Antigonish by William Hughes Mearns

Inspired by sightings of a ghost roaming the stairs of a haunted house in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada, this poem was originally composed in 1899 at Harvard University as part of a play called ‘The Psyco-ed,’ and was later published in New York World in 1922.  The work was also adapted as a hit song under the title ‘The Little Man Who Wasn’t There,’ an alternate name for the poem.

Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today,
Oh how I wish he'd go away…

When I came home last night at three,
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall,
I couldn't see him there at all!
Go away, go away, don't you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please don't slam the door...

Last night I saw upon the stair,
A little man who wasn't there,
He wasn't there again today
Oh, how I wish he'd go away...