15 Halloween Classroom Games for Elementary Students
Halloween in the classroom can get a little wild fast, so I like having a few games planned that actually work with a group of kids. Some can be played right at their desks, while others give everyone a chance to get up and move around.
These Halloween classroom games are a good fit for elementary students and work well for a class party, the last part of the school day, or anytime you need something fun to break up the normal routine.
1. Halloween Charades
Write Halloween words on small pieces of paper and place them in a bowl.
Kids take turns choosing one and acting it out without talking while the rest of the class tries to guess.
Some easy ideas are:
- Ghost
- Witch
- Pumpkin
- Spider
- Vampire
- Black cat
- Skeleton
- Bat
- Mummy
- Werewolf
For a bigger class, split everyone into two teams and keep score.
2. Halloween Four Corners
Label the four corners of the classroom with Halloween choices.
For example:
Corner 1: Witch
Corner 2: Ghost
Corner 3: Vampire
Corner 4: Zombie
Ask a question like, “Which one would you rather dress up as?” and have everyone move to their answer.
You can keep changing the choices each round. This one is especially nice when kids have been sitting for a while and need to move.
3. Halloween Would You Rather
This is probably one of the easiest classroom games because there’s almost no setup.
Ask the class silly Halloween questions and let them choose between two answers.
A few to start with:
- Would you rather live in a haunted house or sleep in a graveyard?
- Would you rather eat candy corn or caramel apples?
- Would you rather dress like a ghost or a vampire?
- Would you rather have a pet bat or a pet black cat?
- Would you rather go trick or treating in the rain or the snow?
Kids can raise their hands, move to different sides of the room, or take turns explaining their answers.
4. Pumpkin Bowling
Use empty plastic bottles for the pins and a small pumpkin as the bowling ball.
Set the bottles up at the front of the room or in the hallway if you have enough space. Each student gets a turn rolling the pumpkin and trying to knock down as many as possible.
I’d use a small round pumpkin for this. The oddly shaped ones make the game way harder than it needs to be.
5. Halloween Freeze Dance
Put on Halloween music and let everyone dance.
Pause the music randomly and everyone has to freeze exactly where they are.
Anyone who moves can sit out until the next round, or you can skip elimination completely and just keep playing. I usually prefer that with younger kids because nobody ends up sitting around watching everyone else have fun.
6. Halloween Trivia
Halloween trivia works really well when you need something a little quieter.
You can ask the whole class questions and have students raise their hands, or divide them into teams and let each group come up with an answer together.
Questions can be about Halloween traditions, pumpkins, costumes, candy, bats, spiders, and other kid friendly Halloween facts.
Want the Games Already Made?
If you don’t want to put together all the questions and printable games yourself, my Halloween Game Bundle has several games that work well in the classroom.
It includes Halloween Trivia, This or That, Emoji Pictionary, Scattergories, riddles, a scavenger hunt, Find the Guest Bingo, and more.
7. Halloween Pictionary
Divide the class into teams and give one student a Halloween word to draw on the board.
Their team has to guess the word before time runs out.
Try words like pumpkin, broom, candy, spiderweb, monster, witch hat, haunted house, or trick or treat bag.
You can make the drawing time really short if you want the game to move faster.
8. Mummy Wrap Race
Split the class into small teams and give each group a roll of toilet paper.
One student is the mummy while the rest of the team tries to wrap them from head to toe.
Give everyone a few minutes and then see which team made the best mummy.
Make sure kids leave the face uncovered and don’t wrap anyone too tightly.
9. Halloween Bingo
Halloween bingo is a good choice if you want everyone sitting down for a little while.
Use cards with Halloween pictures or words like pumpkins, bats, witches, ghosts, candy, spiders, and skeletons.
Call one item at a time until someone gets a full row.
You can use candy corn or small erasers as markers if you want to make it a little more festive.
10. Witch Hat Ring Toss
Set a witch hat on the floor and have students toss rings toward it.
You can use plastic rings, glow stick bracelets, or even rings made from paper plates.
Move the throwing line farther back for older students and closer for younger ones.
This is one of those games that looks almost too simple, but kids will keep asking for another turn.
11. Halloween Scattergories
Pick a Halloween category and a letter, then give students a minute or two to think of an answer.
For example:
Letter: B
- Halloween costume
- Something scary
- Halloween candy
- Something you might see at night
Students can play individually or in teams.
Give one point for each answer nobody else came up with.
12. Eyeball Spoon Race
Use plastic eyeballs or ping pong balls decorated like eyeballs.
Students balance the eyeball on a spoon and walk from one side of the room to the other without dropping it.
If it falls, they go back to the starting line.
For a classroom, I’d have only a couple of kids racing at once instead of sending the whole class across the room together.
13. Halloween Riddles
Read Halloween riddles aloud and see who can figure out the answer.
You can do a few between other activities or make it into a full team game.
This is also an easy one to pull out when you have ten unexpected minutes to fill before lunch, dismissal, or the next subject.
14. Find the Halloween Object
Hide several small Halloween objects around the classroom before students arrive.
They could be plastic spiders, mini pumpkins, bats, ghosts, or Halloween erasers.
Give students a certain amount of time to quietly search the room.
You can either have them collect the objects or simply write down where they found each one so nothing disappears.
15. Halloween Minute to Win It Challenge
Finish with a few quick Halloween challenges.
You could have students:
- Stack candy pumpkins
- Move candy corn using a spoon
- Toss plastic spiders into a cup
- Build the tallest cup tower
- Balance a pumpkin eraser on a spoon
- Move small Halloween candies from one bowl to another
Set the timer for one minute and see how many each student or team can complete.
You don’t have to make every challenge competitive either. Sometimes it’s more fun to see if the entire class can beat the timer together.
Choosing Halloween Games for Your Classroom
You definitely don’t need to play all 15 in one day.
For a classroom Halloween party, I’d choose one game where everyone can move around, one team game, and one quieter game for when the room starts getting a little too loud.
Something like Pumpkin Bowling + Halloween Pictionary + Halloween Trivia gives you a pretty good mix.
If you’d rather print the games and be done with the prep, you can also grab my Halloween Game Bundle with several ready to play Halloween games in one place.
