Dracupuss and Frankenmouse: a cat Halloween poem about a cat and mouse

Dracupuss and Frankenmouse

All year, she is Miss Fluffykins -
a cat about the house
a year, he is their Munchkin Nose -
a timid, squeaking mouse

But once a year on Halloween
as lightning strikes and storms
Miss Fluffykins and Munchkin Nose
beneath the moon, transform

For one night she is Dracupuss
and he is Frankenmouse
On tip-toe, razor claws they creep
and sneak beyond the house

The fangs of Dracupuss, like scythes
shine sharp beneath the stars
The face and fur of Frankenmouse
all cut and slashed with scars

As zombie boys and ghoulish girls
with armless, harmless gore
demand their cookies, candies, sweets
at each and open door …

Unseen, the duo scurry in
between the children’s feet
for cat and mouse must slink inside
so they can Trick or Treat

They Trick or Treat the guinea pigs
The hamsters, budgies, dogs
They Trick or Treat the fish in bowls
The geckos, snakes and frogs

The pets afraid, they always Treat
Give everything they’ve got
And Dracupuss and Frankenmouse
They bag the blooming lot

November first, as dawn yawns wide
and nightmares all subside
Miss Fluffykins and Munchkin Nose
awake, confused, red-eyed

They wonder why surrounding them
are crickets, piles of seeds
two mini-castle ruins and
three diamante leads …

a swinging perch with bells attached
a giant bone, half-gnawed
a hamster wheel ‘round Fluffy’s neck
dried worms on every claw

“Oh dear, my dear friend Munchkin Nose,
How’d this all end up here?”
“I just don’t know Miss Fluffykins
It happens every year

Mark Bird

💡 Literacy Lesson Ideas for Teachers and Students:

This delightfully spooky cat Halloween poem, Dracupuss and Frankenmouse, is a fantastic springboard for engaging poetry and creative writing lessons in Key Stage 2 and early Key Stage 3. Teachers can begin by exploring rhyme, rhythm, and narrative voice, encouraging pupils to identify the poem’s structure and the use of transformation as a poetic device. Pupils might create their own pet-inspired Halloween characters, developing alliterative names and eerie backstories. The poem also lends itself to performance – children can practise expressive reading and even act out the nocturnal adventures of Miss Fluffykins and Munchkin Nose. Extend learning with a writing prompt: “What happens the next Halloween?” or “What do the other pets do with their stolen treats?” This humorous yet chilling poem offers a rich blend of imagination, vocabulary, and poetic techniques, ideal for seasonal literacy work.

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