Ghosts, Ghouls, and Ghastly Drug Prices in Winning Halloween Haikus

If you dare, feast your eyes on this year’s winners of KFF Health News’ sixth annual Halloween Haiku contest. We received more than four dozen spooky submissions but only a few bubbled to the top of the cauldron. Here’s the winner and the top runners-up, illustrated by Oona Zenda. The judges’ favorites were inspired by blood shortages, high health care costs, and the eye-gouging price of prescription drugs. Keep an eye on KFF Health News’ social media accounts (X; Instagram; and Facebook) for more of our favorites. Enjoy!

1st Place

Vampires don’t scare me. 

Empty blood shelves, now that’s fear. 

Roll up, save a life.

— Crystal Decker 

2nd Place

What spooks me the most 

Is not a ghoul or a ghost 

But steep health care bills.

— Sasha Zitter 

3rd Place

No, not eye-gouging. 

My costume is scarier: 

Pharma price-gouging.

— Siri Palreddy

While Halloween may be coming to an end, KFF Health News reporting continues year-round. Send us your haikus at any time for possible inclusion in our Morning Briefing: https://kffhealthnews.org/contact-haiku/. 

2023 Halloween Haiku Contest Winners

2022 Halloween Haiku Contest Winners

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KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.