Halloween Party Games

01. Best Costume Contest

When the guests have all arrived, announce the contest for the best costumes. Give prizes for the best, scariest, homemade and funniest costume, etc. The host reads out a category and the guest's call out their choice, majority rules. . Prizes can be as simple as a Halloween candy or an apple.

02. Costume Dance Party

Get the crowd up and partying. Select some songs and put them on tape/disk before the party. Some suggestions are "The Electric slide", "The Time Warp", "The Hokey Pokey", "The Chicken dance", "The Monster Mash", "Thriller", "Season of the witch", "Bad Moon Rising", "Werewolves of London" or any other scary song you can find.

03. Scavenger Hunt

You must hide items in advance. You can hide scavenger items either indoors or out. Give guests a list of items to find. The person who finds the most wins of course. Or you could make the hunt for candy just like an Easter Egg hunt.

04. Bobbing for Apples

The traditional Halloween game! Put apples in a clean large container filled with water and remove the apples from the water with your teeth, without using your hands. You may want to keep a mop handy. The dryer and more sanitary version of this game is to tie the apples to strings that are suspended from above.

05. MUSICAL CHAIRS

Everyone likes Musical chairs with your favorite Halloween songs. The idea is to always have one less chair than the amount of players. Everyone walks around the chairs placed in a circle. Stop the music occasionally, and when it stops everyone has to find a chair. The person left standing is out of the game and removes a chair. You than repeat. You could give a small prize to the last person.

06. HALLOWEEN PICTIONARY

Write Halloween words like "pumpkin, costume, jack-0-lantern, candy, spooky" on slips of paper. You will need a chalkboard or a large pad of paper to draw on. Divide into 2 teams. A player from the first team starts by picking a word. Draw items related to the word you choose, but you can't write the actual word. Team 2 tries to guess what your drawing. Set a 3 minute limit, than switch teams. Be sure everyone has a chance to draw. Keep score, or play for the fun of it.

07. Halloween Caroling

Like Christmas caroling but more fun! See the "Halloween music" page for halloween carol lyrics. Sing as your Trick-or-Treating or at home. You could take a group of friends in costumes and sing at a children's ward in a local hospital. You must check with nurses or administrators ahead of time. The kids will be thrilled that you remembered them. If you can, hand out small trick-or-treat bags of leftover Halloween candy or crayons, stickers, or balloons to the kids. This is a lot of fun, but also brings joy in to others lives! Your local newspaper and TV station may want to report the good deed you are doing on Halloween, so give them a call and tell them where you will be.

08. Pass the Pumpkin

Pass a small pumpkin with the stem removed, about 3 or 4 inches wide, without using your hands. Start with the pumpkin tucked under someone's chin. The player with the small pumpkin now has to pass it to another persons chin without dropping it. This is a hoot to watch.

09. Halloween jokes:

Have guests volunteer to stand up and tell Halloween jokes. If you don't know any Halloween jokes go to Jokes on this web site/ The person who tells the corniest joke could win a big bag of corn chips or a ear of corn.

10. Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin

Younger kids (and oddly enough older ones) enjoy playing "Pin the Nose On The Pumpkin." You need a paper pumpkin and paper triangular nose. Put a blind fold on the person who is too pin the nose on the jack-o-lantern, spin the person 3 times and than he has to pin the nose on the pumpkin.

11. Show Time:

Rent several scary videos, turn down the lights and pass the popcorn. Is that easy or what? Rent movies depending on the age, you would want age appropriate films for everyone.

12. Scary Stories:

Tell a chilling tale or two. Nothing gets you in a halloween mood more than this. And guess what? We have a lot of scary stories right here on this web site. Visit stories and print out some of the stories before your party.
Sit around in a circle in a dark room, give the reader a flashlight. Don't use candles, they can be dangerous.

13. Pumpkin Questions:

One person stands in front of the group while the group takes turns asking questions. The front person must answer every question by saying the word "Pumpkin" withbout laughing. It's difficult to keep a straight face. Sample questions are "What's that between your eyes and lips?", "What does your boyfriends head look like?", "What's that under your hat?" Get the idea? If the person laughs they loose their turn and someone else stands in front. Use other halloween words too.

14. Pumpkin Bowling

Roll a pumpkin like a bowling ball and knock over bowling pins.
1. Get a small or medium sized pumpkin and remove the stem.
2. Use plastic soda bottles with a cup of water (secure top) for bowling pins.
3. Place the soda bottles about 20 feet away. Each player rolls the pumpkin and tries to knock over 10 soda bottles.

15. Fortune Teller

Have someone dress as a fortune teller. Wear a bandana, colorful clothes and lots of fake jewelry. Set up a table in a darkly lit room with a crystal ball. You can use a ball under a scarf for a crystal ball. Have the guests come into the room one at a time and ask the fortune teller questions. You may want to tell the fortuneteller a little about each person before starting without them knowing it.