15 haunted halloween writing prompts

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82+ Halloween Writing Prompts (+ Free Printable)

There are still a couple of weeks until Halloween, making it the perfect time to start writing some Halloween stories and poems. We understand that writing horror stories can be difficult, so here are over 82 Halloween writing prompts to help you out and even a free printable! Whether you only have 20 mins or 2 hours, these Halloween writing prompts should be perfect for getting those creative juices flowing. To get extra spooky with your story writing, you can even try combining some of these prompts into a mega story. Alternatively, why not write a scary story for each day until Halloween? Take a look at these Halloween picture prompts for more spooky inspiration!

For more Halloween inspiration, check out our horror book title generator or our list of horror writing prompts .

Halloween Writing Prompts:

Mu hahaha! Prepared to get creative this Halloween with our writing prompts.

• You’re a mad scientist. Today in your lab you are creating a new monster. Can you describe this monster? What does it look like? What do they eat? What do they smell like? You can use this monster name generator for some cool name ideas.
• Write a spooky story about three ghosts to tell around the campfire. Don’t forget to end on a big finale to scare everyone! (Check out our list of ghost name ideas for possible character name ideas.)
• One night, after carving a pumpkin, the pumpkin starts speaking to you.
• You hear a strange sound from your wardrobe, you open it and see…
• A bat flies into your room and says he needs your help.
• Describe your perfect haunted house . You can even draw a picture of it.
• What is the scariest thing you have ever seen? And are you still scared of it?
• You find some footprints leading into your house. What do you do?
• Your imaginary friend becomes real and starts causing trouble for you.
• Write 10 questions to interview a vampire and then answer them from the point of view of a vampire.
• Write a recipe for a witch’s brew. If you need an awesome name for your witch, check out our witch name generator .
• Write three acrostic poems using the words, Halloween, Witch and Frankenstein.
• Write a poem in any format you like about the scariest monster you have ever seen.
• Write down a detailed description of a recent nightmare that you have had.
• Your name is Connor. You are a troublemaker. What sort of problems do you think you would get into at your school Halloween party? Write about them!
• Write a gothic poem using the words creepy, ghouls, goblins and pitch-black. 
• Write a scary story about a group of friends playing a creepy version of Chinese Whispers, called Black Lotus. What consequences does this game have on their friendship?
• Write a script for a Halloween ghost stage show that includes a musical number.
• What happens when you dream of a creature that never sleeps? This creature is there when you wake up and there when you sleep. There’s no escaping it, or is there? 
• Write a poem that begins with the sentence: This night it’s your turn to die! How will you die?
• Write a ghost story using the book title idea: Catch A Ghost.
• Make a list of three things you love about Halloween and three things you hate about Halloween.
•  Write a scary story where a house does something supernatural and dangerous in order to stay in the Halloween spirit (it can even be a ghost that is haunting your house!).
• Imagine you are throwing the best Halloween party ever! How would you plan this party? Who will be at the party and what will happen at the party?
• Create a wish list of all the items you need for your Halloween party (dress, food, decorations…). How much money would you need?
• Think of 10 scary things that could happen on Halloween and brainstorm the consequences of each one.
• Find a relative of yours from the past who has passed away and imagine a conversation you might have with that person (for example Grandma: “When I was growing up…”).
• Think of a scary place where you would go on Halloween (it could be an old house, a building,…). What makes this place so scary?
• Candy is a huge part of Halloween, so why not think of something scary that you could do with your Halloween candy? Try to think of at least one idea.
• Write a short horror story about an evil, living pumpkin and its past.
• Write a ghost story that sounds like a haunted phone call that you would get if you called a non-existent person.
• Make a top ten list of the best Halloween costumes to wear.
• Make a list of your top five favourite Halloween candy or treats to eat.
• Do you follow any Halloween traditions or something that you do every year? If yes, why is this tradition important to you? Examples of common Halloween traditions include watching horror movies, going trick or treating, wearing costumes etc.
• If Halloween was banned in your town, would you care? Write a letter to your town mayor stating your opinion on Halloween. 
• Imagine you are a new student in school and you have to write a speech about Halloween. Write an interesting speech and share it with your friends and teachers.
• Write a newspaper article about a scary event that happens in your town every Halloween. 
• Make a top ten list of your favourite scary movies.
• Imagine you are a ghost and you want to haunt people. Where would you like to haunt people?
• Monster Mash is one the most popular songs to play on Halloween. Can you write your own spooky song for Halloween about monsters?
• Think of the worst Halloween treat you have ever eaten, and describe its taste in great detail.
• Make a top ten list of the scariest monsters or villains from books and movies.
• Trick or Treating is an ancient tradition that dates back to the middle ages. Back then it was known as mumming where people dressed up as creatures and performed tricks in exchange for food and drink. If you lived back then, what trick would you perform?
• Imagine your life as a ghost and you are chasing people to tell them what happens after death. What are you going to tell people?
• Think of any object in your room right now, and imagine that it was haunted by a ghostly spirit. What would it say or do?
• Write a how-to guide on how to scare people. What is the best way to terrify someone? What are some of the best things to use to scare someone?
• If you walked through a haunted house, what would be the scariest part?
• Do you think that trick-or-treating is just for little kids, or is this an activity that grown-ups should also be able to do?
•  Write a story about someone who gets lost in the woods on Halloween.
• Imagine a world, where instead of dressing up as monsters or creatures on Halloween, people dressed up as each other. Who would you dress up as and why?
• Write a newspaper article titled: The Biggest Trend Coming This Halloween Season!
• Have you ever seen a ghost and even if you didn’t believe in them, do you think they are real?
• Make a list of at least 5 activities to do on Halloween.
•  Think of a scary ghost from history or legend and write a ghost story about it. For example, some of the best ghost stories are based on true events like The Apparition of Madeleine or the Bloody Barrow in West Virginia.
• Write a Halloween story where ghosts and monsters appear and cause havoc all around town.
• Complete the following sentence in at least three different ways: Halloween is a time to…
• Write a newspaper article about the different Halloween traditions that exist around the world.
• Make a list of at least 5 scary words and use each one in a sentence. 
• Think of a time when you were scared of something and it was so bad that you couldn’t think about anything else. Describe what was going on around you.
• Write down a spell for turning people into toads. For this spell to work, it must rhyme. 
• Imagine that a ghost in your home is following you around. What would you do to scare it away?
• Write a scary story about a person who works at a pumpkin farm.
• Make a list of your greatest fears, and explain each one.
• Describe the world’s scariest clown. What would their name be? Think about their appearance and how they talk.
• Research and make a list of 5 interesting facts about Halloween.
• You’re hosting a Halloween dinner party at your house. Make a menu of the food you plan on serving your guests.
• Write a newspaper article about the history of Halloween and how it has changed over the years.
• Pretend you are on a ghost-hunting tour. Write a list of questions you will ask your tour guide.
• Imagine you are interviewing a real-life vampire for your school newspaper. Make a list of 5 questions you would ask this vampire. As a bonus, why not try answering these questions from the perspective of a vampire?
• Make a list of ten words related to Halloween, and use each one in a sentence.
• Complete the following sentence in at least three ways: If Halloween was a person, they would be…
• Would you rather be stuck in a graveyard on Halloween night, or lost in the woods? Explain your choice.
• Create your own Halloween greeting card – What spooky message will you include on the inside?
• Most people are scared of ghosts, but what do you think ghosts are scared of?
• Imagine you are invisible and you can hide anywhere in the world. Where would you hide and why?
• Write a limerick about a boy who drinks blood. You can start the limerick like this: There once was a boy who drank blood.
• Imagine that a ghost resides in your room, and every time you walk by, it laughs and tickles you. What should you do to stop it?
• Describe the monster that lives under your bed in great detail.
• Use the following story starter: A drop of blood, a handful of toenails and a pinch of ground-up teeth.  Timmy smiles and waits for things to come back.
• Use the following sentence to start your story: “Once upon a time, on Halloween night, there lived a guy named Sam…” 
• Use the following story starter: “So, which monster is going to eat you up tonight, little boy?”
• How do you think ghosts pick their victims? Make a list of things they look out for in their victims.
• Imagine you work for a spooky monster agency. Your task is to write up a job description for hiring a ghost to haunt people. What skills and traits are you looking for in a ghost?

