Short Halloween Stories for Kids

Short Halloween Stories for Kids

• The Legend of Bride's Veil Bridge
• The Old Witch by The Brothers Grimm
• Uncle John's Halloween Story
• Texas Halloween Investigation
• Halloween Jokes for Kids
• Two Longer Halloween Stories for Children

The Legend of Bride's Head Bridge

There's a bridge near Hanover in Germany called 'Der Kopf der Braut', which means bride's head.  A 15th century legend has it that Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt and his bride Gretchen were approaching the bridge in their horse and carriage when their way was blocked by an elderly crone. 

The Reichsgraf or 'Count' ordered the old lady to get off the bridge instantly and make way for their carriage.  But it was dark, and the old lady had difficulty in herding her sheep off the bridge.

Because the old witch was moving none to fast, Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt took his whip and have her a sound thrashing.  Bleeding, and cowering in a ditch, the old witch put a curse on the carriage.  Consequently when the bridal party eventually crossed the bridge, one of the horses shied and the other reared up.  The upshot was that Gretchen was thrown from the carriage into the river below.

It seems certain that she drowned as the river was in torrent and Gretchen was never seen again. However, it is said by Hanoverian wicca that at Halloween you can see a headless bride standing on rocks in the middle of the river.  Some say she is looking for her lost head, while other say she is looking for her beloved Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt.

Uncle John's Halloween Story

When I was a boy, each year as the nights began to draw in, my uncle John would tell we kids this Halloween story.  It was a tale about a trick that he played in a graveyard.  One night Uncle John spotted his great friend Eddie weaving his way home from the village pub.  As John watched, he saw Eddie open the church's litch gate and take the shortcut through the graveyard.

There was no doubt that Eddie was the worse for wear, and appeared disoriented, really he should have taken the longer route home via the round ring.  But then he cried out to nobody in particular, 'Where am I?'

John replied instantly, 'Amongst the living'.

'Where are you?' cried Eddie'; to which John replied in his most sepulchral voice, 'Amongst the dead'.

Eddie sobered up instantly, rushed back the way he came, and took the long way around the churchyard.  This time he preferring to go passed the round ring, rather than stay a minute longer amongst the spirits of the gravestones.

The Old Witch by The Brothers Grimm
(Classic Halloween Story)

There was once a little girl who was very wilful and who never obeyed when her elders spoke to her - so how could she be happy?

One day she said to her parents, 'I have heard so much of the old witch that I will go and see her. People say she is a wonderful old woman, and has many marvellous things in her house, and I am very curious to see them.'

But her parents forbade her going, saying, 'The witch is a wicked old woman, who performs many godless deeds - and if you go near her, you are no longer a child of ours.'

The girl, however, would not turn back at her parents' command, but went to the witch's house. When she arrived there the old woman asked her:

'Why are you so pale?'
'Ah,' she replied, trembling all over, 'I have frightened myself so with what I have just seen.'

'And what did you see?' inquired the old witch.
'I saw a black man on your steps.'

'That was a collier,' replied she.
'Then I saw a gray man.'

'That was a sportsman,' said the old woman.
'After him I saw a blood-red man.'

'That was a butcher,' replied the old woman.

'But, oh, I was most terrified,' continued the girl, 'when I peeped through your window, and saw not you, but a creature with a fiery head.'

'Then you have seen the witch in her proper dress,' said the old woman. 'For you I have long waited, and now you shall give me light.'

So saying the witch changed the little girl into a block of wood, and then threw it on the fire. When it was fully alight, she sat down on the hearth and warmed herself, saying:

'How good I feel! The fire has not burned like this for a long time!'

More Short Halloween Stories for Children

Texas Halloween Investigation

There was a murder in Texas at Halloween, and the FBI were called in to investigate.  Hitchcock, one of the officers, saw something written in blood on the wall.  It looked like the number '7734', but he was not sure; anyway, he took lots of pictures.

When Hitchcock got back to the lab he developed the film of the crime scene, but he still could not make any progress with the number.  In the hope of inspiration, he took the sheaf of photographs home and spread them on the dining room chair.  Just at that moment his 7 year old daughter Emma came in through the patio door opposite, and looked in the mirror.

'Why have you photographed hell?', she asked, then Hitchcock saw that upside down, and mirrored, 7734 spelt: 'hELL'. 

Halloween Skeleton for the Doctor

An intern was sent to collect a new skeleton from the central store.  When he arrived at the consultant surgeon's office there was already a queue of patients waiting.  As the intern wrestled the skeleton through the outside door he became aware of people gazing at him enquiringly.

