2025 Haunted Haiku Contest
We’re back from the dead! After skipping a year or two (honestly, time gets blurry when you’re haunting the internet), we’ve decided to resurrect our beloved Haunted Haiku Contest. We used to do these every Halloween season and they were absolutely legendary – writers would emerge from the shadows with the most deliciously dark verses that gave us chills for weeks.
This year we’re going full Halloween mode because frankly, the world needs more beautiful darkness right now. We want to inspire writers, bring together our twisted little community, and find all the like-minded horror freaks hiding in the comments section. This contest has always been about connecting with fellow lovers of the macabre, those who understand that there’s poetry in the shadows and beauty in things that go bump in the night.
So please, scare us. We absolutely love it. Show us what nightmares live in your imagination and craft them into those perfect little 17-syllable packages of terror. We’ll be sharing the most bone-chilling haikus across our social networks, so get ready for your words to haunt the internet and maybe even give someone delightful goosebumps.
The Prizes:
- Bragging rights
- The terrifying treat of scaring your friends
- Being awarded the Master Writer Award from Every Writer
The Rules:
- Traditional 5-7-5 syllable form
- Must be horror-themed – scary, eerie, unsettling, monstrous
- We want chills, not gross-out factor (gory is fine, graphic is not)
- Optional titles are welcome
- Deadline: October 30, 2025
- Leave your haiku in the comments below
- Enter as many times as you want, one haiku per comment
Example:
Midnight Visitor
Scratching at my door
The sound of rotting fingernails
I live on floor twelve
Drop your most haunting haiku in the comments and let’s see who can craft the most spine-tingling verses this Halloween season. The darker and more atmospheric, the better!
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I heard the dragging
And went to investigate
Then saw fingernails
footsteps on the porch
heavy breathing and loud snorts
moose eats pumpkin
I straighten the sheets
Her life now gone, I must sleep
Her hand scrapes my neck
Bare neck by open window
Gaunt hands seize my throat
I wake screaming from my dream
When the lights,
flicker off and on it’s time.
To run for the door.
Once upon a time
I was glad to be alive
Then my throat was slit
It was in the night
I heard tapping at my window
on the seventh floor
Underneath my skin
Something lives, and it wants out
My chest clawed open
It is within me
It moves and curls and strangles
me from inside out
Something is wrong here
Door ajar, window open
Am I not alone?
Eerie curling trails
Misty, cold, dank and daunting
Screaming in the night
It’s inside of me
I’m scratching, bleeding, and scared
It won’t get out. Help
on Halloween night
the deadname that’s haunting me
and all of my friends
remembrance garden
a breeze carries messages
from the other side
a murder of crows
gathered on the graveyard wall
dusk folds about us
grandpa’s rocking chair
moving independently
the shadows he left
Garlic for vampires,
silver bullets for werewolves .
I keep them away.
on Halloween night
the tombstones and skeletons
in our neighborhood
The undead comes to take,
over my house with moaning.
Like it’s a graveyard .
blood moon, starless sky
rusting gates, forgotten graves
marble angels sigh
Very nice!
abandoned mansion
inside the baby room wall—
screaming for mommy
another sparrow
dead on the church windowsill
awaiting night confession
middle-aged girl
still haunted by this shadow
ghostly twin brother
black book of witchcraft
lost souls scream about their pain
belonging nowhere
Nice!
nowhere to call home
begging to be left inside
unquiet spirits
The abyss hungers
Vast and undaunted it roars
For souls lost…and damned
When I was human
I was bound by mortal flesh
NOW I AM UNLEASHED
ipil tree–
the seed pods rattle
bloody moon
I’m ghosted again
but instead of terrorized
I’m just sad… again
romance is not dead
but her husband is… yet, still
nibbles on her neck
a mad scientist
creates anti-zombie spray…
no-one left to buy
There was a town I
Faint recall, nothing within
It felt real at all
[It may be disqualified, but this is a mini story in haiku form. So all haikus are connected for create one piece.]
_________________________________________
Whispers in the dark,
Moonlight drips through broken glass,
Shadows learn my name.
Creaking floor above,
Footsteps echo my heartbeat,
I am not alone.
Books fall from the shelf,
Pages whisper dark secrets,
I’m frozen in fear.
Curtains sway alone,
Cold fingers trace down my spine,
See my frozen breath.
Candles snap to black,
Whispers crawl beneath the floor,
Chill reaches my chest.
Terror drives me out,
Door slams shut behind my screams,
Fear runs faster still.
Moonlight on dead leaves,
Branches scrape my whispered breath,
Shadows lean too close.
I run through the night,
Then blink – and the floorboards groan,
I am home again.
Shadows choke the light,
Walls bend toward my muffled scream,
I cannot escape.
slice off the skin
cut out the eyes
peel the potato
“In life and in death”
Were the words that she whispered-
Dragging me to hell
They played ding-dong ditch
Kids laughed as a muzzle flashed-
It was their last game
shrouded head to toe
in red a girl skims ghostlike
through the dark, scything
A dark presence floats
on icy air, whispering,
“Death is not the end…”
[I know it’s too late, but I missed the contest I wrote it for, and then found this one. Great submissions here]
At one frightful night, I dreamed of a ghost, and when I woke up, I saw a ghost in the middle of the darkness. Since it was dark, I could not see it, but I sensed it; it was a frightening night!
Did anything come of this contest Richard?
We just posted the winners. I’m sorry this took so long. I am going to write a post soon about what is going on behind the scenes. Thanks for taking part and again, so sorry.
The Dead Have Spoken: Winners of the 2025 Haunted Haiku Contest
I’m thrilled to report that our Haunted Haiku Contest is officially resurrected! The community emerged from the shadows with some truly dark and chilling poetry, proving that seventeen syllables is more than enough space to craft a complete nightmare.
We sifted through dozens of entries, many of which had incredible atmosphere—but only a few managed to nail that traditional 5-7-5 syllable constraint while delivering the required punch of terror. It wasn’t easy, but we found the three entries that truly deserve the distinction of the Master Writer Award.
Congratulations to our winners!
Master Writer Award Winner: JB
Posted: October 25, 2025
They played ding-dong ditch
Kids laughed as a muzzle flashed
It was their last game
Atmospheric Dread Winner: John Hawkhead
Posted: October 4, 2025
remembrance garden
a breeze carries messages
from the other side
Psychological Chill Winner: toni
Posted: September 24, 2025
Underneath my skin
Something lives, and it wants out
My chest clawed open
A huge thank you to everyone who embraced the darkness and shared their beautiful verses. It’s a testament to our community’s talent that such small poems can carry such immense dread.
To our three winners: Enjoy your bragging rights and the Master Writer Award!
Until the next haunting… keep those nightmares sharp.
Richard
My apologies for the delay in announcing these winners – I’ve been navigating some challenging family health issues. Thank you all for your patience and for the incredible entries.
Excellent Richard, thank you!