Spooky Songs
13 spooky and dark nursery rhymes — Who Killed Cock Robin, The Skeleton Dance, and more creepy children's songs. Free audio and full lyrics.
13 songs
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Oranges and Lemons
The bells of London with a chopper waiting at the end
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Ring a Ring o' Roses
The singing game that isn't about the plague
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Solomon Grundy
Born on a Monday, buried on Sunday — a life in one week
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The Skeleton Dance
Them bones them bones them dancing bones — connect the skeleton and dance
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Ding Dong Bell
The cautionary cat-in-the-well rhyme with a surprisingly ancient history
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Goosey, Goosey Gander
A goose wanders the house and throws an old man down the stairs
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I Love Little Kitty
A gentle cat, a warm fire, and a promise of kindness
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Inchworm
Two and two are four — counting marigolds while missing their beauty
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Is That Teddy Ready for Bed?
A bedtime song about pyjamas, teeth, teddy bears and getting ready for sleep
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Ladybird, Ladybug
Fly away home — your house is on fire and your children are gone
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London's Burning
A four-part round that conjures the panic of the Great Fire of London
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Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?
Ears cut short and tail cut long — where has the little dog wandered?
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One Potato, Two Potato
A medley of counting rhymes and playground dips
History & Dark Origins
Nine nursery rhymes.
Three centuries of English history.
Historian Andrés Ehmann traces the hidden stories behind the songs — from Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries to Bonnie Prince Charlie's escape over the sea to Skye.
Read the EssayAbout This Collection
Nursery rhymes have always had a dark side. Before the Victorian era softened much of the genre, many of the most popular rhymes dealt frankly with death, misfortune, and the less comfortable aspects of human experience. This collection gathers thirteen songs that retain that original edge — and that children, somewhat paradoxically, tend to find deeply appealing.
"Who Killed Cock Robin" is perhaps the most striking example: a formal inquest into the death of a small bird, with the entire animal kingdom as witness and jury, that has been disturbing and fascinating listeners since at least the eighteenth century. "The Skeleton Dance" leans into the macabre with gleeful abandon. Other songs here deal with ghosts, mysterious strangers, and the kind of characters best avoided after dark.
These recordings do not shy away from the atmosphere the songs require. The arrangements understand that spooky works precisely because it is allowed to be genuinely unsettling — not softened into something merely quirky. Perfect for Halloween, for dark winter evenings, or for any child who prefers their nursery rhymes with a shiver.