For more Halloween writing prompts, check out our 31-Day October writing challenge ! You might also be interested in the list of over 62 fall writing prompts .

Halloween Writing Prompts Printable

Print out our spooky writing prompts to use offline. Perfect for when the electricity cuts off and all you have is the daylight or candlelight to write by. We even included a list of Halloween words to make your stories extra scary!

Share your Halloween stories with us!

Got a funny or scary Halloween story you want to share with us? We would love to read them! Comment your stories below or use the #imagineforest on social media to share them. You can even use the Imagine Forest story creator to publish your own stories online and share them with your friends. If you loved our 82+ Halloween writing prompts for kids, you’ll love our Halloween paper bookmark tutorial !

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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BEST HALLOWEEN WRITING PROMPTS

Join (probably?) the world's largest writing contest. Flex those creative muscles with weekly writing prompts.

Showing 25 prompts reset

Set your story in a world where contacting the dead is as easy as making a phone call., write a story where ghosts and the living coexist., write a story about someone trying to raise the dead., write a story about someone who is haunted. whether by a ghost or something else is up to you., write a story from a ghost’s point of view..

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It's Halloween, and a war has suddenly erupted among the neighborhood kids. The battle: Twix versus Kit-Kats. Who wins?

• Write a story set in a haunted fairground on Halloween.

