1925, at the 27th Annual General Meeting of the Cairngorm Club in Aberdeen

"🎶 Amang the bonie winding banks,
Where Doon rins, wimplin, clear;
Where Bruce ance ruled the martial ranks,
An’ shook his Carrick spear;
Some merry, friendly, country-folks
Together did convene,
To burn their nits, an’ pou their stocks,
An’ haud their Halloween"

~ Robert Burns, Halloween, 1785

"You've got to pick up every stitch
Oh no, must be the season of the witch"

~ Season of the Witch, Donovan Leitch, 1968

"Take a pound of Pompion, and slice it; an handful of Time, a little Rosemary, sweet Marjoram stripped off the stalks, chop them small; then take Cinamon, Nutmeg, Pepper, and a few Cloves, all beaten; also ten Eggs, and beat them all together, with as much Sugar as you shall think sufficient; then fry them like a Froise."

~ Gentlewoman’s Companion, written by Hannah Woolley, 1675

"Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron 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."

~ Shakespeare's Macbeth, the witches' recipe, Act 4, Scene 1 (c. 1603-1607)

"Monday’s child perfects their reel,
Tuesday’s child has a Highland feel,
Wednesday’s child skips round the set,
Thursday’s child knows no misstep yet,
Friday’s child leads a lively jig,
Saturday’s child twirls fast and big,
But Sunday's child has one big ask,
"Learn your three-beat pas de basque!"

~ "Monday's Child" revisited for Scottish Country Dance

"The devil's in the moon for mischief" ~ Don Juan by George Gordon, Lord Byron, Canto the First

"My son, the vampire,
He'll make you a wreck.
Every time he kisses you,
There'll be two holes in your neck."

~ Allan Sherman, My Son the Vampire (1964)

"By the pricking of my thumbs,  Something wicked this way comes. Open, locks, Whoever knocks." ​~ Macbeth, Act IV, Scene 1