Nightmare Before Christmas (original poem by: Tim Burton)

It was late one fall in Halloweenland,

and the air had quite a chill.

Against the moon a skeleton sat,

alone upon a hill.

He was tall and thin with a bat bow tie;

Jack Skellington was his name.

He was tired and bored in Halloweenland

"I'm sick of the scaring, the terror, the fright.

I'm tired of being something that goes bump in the night.

I'm bored with leering my horrible glances,

And my feet hurt from dancing those skeleton dances.

I don't like graveyards, and I need something new.

There must be more to life than just yelling,

'Boo!'"

Then out from a grave, with a curl and a twist,

Came a whimpering, whining, spectral mist.

It was a little ghost dog, with a faint little bark,

And a jack-o'-lantern nose that glowed in the dark.

It was Jack's dog, Zero, the best friend he had,

But Jack hardly noticed, which made Zero sad.

All that night and through the next day,

Jack wandered and walked.

He was filled with dismay.

Then deep in the forest, just before night,

Jack came upon an amazing sight.

Not twenty feet from the spot where he stood

Were three massive doorways carved in wood.

He stood before them, completely in awe,

His gaze transfixed by one special door.

Entranced and excited, with a slight sense of worry,

Jack opened the door to a white, windy flurry.

Jack didn't know it, but he'd fallen down

In the middle of a place called Christmas Town!

Immersed in the light, Jack was no longer haunted.

He had finally found the feeling he wanted.

And so that his friends wouldn't think him a liar,

He took the present filled stockings that hung by the fire.

He took candy and toys that were stacked on the shelves

And a picture of Santa with all of his elves.

He took lights and ornaments and the star from the tree,

And from the Christmas Town sign, he took the big letter C.

He picked up everything that sparkled or glowed.

He even picked up a handful of snow.

He grabbed it all, and without being seen,

He took it all back to Halloween.

Back in Halloween a group of Jack's peers

Stared in amazement at his Christmas souvenires.

For this wondrous vision none were prepared.