Spook Upon The Stair

The Spook Upon the Stair is a short poem by Andrew McCullen. It was featured in the children’s anthology, Red Skelton’s Favorite Ghost Stories.

I met a spook upon the stair;
He was a haunt who had no hair.
In fact, he didn’t have a head
Which made me think he might be dead.

His head I saw beneath his arm,
Safely tucked away from harm,
But still it spoke to me and said,
“Before you go on up to bed,
Please let me say you should not stare
At ghosts you meet upon the stair.”

Thus spoke that spook, I do not lie,
Before I could quite pass it by.
“The thoughtful, gentle thing to do,”
It said to me, as I say to you,
“Is act as if they were not there,
And never, never, never stare,
Even though beneath an arm
Their heads they carry, safe from harm.

“However frightful they may be,
Act as if you did not see,
And if you did, would not have cared.
Above all, NEVER show you’re scared.”

This spook he spoke so plain and fair,
I heeded him, right then and there.
I hurried on right to the top,
And as I went I heard a pop.
I turned – and there was nothing there.
The spot the spook had been was bare.