You are responsible for taking your neighbors' kids out to trick-or-treat, but you look outside and suddenly feel scared of the gloomy dark...

Write about a costume competition at a halloween party..

• Write about a caveman who accidentally time travels to present-day Halloween, only to become unexpectedly popular in the town because of a surprising talent: pumpkin carving.

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• Write a story about a family that goes pumpkin picking together.

"Wow, great costume! How'd you make it?" you say to the kid dressed as the Grim Reaper, reaching a hand out to test the material of the mask. The mask doesn't come off. It's not a costume.

You are the owner of the best halloween costume store in town. then a rival costume store moves in… and sets up shop right next to you., set your story backstage at the theater., write about someone whose busiest night of the year is halloween., set your story at the boundary between two realms., write a story that involves a secret or magic ingredient., write about a drummer going to a halloween party for musicians..

• Write about a group of witches meeting up on Halloween night.
• Write about someone’s first Halloween as a ghost.

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The best Halloween writing prompts

Spooky scary skeletons and things that go bump in the night have one favorite night of the year: Halloween. And we love this holiday just as much, which is why we've curated our favorite Halloween writing prompts — the perfect inspiration for any writer who loves the macabre.

The options are endless. A tale of trick-or-treating gone wrong. A haunted house that turns out to be haunted for real. Ghost, goblins, and witches roaming the streets freely. Parties, decorations, costumes and facades all provide ample inspiration for a spooky holiday story. Since you're spoiled for choice, we've narrowed down our top story ideas for you.

Here are our top ten Halloween writing prompts:

• You have a few friends over for a Halloween party. You've just finished watching a scary movie when the power goes out and the door is slammed open. What happens next?
• "Wow, great costume! How'd you make it?" you say to the kid dressed as the Grim Reaper, reaching a hand out to test the material of the mask. The mask doesn't come off. It's not a costume.
• You are responsible for taking your neighbors' kids out to trick-or-treat, but you look outside and suddenly feel scared of the gloomy dark...
• Write a story about someone spending the night in an old Victorian home-turned-hotel on Halloween.

Want some more tips for writing horror stories? You can check out the following free resources:

• How to Master the 'Show, Don't Tell' Rule (free course) — Halloween stories are all about the atmosphere. And to capture atmosphere, you need to evoke all five senses. From the twinkling of a jack-o-lantern, to the scratchy interior of a monster costume, the sweetness of candy on your tongue, the sticky grab of cobwebs, or the chill of a wind whistling through a graveyard lit by the moon — all these sensations will immerse your reader in your story. Show, Don't Tell is the golden rule for descriptive writing, so check out our free course.
• How to Write a Horror Story: 7 Tips for Writing Horror (blog post) — Our horror writing bible. If the story you're writing errs on the side of scary, this is where you'll find the best tips to pull it off.

Want more help learning how to write a dramatic short story? Check ou t How to Write a Short Story That Gets Published — a free, ten day course guiding you through the process of short story writing by Laura Mae Isaacman, a full-time editor who runs a book editing company in Brooklyn.

Ready to start writing? Check out Reedsy’s weekl y short story contest , for the chance of winning $250! You can also check out our list of writing contests or our directory of literary magazines for more opportunities to submit your story.

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Minds in Bloom

By Rachel Lynette

20 Halloween Writing Prompts!

It’s that spooky time of year again! Get your kids writing (or discussing) with these creative Halloween writing prompts.

Grab these FREE writing prompts in print and digital!  Plus use the prompt randomizer to choose a prompt for you!

Watch the video to see how the randomizer works!

20 Writing Prompts to Choose From

• What is the scariest thing that has ever happened to you? Why was it so scary?
• Pretend the mayor of your town wants to outlaw Halloween. Write a letter to convince him that this is not a good idea.
• What was the best Halloween costume you have ever had? What made it so special?
• Pretend you are in charge of your class Halloween party. Make a plan for what you will do. What games will you play? What food will you eat?
• If you could only do one, would you rather go to a Halloween party or go trick-or-treating? Why?
• Do you like reading scary books or going to scary movies? Why or why not?
• Write a Halloween acrostic poem using one of these words: Halloween, Monster, Ghost, Vampire, Zombie.
• Onomatopoeias are words that sound like what they mean, such as “crackle,” “squish” and “plop.” Write a Halloween story using as many onomatopoeias as you can.
• Explain Halloween to someone from another country where Halloween is not celebrated.
• Create a list of safety rules for Trick-or-Treating.

You may also like this ESCAPE ROOM activity!

