Halloween charades

Halloween Charades: 125+ Spooky, Not Scary, Ideas

Spooky creatures, costumes and scenes for October parties. Hold the card to peek, act it out in costume and let the timer keep score.

  1. 1Hold the card to peek at your prompt
  2. 2Act it out. No words, no spooky sounds
  3. 3Tap Got it or Pass before time runs out

Keyboard: hold Space to peek, → got it, ← or S to pass

ScoreboardRound 1
Team Tomato0
Team Sunflower0

Up next: Team Tomato. Hand them the phone.

Quick answer

How do you play Halloween charades?

Split into two teams and draw a Halloween prompt such as "Witch riding a broomstick" or "A vampire at the dentist". The actor mimes it with no words or sounds while their team guesses before the timer ends, usually 60 seconds, or 90 for young kids. Each correct guess scores a point, and the team with the most points wins.

Updated · By Playroomy Games Team How to playListsQuestions

How to play

How to play Halloween charades

  1. 1

    Split into two teams

    Mix ages on each team so every group has a strong guesser. The team generator does it in one tap.

  2. 2

    Pick a deck

    Mixed for a party, Kids for young children, or one category like Costumes or Creatures.

  3. 3

    Set the timer

    60 seconds for most groups, 90 seconds for kids and costume-heavy rounds.

  4. 4

    Hold to peek

    The actor holds the card to see the prompt. Let go and it hides.

  5. 5

    Act it out in costume

    Costumes are props: a cape helps a vampire, a hat helps a witch. No words or spooky sounds.

  6. 6

    Score and swap

    Tap Got it for each correct guess. At the bell, hand the phone to the other team.

Halloween charades ideas

128 Halloween charades ideas

Tap any idea to deal it into the game above. Counts come straight from the deck.

Spooky scenes55 ideas

Halloween actions23 ideas

Costumes19 ideas

Spooky creatures16 ideas

Halloween movies10 ideas

Halloween songs3 ideas

Spooky sayings2 ideas

Easy Halloween charades for kids

Easy Halloween charades for kids use one clear action or creature, like a ghost floating down the hall or a bat flapping its wings. Pair younger children with an older helper, show a picture if they get stuck, and give them 90 seconds per turn.

  • Ghost floating down the hall
  • Witch riding a broomstick
  • Black cat arching its back
  • Bat flapping its wings
  • Mummy walking stiffly
  • Friendly monster
  • Skeleton dancing
  • Owl hooting at night
  • Spider spinning a web
  • Vampire with a cape
  • Pumpkin with a big smile
  • Wizard waving a wand
  • Dragon breathing fire
  • Cat chasing a mouse
  • Eating Halloween candy
  • Ringing a doorbell
  • Hiding behind the couch
  • Jumping out to scare someone
  • Stirring a cauldron
  • Wearing a pointy witch hat

Funny Halloween charades for adults

Funny Halloween charades for adults put a spooky character in an ordinary situation, which is why they are harder to guess. Allow syllable signals and a 90-second timer.

  • A vampire at the dentist
  • A ghost who is scared of people
  • A witch learning to drive a car
  • A werewolf at a dog show
  • A haunted piano playing by itself
  • Trick-or-treating in a snowstorm
  • Carving a pumpkin that keeps rolling away
  • A witch's spell that turns you into a teapot
  • A black cat stuck in a pumpkin
  • A bat trying to land on a tightrope
  • A vampire learning to whistle
  • A mummy at the beach
  • A jack-o'-lantern with a toothache
  • A spider knitting a sweater

Halloween movie and song charades

Halloween movie and song charades start with a hand signal: crank an old movie camera for a film, or mime singing into a microphone for a song. Then act it word by word.

  • Hocus Pocus
  • Ghostbusters
  • Monsters, Inc.
  • Hotel Transylvania
  • The Addams Family
  • Casper
  • It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas
  • Coraline
  • Beetlejuice
  • Monster Mash
  • Thriller
  • This Is Halloween

Hand signals

Charades hand signals for Halloween

Show the category before you act. Movies and songs have their own signals.

SignalHow to do it
Movie Crank an old movie camera beside your ear
TV show Draw a rectangle in the air for the screen
Book Open your palms like a book
Song Mime singing into a microphone
Phrase or saying Make quote marks with your fingers
Number of words Hold up fingers for the number of words
Syllables Lay fingers on your forearm, one per syllable
Sounds like Tug your ear, then act a rhyming word
The whole thing Sweep your arms in a big circle

Variations

Halloween charades by category

Spooky creatures

16 monsters and night animals, from bats to mummies.

  • Ghost floating down the hall
  • Witch riding a broomstick
  • Black cat arching its back
  • Bat flapping its wings
  • Mummy walking stiffly
  • Friendly monster
  • Skeleton dancing
  • Owl hooting at night
  • Spider spinning a web
  • Vampire with a cape

Costumes

19 costume ideas to act out, great when half the room is dressed up.

  • Superhero costume
  • Pirate costume
  • Princess costume
  • Ninja costume
  • Astronaut costume
  • Dinosaur costume
  • Cowboy costume
  • Mermaid costume
  • Banana costume
  • Shark costume

Kids deck

58 ideas worded for young children. Silly, never scary.

  • Ghost floating down the hall
  • Friendly monster
  • Pumpkin with a big smile
  • Ringing a doorbell
  • Walking through fallen leaves
  • Tiptoeing in the dark
  • Howling like a wolf
  • Astronaut costume
  • Shark costume
  • Pumpkin costume that is too tight

Spooky scenes

55 little stories to act, from haunted houses to pumpkin patches.

  • Haunted house tour
  • Scary movie night
  • A mummy unravelling
  • Giving out full-size candy bars
  • Finding the last piece of candy
  • A vampire at the dentist
  • A haunted piano playing by itself
  • Carving a pumpkin that keeps rolling away
  • A black cat stuck in a pumpkin
  • A bat doing loop the loops

Rules and sources

Watch the rules, then check the source

Plays from YouTube only when you tap it.

Today, it is common to require the actors to mime their hints without using any spoken words, which requires some conventional gestures.

Popular activities during Halloween include trick-or-treating (or the related guising and souling), attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins or turnips into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling frightening stories, and watching horror or Halloween-themed films.

Questions

Halloween charades questions

What are some ideas for Halloween charades?

Witch riding a broomstick, picking a pumpkin, a ghost story around a campfire, a vampire at the dentist and a mummy at the beach are all great picks. This deck has 128, sorted by easy, medium and hard.

What are some charade ideas for kids?

Kids do best with one clear action or animal: a ghost floating down the hall, a bat flapping its wings, a black cat arching its back or stirring a cauldron. Choose the Kids deck for all of them.

What are some hilarious Halloween games?

Halloween charades with the hard deck, where a spooky character meets an everyday problem, gets the biggest laughs. Halloween would you rather is a close second.

What is a fun Halloween clue game?

Charades is the classic clue game: one player gives silent clues by acting, and the team guesses. Pictionary with Halloween words works the same way with drawings.

Can I print the Halloween charades cards?

Yes. Tap Print the cards under the list to print every idea as a sheet you can cut into slips.

Are these Halloween charades scary?

No. Every prompt is spooky, not scary, and safe for a classroom or a family party.

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