Monsters I've Met
I met a ghost, but he didn't want my head, He only wanted to know the way to Denver. I met a devil, but he didn't want my soul, He only wanted to borrow my bike awhile. I met a vampire, but he didn't want my blood, He only wanted two nickels for a dime. I keep meeting all the right people — At all the wrong times.
Monsters I've Met - context Summary
From a Light in the Attic
Published in Shel Silverstein’s 1981 children’s collection A Light in the Attic, this short poem playfully subverts horror tropes. Each feared creature—ghost, devil, vampire—turns out to have an ordinary, even comic request rather than a sinister purpose. The speaker’s bemused, conversational tone and tight three-stanza pattern lead to a wry closing line about bad timing. It reads as whimsical reassurance that fears can be unexpectedly mundane.
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