• What is something that used to scare you but no longer does? Why was it so scary?
• Write a story about visiting a haunted house.
• Which Halloween monster (ghost, vampire, werewolf, zombie, mummy, etc.) do you think is the scariest? Why?
• Pretend you are going to interview a vampire. Write ten questions you would ask him or her. Bonus: Pretend you are the vampire and answer the questions.
• The Scream  is a series of paintings by Evard Munch. Write your impressions of  The Scream .   How does it make you feel? What do you think the artist was trying to express?
• Some schools have replaced Halloween with a Harvest Festival. Do you think this is a good or a bad idea? Why?
• You and your friends have created a haunted house. Make a flyer to tell people about it and convince them to come and visit.
• Would you spend a night in a graveyard for $100? Why or why not?
• Personification means giving human traits, such as feelings and thoughts, to objects. Personify a Jack-O-Lantern. Write a story from a Jack-O-Lantern’s point of view.
• Finish this sentence: This Halloween, I hope…

Grab a FREE Digital and Print version of these 20 Halloween Writing Prompts!

Looking for more Halloween fun? Look no further!

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October 28, 2018 at 1:07 pm

These are very great prompts and my students loved them. Thank you so much

May 17, 2020 at 9:40 am

do some more halloween writing prompt or more holiday

October 11, 2020 at 7:31 am

Hi there!! Love the activity. Trying to post on seesaw. When I clicked on the link in my email it is not downloading. I can’t find it in my folders either. Any help you can give me is greatly appreciated.

The music is awesome too!!!!

October 18, 2020 at 4:22 pm

Hi 🙂 I’m sorry I’m just getting this, but if you want to email me at cassi@minds-in-bloom, I can send you the link. Usually it just opens up in a new tab within your browser. 🙂

August 13, 2023 at 9:17 am

Thanks or sharing

[…] October 25, 2021 thenickersonsneadhouse 20 Halloween Writing Prompts! […]

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15 Spectral Halloween Writing Prompts

by Abigail Perry and Ruthanne Reid | 10 comments

BOO! Halloween is just around the corner—what better day to write some spooky stories? Sharpen your pencil and record a stab with one of these Holy writing prompts !

Scary Stories Plug With Readers in Enormous Slipway

Writers write to get a reaction outbound of their readers. No matter the genre, you want your reader to  feel  something at they read your writing.

For horror fiction, that feeling is fear. However it's also so much see than that.

Huge horror my take the everyday creepy and turn she down something even  more  creepy (and often wurde a condemnation of injustices in society). To great thing is, horror stories teach you that those creepy things can be beaten. That's what keeps bringing the readers back.

Real that's why horror writers keep churning out the fear.

Maybe you love writing scary stories. Maybe you don't, but this is something you'd same until take a whack during, just for practice (we're fans of that around here!).

Just like reading outside your style is valuable to mastering the writing craft, so is print a scary story .

Which story doesn't had to be long, it could be a quick story . Tries for something you can write in one sit, like 1,500 words.

Into get you initiated, use ready of the Halloween writing prompts suggested in this article. Then let loose, furthermore have fun!

Creepy Story Writing Prompts

1. It's late at night, and you hear footprint in who cellar when you're absolutely house alone…or so you ponder.

2. You've put that doll in the cabinet, in the closet, in the attic, but no matter where you tuck it, it always shows behind up on the sofa. On Halloween night, you find it watching you…

3. A bad-tempered businessman lives driving home after a large day of operate. He thinks he sees his kids trick-or-treating and stops to pick them up but those aren't habits.

4. It's Holy night and you and your find think it could are enjoyment to visit the local town's annual corn maze. But although you're inside computers, someone interior the maze doesn't take like an akteure in a costume. And near since, your friends start to disappear one with one. Use these 30 writing ideas to encourage your students the write a scary story for an assignment in your mean school classroom.

5. You don't believe in the random that say a certain scary book is cursed—and that anyone who reads it will meet their originator by the end of the week. Consequently naturally, your read it. And then things start walk wrong…

Monster/Ghost Story Writing Prompts

6. A young woman goes to her grandmother's our for dinner on Halloween night. People have a wonderful time together, sharing stories, joy, and the supreme times of family. The next day, the woman learns her grandmother features been dead forward a week and negative the could retrieve ahold of her to tell her.

7. ONE little boy is lost in the woody, but under least his faithful dog is with him. For person look for an way out, the dog defends this master versus terrifying monsters also animals. Not who closer they get to the run the darkness woods, the more apparent it is that they'll need in face the person, or something, unlocking these monsters for the start place.

8. A peaceful who dreams concerning being a scientists experiments on this year's pumpkins, hoping to enlarge them. He has a lot of success, until one of his potions is tampered with, additionally the attractive cucurbit include his patch morphs into a monster that eats anyone anyone stumbles over its vines.

9. Your girlfriend/boyfriend return over your favor treat on Halloween, but when to eat it, you transform into ampere giant, poisonous snake that slaying anyone anybody contacts you. What do you does next?

10. You wake up on Halloween night, look outside your window, furthermore see your sister sleep hiking away from the house. You pursuit after her not can't catch her until she plungers into a dark lake, where there's a mysterious song which started to pull you deep below the surface. How to write a narrative: Step-by-step instructions for learning and teaching narrative writing including  planning tools, show, tutorials, writing prompts and teaching inspiration for English teachers, students and parents.  Story writing resources for narrative essays also creative writing.

