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The Whispering Room: Haunted Poems
Ghosts, goblins, witches, scary pea soup fogs, bogeymen, mysterious night noises, sprites, spirits and more -- they're all here in this anthology of terrifically terrifying poems. Wonderfully weird and eerie illustrations add to the haunted mood cast by the book's more than 50 poems. Offering a mix of contemporary and classic verse, as well as traditional rhymes, the poets include Carl Sandburg, Ted Hughes, Emily Bronte, Stevie Smith, Alfred Tennyson, Walter de la Mare and William Shakespeare.
- GenresPoetry
72 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2003
2 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Gillian Clarke
61 books35 followersGillian Clarke is one of the central figures in contemporary Welsh poetry, the third to take up the post of National Poet of Wales. Her own poems have achieved widespread critical and popular acclaim (her Selected Poems has gone through seven printings and her work is studied by GCSE and A Level students throughout Britain) but she has also made her cultural mark through her inspirational role as a teacher, as editor of the Anglo-Welsh Review from 1975 - 1984, and as founder and President of Ty Newydd, the writers' centre in North Wales.
Clarke currently runs an organic small-holding in Ceredigion, the Welsh landscape is a shaping force in her work, together with recurrent themes of war, womanhood and the passage of time. Her last three books have all been Poetry Book Society Recommendations.
Clarke currently runs an organic small-holding in Ceredigion, the Welsh landscape is a shaping force in her work, together with recurrent themes of war, womanhood and the passage of time. Her last three books have all been Poetry Book Society Recommendations.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 26, 2020
A really great selection of poems combined with some really nice, suitable art. Not too spooky but still enough to make a Victorian era dandy faint. Really good book. Would love to read again.
January 20, 2024
A spellbinding collection with equally fantastic illustrations
March 15, 2015
Designed to “make young readers shiver”, according to the blurb on the back cover, this delightful collection of poems and lyrics won’t make young skins crawl and sweat, but make hardened young readers giggle and shake their heads over the "quaintess of it all".
Used to pretty violent Disney movies and video games, young readers these days will probably view the book's illustrations with nostalgia.
Having said that, many of the poems are pretty creepy and best told on a rainy, stormy night, when young readers are clutching their bed-covers and wiggle their frightened toes.
The collection includes traditional folklore and songs from a variety of countries and showcases works by contemporary poets.
My favourite poem, The Bogeyman by Jack Prelutsky, demonstrates nicely what it’s all about in the “shiver-me-timbers” department:
“He sulks in the shadows, relentless and wild
in his search for a tender, delectable child.
With his steely sharp claws and his slavering jaws
oh he’s waiting…just waiting…to get you.” (page 12, 2nd verse)
Unfortunately, the illustrations of this book are rather a let down as far as bloodthirsty young readers are concerned, for the pictures are simply not scary enough to demonstrate what's going on in the poems and song lyrics.
Muted colours, quaint countryside settings and an old-fashioned feel to the way children dress in the "fairytale world" remind this adult reviewer of books she read in her own childhood, some 40 years ago, yet the book was first published as a hardback edition in 1996, so not that long ago.
Despite that, it’s a great read and a good way to get children interested in poetry.
Used to pretty violent Disney movies and video games, young readers these days will probably view the book's illustrations with nostalgia.
Having said that, many of the poems are pretty creepy and best told on a rainy, stormy night, when young readers are clutching their bed-covers and wiggle their frightened toes.
The collection includes traditional folklore and songs from a variety of countries and showcases works by contemporary poets.
My favourite poem, The Bogeyman by Jack Prelutsky, demonstrates nicely what it’s all about in the “shiver-me-timbers” department:
“He sulks in the shadows, relentless and wild
in his search for a tender, delectable child.
With his steely sharp claws and his slavering jaws
oh he’s waiting…just waiting…to get you.” (page 12, 2nd verse)
Unfortunately, the illustrations of this book are rather a let down as far as bloodthirsty young readers are concerned, for the pictures are simply not scary enough to demonstrate what's going on in the poems and song lyrics.
Muted colours, quaint countryside settings and an old-fashioned feel to the way children dress in the "fairytale world" remind this adult reviewer of books she read in her own childhood, some 40 years ago, yet the book was first published as a hardback edition in 1996, so not that long ago.
Despite that, it’s a great read and a good way to get children interested in poetry.
October 29, 2022
These poems were a mixture of classic poems and newer ones. Some were really creepy and others were just silly. Some were easy to read, others were a little more dense and would be a little tough for kids to understand. The illustrations were colorful and went well with the poems.
May 2, 2017
I liked the illustrations better than the poems.
September 25, 2009
Eerie, moody, perfectly macabre poems, beautifully illustrated. Still in print as THE KINGFISHER BOOK OF SCARY POEMS.
April 27, 2010
I haven't actually read the whole book but the book contains good poetic haunted poetry's.
May 8, 2014
Scary
May 12, 2014
Sweet. When I grow up I'm going to read this to my kids.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews