Crooked Man

The Crooked Man is a scary poem based on an old nursery rhyme.

There was a crooked man who walked a crooked mile
And he found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile.

He bought a crooked cat who caught a crooked mouse
And they all lived together in a crooked little house.

But the crooked man was sad and once he had a thought.
Why should he be crooked, when others, they were not?

Everything was worthless, he heaved a great big sigh
And he went and found a rope and tied it to the sky.

Upon a chair he stood, his eyes were blank and dead.
Without another thought, he went and hung his head.

Now the story’s not yet over, for this tale is mythed and old,
Go hide under the cover… There’s something not yet told.

There once was a crooked man, who had a crooked smile,
And if you’ve lived his life, he’ll send you through a trial.

He lives for your torment, makes it full of strife,
And he won’t be content… Until you take your life.

Note: There is supposedly an urban legend about The Crooked Man. They say that if you recite this poem out loud, it will summon a demonic force known as The Crooked Man. Once you recite the poem, everyone in the house is cursed to die by his hands.

In the 1800s, a writer was researching legends and folklore. He discovered some lines of verse that occurred in dozens of different cultures and in dozens of different languages, all referring to the same thing. They called it “The Crooked Man”. Imagine a death sentence that no mortal could escape, that no human law could pardon, an eternal, unstoppable force bringing certain death to anyone who dared to summon it. It probably started as an incantation or a curse. The words were translated and passed down through the ages, evolving with the times. Over the years, it was transcribed and studied. Eventually, it entered the culture and was turned into a nursery rhyme… an innocent little poem for children to recite. And with that, the proverbial Pandora’s box was opened. The crooked man was unleashed upon the world. By the time anyone realized what was happening, that the crooked man was real, it was already too late.

“Once you have summoned The Crooked Man, he cannot be stopped. You cannot hide and you cannot run. He’s coming for you. There’s no order, no rhyme, no reason. Wherever there is darkness, he will be there. If you have been cursed by the crooked man, he will kill you eventually, no matter what.”