Not-So-Spooky Story Writing Prompts

Not all people love scary stories. If this is you yet you'd like to try to write a scary story—and have a fun time handwriting it—try tackling a (not-so) scary story prompt that could turn a potentially scary tale into something that is fun (even funny):

11. You hate clowns, what makeup it even worse while your husband secretly decides to hire a clown for you son's day party—which just happens into be on Halloween. Happy Halloween! Celebrates this spooky holiday with 15 haunted Halloween writing prompts. Sharpen your pencil real accept a stab at these our ideas!

12. Aliens have fair landed on Earth and youth, did they pick a weird day to come. How doing they respond to Halloween, supernatural other otherwise? Do they make this place is just too bizarre and got to lock out, or do they stick around and join in the fun?

13. On H per, lovers get to come back and spends the eventime together one more frist. One match from the Roaring Twenties decides to come endorse from the grave to assist their extreme nerd great-grandchild or the kid will never get married.

14. You judge which this year you're going for crash the ten top costume events by town—and prank each one while you're toward computers.

15. A mad natural determined to destroy the world falls hopelessly to love with a not-so-wicked witch. As hard as he tries, he can't impress her.

Write Your Spooky Stories

Writing a terrific story pot be a enjoyable exercises to enter choose students (regardless of age, elementary current to study graduates) around such time regarding year. Computer also sack stir some exciting writing ideas in  any  author, whether or not they're part of an ganzem class or their personal writing group.

As references above, writing scary stories can also push you to better your creative writing skills, even if it's not normally in you genre lane. Bestselling author Neel Gaiman has some great insight about  why  like is real:

Fairy tales are more than true: Not because they tell us that drache exist, but because they tell us that dragons ca be beaten.

You don't do to love horror tales to write one, but you will learn about protagonists who face trialing, often lived or death, situations when writing her. Challenge students or playwrights to become better at your writing craft by pushing them to record a short scary story with one out the writing prompts in this article. Horizon Miyamoto calls 101 originate invented and frightening story prompts that writers can use as inspiration for their next horror story.

Sit bottom with your favorite candy or flavor of candy getreidekorn and get ready to write. Pluck it after the print, and let your imagination free!

What is your favorite Halloween writing prompt from this list?   Why did to stand unfashionable to you?  Let ours understand in the books .

Go your practice here:

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Abigail Perry

Soubrette Perry is adenine Certified Story Grid Editor include professional teaching, learned agency, and film production experience. In addition to writing Story Grid piece guides, i plant as a freelance editor and has the Content Editor for The Write Practice. Maid loves legends which put women additionally diverse groups at the center of the story—and others that include superpowers and magic. Herb favorite genres include: Clever Book Club Fiction, Women's Fiction, YA Fantasy, Historical Fiction, and unique memoirs. She also has a B.S. the TV, Radio, and Film and adores workers on screenplays that are emotionally driven and/or full of action. You can learn more about Abigail on her website.

Ruthanne Reed

Best-Selling author Ruthanne Reids holds led ampere convention panel on world-building, taught courses on plot and character development, and was keynote speaker for The Write Practice 2021 Spring Retreat. Choose a bad guy or villain. Describe this character and how he or she will provoke fear in the story. 7. Whole THE 5 WS OF SCARY STORY WRITING handout.

Author of two series with five books and fighting short stories, Ruthanne has lived in you head since childhood, whenever she wrote an first story about a pony princess the one genocidal snake-kingdom, using up her mom’s red typewriter ribbon. Scary Story Creative Writing Teaching Resources | TPT

Although she isn’t reading, writing, or vorlesen nearly handwriting, Ruthanne enjoys old cartoons with theirs husband and two cats, and dreaming of living on the island beach distant, far away.

P.S. Red is still her favorite color.

Join over 450,000 readers who are saying YES to practice. You’ll see get a free copy of our eBook 14 Prompts :

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31 Halloween Writing Prompts

Halloween night the streets were filled with children in costumes wearing masks that were trick or treating, and nearby ghostly images watched.

The month before Halloween, beginning October 1 is an ideal time to use Halloween writing prompts with children.

This holiday has an intriguing history that is associated with trick or treating, costumes, pumpkins, black cats, ghosts, bats, bobbing for apples, skeletons, haunted houses, and candy.

The wide range of topics associated with Halloween inspires creative writing with children. Writing prompts about Halloween can break through writer’s block, produce excitement about writing, and create new ideas.

How To Use Writing Prompts For Halloween

You can use writing prompts twice weekly to write a short one or two-page story about Halloween. After you finished, the children can read the stories aloud. The writing time can be from 30 minutes or more.

Each week you can focus on Halloween themes black cats, ghosts, haunted houses, or pumpkins, for example.

Teach children research skills by providing a topic and letting them research and write a short paper. Use online sources and books for research material.

Provide your class with a list of  Halloween writing prompts about a topic and let each child choose one to write about.

• The black cat with yellow-green eyes appeared on the doorstep on Halloween morning snarling and hissing. Write a story about a black cat that brings bad luck to the family that crosses its path.
• Their black cat Shadow disappeared on Halloween. What happened to their pet Shadow? Write a story about this.
• Write about a fun Halloween party that you would like to plan. What type of food, decorations, and activities would the party have?
• She saw her neighbor an ugly old woman with warts and wrinkles on her face wearing a long flowing black robe climb on a broomstick and fly away. Write a story about an ugly evil witch.
• Sharon observed a young woman who had a black hat, green eyes, blond hair, fair complexion, light green robe, and carried a broom. Write a story about a beautiful young good witch.
• Create a scary ghost for Halloween and write about what it looks like and how it scares people.
• Research the history of trick or treating in the United States. Write a short one or two-page paper on the topic.
• A witch creates a potion and puts it in candy. What happens to those kids that eat the candy?
• You’re at a Halloween party and walk into an empty room and see what seems to be a ghost. Write a story about this.
• What happens in the local graveyard on Halloween night when ghosts and ghouls are out and about?
• You dream about a fiend in the attic or cellar of your home. What happens when you’re left alone one night for the first time.
• Research All Soul’s Day and write about how it relates to the  Halloween tradition of trick or treating.
• What is your favorite Halloween candy? Research the topic and write about the history of this candy.
• What is the worst Halloween candy you ever ate  Describe it and why it is so terrible!
• Research the history of the Halloween costume in the 1900s. Write a short paper on what you learn.
• Create a frightening Halloween costume of a witch, devil, monster, or clown. Write about the costume and what the person wearing it does.
• Write a story about a neighbor that hands out creepy candy eyeballs, creepy fingers, bags of blood, or spiders. Write about what happens when the kids go to that house on Halloween.
• A ghost haunts a house in your neighborhood. Write a story about the ghost and what happens when a group of kids visits that home.
• Write a short poem about the fun activities you can do on Halloween. It does not have to rhyme.
• A harmless bat scares kids on Halloween night because it is flying around or gets in a house. Write a story about what happens.
• Research vampire bats or other kinds of bats and write a short paper about what they eat, how they find their prey, and their habitat.
• A werewolf is loose on Halloween night and there is a full moon. Children are out trick or treating – write about what happens.
• You dream about a monster in the basement or attic of your home. What happens when you’re left alone one evening.
• What happens in the graveyard on Halloween when ghosts and ghouls lurk about and children visit it at night?
• What happened to the kid that disappeared one Halloween night without a trace?
• Create a new candy with magical powers. Describe what it looks like, the ingredients, how it tastes, and what it does.
• Write about what you would do when all Halloween events are canceled.
• Create a creepy Halloween recipe other than candy. What is it called, and what are the ingredients?
• Devise a clever Halloween trick to play on family and friends.
• Write about your favorite Halloween recipe or food.
• Write about your favorite way to spend Halloween.

Looking for more ideas?

Looking for more ideas for writing prompts on different subjects? Please explore our site as we have many unique ideas and resources for you.

You might like to try out our prompts about cats – or how about our visual prompts to inspire even the most reluctant writer!

Please share these ideas with family, friends, parents, and teachers – and if you have ideas on other resources please let us know !

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7 writing activities for Halloween

Boo! It’s time to get your scare on: hello, Halloween!

Many of us love to dress up for Halloween, but it’s also the perfect time to go beyond spooky sartorial choices and inspire creativity in the writing classroom.

These 7 spooky writing activities for Halloween will help your students create a creepy tale or two.

The Creepy Castle | Creepy Character Profiles | Through the Keyhole | Picture Writing Prompts | Persuasive Fast Starts Challenge | Spooky Stories | Petrifying Poems

1. The Creepy Castle writing prompt

Perfect for all year levels, this fun writing prompt will provide lots of fun this Halloween. This activity encourages students to use descriptive writing to show rather than tell (Step 5).

Show us what kind of character lives in a castle like this.

What do they love to do?

What is their pet like?

Access the teaching notes for this writing prompt!

Start your FREE Teacher Hub trial then click on the link below to download the resource.

It includes:

• Writing Prompt – The Creepy Castle (Step 5: Show, Don’t Tell )
• five ways to use the writing prompt
• thinking questions
• additional links
• ‘In the Moment’ editable template.

Your Teacher Hub trial gives you access to almost 300 other writing resources!

2. Creating Creepy Character Profiles

This activity and template has been extracted from our new Narrative Writing Manual .

For a story to have tension, the writer must create characters with depth that the reader can empathise with.