He gave them a smile and said, 'I am bringing him to the doctor.'

An old lady said sympathetically, 'My dear! Isn't he a bit late for the doctor?'

Halloween Jokes for Kids

Time for a break from Halloween stories, let us have a few laughs:

• Where do baby ghosts go during the day?
  Dayscare centers (Dayscare centres in the UK)
• What did Dr. Frankenstein get when he put a goldfish brain in the body of his dog?
  I don't know, but it is great at chasing submarines.
• What do you get when you cross Bambi with a ghost?
  Bamboo
• How did the ghost sew his sheet?
  With a pumpkin patch.
• Why did the witches' team lose the table tennis game?
  Their bats flew away
• Why was big sister Joanne unhappy when she won first prize for the best costume at the Halloween party?
  Because Joanne had only come to collect her brother!
• Why was Felix tickled by the chicken wings at the Halloween party?
  Because the feathers were still on the chickens!
• What do ghosts like to dance to?
  Soul music!

Two Longer Halloween Stories for Children

'The Pumpkin' by STORY maKING mother

...There was once a pumpkin who lived on a farm with a very kind farmer...and a lot of other pumpkins.

The farmer was a good man who loved his pumpkins very much, and he always spoke kindly to them. He took good care of them and taught them all how to be good.

In the morning, he sang a sweet song to his pumpkins, and after lunch, he told them to sit very still and soak up the sunshine. Then, as it began to get dark each evening, this farmer came to his pumpkins and told them to drink up the water from the ground through their roots--very slowly. (It's kind of like drinking through a straw when pumpkins drink water through their roots.) Then, when it was time to go to bed, he came again and told them all to go to sleep and get plenty of rest so that they could grow up big and strong.

There was one pumpkin that did everything he asked. When it was time to sit quietly and soak up the sun, she did it. When it was time to drink up the water, she sucked it up nice and slow, just as he showed her. And when it was dark and the farmer said, 'Sleep, little ones...' our pumpkin would smile and let her body relax, and soon she would be fast asleep.

It was a nice life, and the pumpkin was happy because the farmer loved her. She was really glad when he told her that she was special and pretty. She wanted to make the farmer proud. And when they were all little, the pumpkins were very good and loved each other. It was perfect!

But the pumpkins began to grow, and as they did, they all changed. Each one got stronger, fatter, and could do more things. Everyone except our sweet little pumpkin. Instead of growing bigger, she stayed small, and when all of the other pumpkins began staying up late or would not to soak up the sun or drink their water, our little green pumpkin kept being good. She obeyed the farmer even when everyone else didn't, but soon, the other pumpkins began to make fun of her.

'Ooh, there's the good little baby! She never does anything wrong...she's so GOOOOOD!' When the farmer said it, all of that sounded nice. But now, they were saying it to her in a new way--in a mean way. She didn't feel proud when THEY said it...she felt embarrassed and sad. Why did they have to pick on her?

For the next few days, life was hard for our little pumpkin. All of the other pumpkins laughed at her when she sat very still and quiet, soaking up the sun. They all wanted to talk and laugh and say mean things about her--none of them sat still. And when it was time to drink water, she kept drinking nice and slow, while they gulped it down so that they could go back and play.

After a while, the pumpkins began to grow up. Every day, the farmer came and said, 'We're going to have delicious pies this year--yes, indeed, they will be lovely.' All of the pumpkins were proud of that. They each wanted to be eaten and enjoyed by the farmer. But everyone knew that there was something better.

All of the pumpkins had heard the story of the seed pumpkin. Each year, the farmer chose a very special pumpkin that he didn't cook. That pumpkin was always the biggest and most beautiful pumpkin of them all. The farmer would choose the best pumpkin, take out all of the seeds, and plant them for next year. Her mom had been the seed pumpkin last year. This year, her biggest dream was to be chosen.

Deep down, she knew she wouldn't be chosen. After all she had tried to be good, and even after working so hard and doing everything right, she was still the smallest pumpkin. She was also the only one left who was green. All of the other pumpkins had turned orange by now. She was sad about that--she still looked like a baby!

A few days later, the farmer came over to her and said, 'You remind me of your mother. You'll surprise us all yet.' She didn't understand him, but she knew that he loved her, and that made her happy. The little green pumpkin smiled and decided that even if she never was special, she was glad that she had been good, because the farmer was happy with her. She went to sleep that night very glad, and all of the days until the big harvest party, she was still happy.