• Start by discussing characters from familiar spooky stories. What do we know about them? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What makes us care about them?
• As a class, brainstorm a list of possible spooky characters (e.g. a vampire, a mummy, Frankenstein).
• Ask students to form pairs and pick a character from the class list, then brainstorm ideas to create a profile of their chosen character using template below from the Narrative Writing Manual.
• Ask students to write a brief description of their spooky character based on the ideas in the profile. Challenge them to write it in a way that makes the reader want to know more.

Download your free template

3. Through the Keyhole Template

• Ask students to imagine they are looking through a keyhole. Is it a haunted house? A goblin’s grotto? A dungeon?
• Students can use the template to draw what they see, then write about it below. Don’t forget to capture the reader’s attention with a Sizzling Start.

Download the template

4. Picture writing prompts

These eerie and magical images are perfect visual prompts to help your students focus on specific writing skills.

View more free Seven Steps Writing Prompts: Narrative | Persuasive | Informative

Teacher Hub members: Remember to log in to gain access to the teaching notes for these Halloween writing prompts including:

• ‘In The Moment’ graphic organiser to help students writing more descriptive
• related media links.

Not a member? Start your 14-day free trial (no payment details required).

5. Persuasive Fast Starts Challenge

This is one of the best ways to increase your students’ engagement and bring the fun into your writing lessons.

• Trick-or-treating is dangerous
• Ghosts do exist
• Vampires vs werewolves
• Halloween is better than Christmas
• Being scared is fun
• Set a 60 second timer – try this one .
• Students write a Sizzling Start for each topic. After going through each topic, every student should have 5 different Sizzling Starts.
• Ask students to share their favourite Sizzling Start in groups of 3–4. This will help them generate more ideas, develop concepts and learn from each other.

New to the Seven Steps? Try the Sizzling Starts Transformation Challenge – it has all the resources you need to learn, teach, apply and assess Step 2: Sizzling Starts.

6. Spooky Stories

Using random words as the basis for a story is a great way to spark students’ creativity.

• As a class, watch the spooky story in the following video (watch from 1:30 to 2:20):

• Get each student to write a word they associate with spooky stories on a strip of paper.
• Place the strips of paper into a hat.
• Ask each student to pull a strip of paper from the hat.
• Get students to form groups of three and work together to write their own spooky story based on their words.

For example: attic, moon, bat.

‘She pushed open the attic door. It made a long, high-pitched creaking sound. She slowly tiptoed into the  darkroom and tried the light switch. No luck. Something rustled in the corner of the room, disturbed by her entrance.

‘I hope it’s a mouse,’ she shuddered.

The moon shone its faint light through the small window. Slowly, a shadow began to appear: large wings, a pointed head. A bat, bigger than any ordinary bat.’

7. Petrifying poems

The poems in the following videos are a a great example of Step 5: Show Don’t Tell. Watch the video as a class then get your students to create their own Show, Don’t Tell poetry.

For younger students:

One dark night, in the middle of the day….

For older students:

The vampire by conrad aiken.

The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe

Want to continue improving your students’ poetry writing?

• Blog: ‘Instructions’ – A poem by Neil Gaiman  may help students think a little differently about writing a poem.
• Action Activity & writing samples: Teaching Poetry with the Seven Steps
• Story Graphs – Poe ms

On-demand PD, classroom-ready resources and time-saving planning tools all in one place.

12 Free Printable Halloween Writing Prompts

Like What You See? Tell Your Friends!

The kids are going to love these fun free printable Halloween writing prompts this year. They will be begging for more!

These educational Halloween activities for kids are perfect for both elementary and middle school-aged children in October.

Halloween printable writing prompts for kids are a fantastic way to spark their creativity and imagination during the spooky season.

With a variety of themes such as haunted houses, trick-or-treating adventures, and mystical creatures, these prompts provide an opportunity for young writers to explore their storytelling skills while getting into the Halloween spirit.

They offer a fun and engaging activity that encourages children to express themselves through written words.

**There may be affiliate links in this post. You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.**

Table of Contents

Writing Prompts for Halloween

There are 12 free printable writing prompts for kids all with Halloween-themed images on them, plus 2 blank sheets of paper if they can’t stop writing!

These Halloween creative writing prompts are free to print but are for personal or classroom use only. Scroll to the bottom of the page to get the pdf file.

You don’t need to print out the free writing prompts if you don’t want to, these are the 12 we have included:

• Trick or Treating should be banned for kids over 10 years old, discuss.
• I don’t think candy should be given on Halloween, discuss.

• If I gave you $500 would you sleep in a graveyard? Discuss
• I am scared of…

• My favorite Halloween memory is…
• What is your favorite holiday tradition and why?

• Do you like scary movies? If so why, or why not?
• My best friend is a ghost

• Which is better candy cane or candy corn?
• My house is haunted

• My Dad is Frankenstein and my brother is his monster (check out our free Frankenstein handprint template)
• What is your favorite Halloween costume and why?

You can even encourage the kids to write poetry with our free Halloween acrostic poem templates .

Why not also have some fun with this Mad Libs Trick or Treat book , the hours we can spend laughing at what the other person has written.

You are also going to enjoy our favorite Halloween books for middle schoolers .

Encourage the kids to write with our free Halloween thank you cards !

Free educational Halloween printables

Prepare for a ghoulishly good time in your classroom this October with our free educational Halloween printables.

These spook-tacular resources are designed to engage students in fun and learning simultaneously, making the Halloween season an exciting educational adventure.

From word searches to scattergories, and coloring pages to printable cards and bookmarks. These activities promise to keep students enchanted with learning throughout the spooky season.

• Spooky mad libs
• Halloween word search printable
• Halloween scattergories
• Free printable Halloween coloring pages
• Printable Halloween cards to color
• Halloween bookmarks printable
• Mad libs for Halloween

Check out all of our free printable Halloween word games !

Tips for downloading the free files

Below you will see a large sign-up box where you need to add your name and email address, and press I NEED THIS NOW!

Within minutes you will be sent the free PDF directly to your email address, so you can print it out and start using it immediately.

Sometimes emails get a little wonky, so if you can’t see it, please check your spam folder where I am sure it is hiding.

Download the free Halloween Journal Prompts

Make sure you choose the correct paper size and click on the shrink to fit button. All of our free printables for kids work better when printed on  cardstock  (this is the one we use and love.)

Last Updated on 26 October 2023 by homeschoolof1

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20 (Not Scary) Halloween Writing Prompts for Kids

by Sarah Gribble | 0 comments

I'm a firm believer in Halloween fun. But I know all the gore and scary movies aren't for everyone, especially little kids.

Halloween is for everyone, though! There's so much more to the celebration than jump scares and fake blood. And I think we all need a little lightheartedness this year.

Have your kids try one of these writing prompts (or try one yourself)!

20 Halloween Writing Prompts for Kids

Why not get them excited for the holiday with a little bit of creative writing? Maybe pair these prompts with some home Halloween activities to get in the spirit of things.

(I know I'd love to mix up a potion or “ride” my broom around the house. Alas, I think my dog and my husband would think I'd finally lost it. I might take that risk, though.)

• Write about a carved pumpkin coming to life.
• One night a year (Halloween!) your pet can talk to you. Write what you talk about.
• If you could dress up as anything or anyone in the world, who/what would it be? Describe the costume and write why you want to be that person/thing.
• Your town wants to ban Halloween! Write a letter to the town council and mayor explaining why they shouldn't do this.
• Finish this sentence: This Halloween, I'm going to …
• Pretend you're making a potion in a cauldron. What do you put in it? What does the potion do?
• Write about the silliest thing that's ever happened to you on Halloween.
• If you were a wizard or a witch, what would you do with your powers?
• You put on a pirate costume, but you can't take it off! Now you have to live as a pirate. What do you do?
• A fairy lives under your bed. She's very nice and invites you to come visit her in Fairyland. What's it like there?
• Write about solving a Halloween mystery. (Maybe with your favorite cartoon character?)
• Would you rather be friends with a vampire or a werewolf? Why?
• Everyone has decided to give presents for Halloween this year! What would be the absolute best Halloween present? Why?
• You've discovered the broom in your house can fly. Hop on! Where do you go and what do you do?
• You're a mad scientist. You've just created a creature in your lab. What is it? What does it do? What does it eat?
• Write a story which contains the following words: moan; cackle; hiss; splash; crash; meow.
• You get to interview a witch. Make a list of questions to ask her. How do you imagine she would answer? (Or have a sibling answer them!)
• Write about going to a Halloween carnival. What do you do there? Don't forget to describe the scene including smell! Some activities to consider: bobbing for apples; a hayride; a corn maze.
• You go to a psychic and they read your future. What do they tell you?
• What happened on your favorite Halloween ever?

More Halloween Writing Prompts

If you're not a kid, but would like to try your hand at writing a Halloween story from a kid's perspective, check out this post . If these prompts are a little tame for your liking, definitely check out our spooky prompts .

However you like your Halloween, let's sharpen those pencils and get to writing!

What's your favorite non-scary thing about Halloween? Let me know in the comments !

Grab your kids and set a timer for fifteen minutes. Let their creative side fly! Or try a prompt yourself!

When you’re done, share your kids' (or your) writing  in the Pro Practice Workshop .  Not a member yet? Join us !

Sarah Gribble

Sarah Gribble is the author of dozens of short stories that explore uncomfortable situations, basic fears, and the general awe and fascination of the unknown. She just released Surviving Death , her first novel, and is currently working on her next book.

Follow her on Instagram or join her email list for free scares.

Join over 450,000 readers who are saying YES to practice. You’ll also get a free copy of our eBook 14 Prompts :

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