During this time, she started turning orange. It was a nice change, and she liked her new color. Also, the other pumpkins stopped making fun of her. In fact, they made friends and were very nice to her now. She was glad about that, but she didn't stop being good, even when they asked her to play during sun-soaking time. 'Nope, I have to do what the farmer says,' she would answer. And they didn't laugh at her. She wondered why...

The harvest party finally came, and the farmer was very busy in his house. He didn't even come out to speak to them that morning, but they weren't sad. This was the day that the seed pumpkin would be chosen. 'We all know who that's going to be,' one of the pumpkins said, and everyone agreed. 'Who?' said our pumpkin. But no one would answer her; they just kept on drinking. They were all trying to drink extra today so that they would be sweet and juicy when they were made into pies.

The farmer finally came out to them before the harvesters came. Smiling, he cut our pumpkin's roots free and picked her up, saying, 'Your time has come, my little Baby.' Smiling, the pumpkin felt very happy. She guessed that he planned to make an early pie of her, and she was proud of being chosen. Happily, she bounced against his chest as he carried her into the house.

The pumpkin looked around the house, thinking of her mother. 'She was in here, when she was chosen as the seed pumpkin. I wish I could have been like her.' Suddenly, she missed her mother, and she began to cry. 'Oh, Mom, I'm sorry I didn't get to make you proud. I'm sorry that they didn't choose me to be the seed pumpkin...'

The farmer walked by a wall that had pictures of all his old seed pumpkins. She saw her grandfather, her mother, and finally, it looked like another picture of her mother again. But then, she realized it wasn't a picture! It was a mirror! She looked just like her mother, the old seed pumpkin, and she suddenly had an idea...

The farmer took her into the kitchen and laid her on the counter. Smiling, he said, 'You were chosen because you wanted to be good, and you love to obey. I knew that you would grow bigger and brighter than the others because you were the best one inside, and when a pumpkin is good inside, it will someday turn pretty outside. Smiling, the pumpkin realized that being good was hard, but it was worth it. And she was very, very, happy.

When the other pumpkins saw the seeds, they all were sorry that they had been bad. But it was too late for them. They had lost their chance to be the seed pumpkin. But they could still be good, and they decided to be good right then! Because of their changed hearts, they made yummy pies. And when people remembered the party, they said, 'It was the best one we ever had!'

THE END

This Short Pumpkin Story for Kids was by The Story Making Mother

The Trip to the Brocken, Germany

Once upon a time there was a young man who was engaged to marry a pretty girl. After a while the bridegroom-to-be became suspicious of his fiancée and her mother. You see, they were both witches.

The day came when witches go the Brocken, and the two women climbed into the hayloft, took a small glass, drank from it, and suddenly disappeared. The bridegroom-to-be, who had sneaked after them and observed them, was tempted to take a swallow from the glass. He picked it up and sipped a little from it, and suddenly he was on the Brocken, where he saw how his fiancée and her mother were carrying on with the witches, who were dancing around the devil, who was standing in their midst.

After the dance was ended, the devil commanded everyone to take her glass and drink, and immediately afterward they all flew off in the four directions of the wind. The bridegroom-to-be, however, stood there all soul alone on the Brocken, and freezing, for it was a cold night. He hadn't brought a glass with him, so he had to return on foot.

After a long, difficult hike he finally came to his fiancée's. However, she was very angry, and her mother scolded him as well, for having drunk from the glass. Mother and daughter finally agreed to turn the bridegroom-to-be into a donkey, and that is what happened.

The poor bridegroom-to-be was now a donkey, and he plodded unhappily from one house to the next, crying a sad 'ee-ah, ee-ah.' A man felt sorry for the donkey, took him into his stall, and gave him some hay. But understandably the donkey did not want to eat, and was driven from the stall with blows.

After wandering about for a long time, long-ears finally came back to the house of his fiancée, the witch, and he cried out pitifully. The fiancée saw her former bridegroom-to-be, standing there before her door as a donkey with bowed head and ears hanging down.

She regretted what she had done and said to the donkey, 'I will help you, but you must do what I tell you. At a child's baptism, place yourself before the church door and let the baptismal water be poured over your back, and then you will be transformed back into a human.'

The donkey followed his fiancée's advice. The next Sunday, a child was baptized, and the donkey placed himself before the church door. When the baptismal service was over, the sexton wanted to pour out the baptismal water, but the donkey was standing in his way.

'Go on, you old donkey!' said the sexton, but the donkey did not yield. Then the sexton became angry and poured the water over the animal's back.

Now the donkey was redeemed and was transformed back into a man. He hurried to his fiancée, married her, and lived happily with her from that time forth.

Footnote
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