Fifteen Halloween games for children that work indoors in an ordinary flat, sorted by age. Most of them need nothing more than a torch, a roll of toilet paper and a few plastic spiders. Count on three to four games an hour for the littlest, and always finish with something calm.
Games are what turn Halloween into a party instead of just an evening of sweets. And the best Halloween games are the ones that need nothing, because nobody has time to build a haunted trail on a Wednesday in October. Here are the fifteen we use most often, sorted by age and with an honest estimate of how long each one lasts.
Thursday the 30th of October, a quarter to five, a two-bedroom flat in Årsta. It has been dark outside for half an hour, the five-year-old has been wearing her bat costume since förskola (municipal preschool, from age one) and the eight-year-old says Halloween is babyish but has hidden three plastic spiders in his little sister's bed. You have an hour until dinner. That is enough for three games, and you don't need to buy anything.
What you need at home
- A torch, ideally one per child. The one on your phone works.
- A roll of toilet paper per team
- Masking tape
- Plastic spiders, or balls of scrunched-up paper
- White paper and scissors for ghosts
- A sheet
- A bowl of cooked spaghetti, peeled grapes and jelly, covered with a towel
- A phone with ghost sounds or an alarm clock
- Bags of sweets for the treasure hunt, not a bowl on the table
Everything else is optional. We have seen haunted trails built over three days that the children ran through in two minutes, and a roll of toilet paper that lasted half an hour.
3 to 5 years: dark, but not scary
- Torchlight ghost hunt. Lights off, hide white paper ghosts around the room, the children search with a torch. Ten minutes, always a hit.
- Mummy wrapping. An adult or an older child stands still, the little ones wrap them in toilet paper. The result is always silly. Five minutes.
- Pumpkin bowling. Six toilet rolls as pins, a small pumpkin or a ball. Who knocks down the most?
- The ghost says. Like ”Simon says”, but the ghost says: flap like a bat, walk like a mummy, cackle like a witch.
- Feel the box. Cooked spaghetti (worms), peeled grapes (eyeballs), jelly (brains) in bowls under a towel. The children feel without looking.
5 to 8 years: competition and a little suspense
- Spiders in the web. Tape a ”web” of masking tape across a doorway, sticky side out. Throw plastic spiders or paper balls; the ones that stick count.
- Halloween treasure hunt. Five to ten rhyming clues, hidden objects, a bag of sweets at the end. Twenty minutes if the clues are pitched right. Our Treasure hunt for a kids' party can be adapted for Halloween.
- Ghost relay. Sheet over the head, run a course, hand the sheet over. More falling than speed, and that is the point.
- Spider and flies. Everyone but one closes their eyes and is a fly, the spider creeps around and touches them, whoever is touched freezes. The last fly wins.
- Pin the face on the pumpkin. A big paper pumpkin on the wall, the children are blindfolded and have to stick the nose, eyes and mouth in the right place. Like pin the tail on the donkey.
8 to 12 years: more darkness, more suspense
- Wink murder. The classic. Everyone stands in a circle, a secretly chosen murderer winks at their victims, who ”die” dramatically. The detective has to guess who it is.
- Chain ghost story. Lights off, a torch passed around. Whoever holds the torch continues the story with one sentence. The perfect end to the evening. If you need an opening, there are Ghost stories for kids.
- The fright room. One room, lights off, five hidden ”scary” sounds, a phone with ghost noises, an alarm clock. The children have to find and switch off all of them against the clock.
- Zombie tag. One zombie, the rest run. Whoever is touched becomes a zombie and walks stiffly. The last human wins. Outdoors if possible.
- Halloween quiz. Ten questions about ghosts, pumpkins and traditions. We have one ready-made in our Quiz questions for kids.
Five more, for when the fifteen run out
- The witch's cauldron. A relay: carry an ”eyeball” (a peeled grape) on a spoon to the cauldron at the other end of the room. Drop it and you start again. Ages 4 to 9.
- Pumpkin, pumpkin, ghost. Like duck, duck, goose. Everyone sits in a circle, one walks round tapping heads, whoever becomes the ghost gives chase. Ages 3 to 6.
- Bat hunt. Twenty bats cut from black paper, hidden around the flat. Count how many each child finds, or let everyone collect into one shared bucket. Ages 4 to 8.
- Musical statues with spooky music. When the music stops, everyone freezes like a statue. Whoever moves becomes a mummy and judges the next round. All ages.
- Ghost portrait. One child is blindfolded and draws the ghost another child describes. The result goes on the fridge. Ages 7 to 12.
How to plan the evening
| Time | Game | Why then |
|---|---|---|
| First quarter of an hour | Mummy wrapping or pumpkin bowling | Everyone gets going, no pressure |
| The middle | Treasure hunt or spider throwing | Energy is at its peak |
| Last quarter of an hour | Chain ghost story | Wind down before the sweets |
Mixed ages: which games work for everyone
| Game | 3 to 5 years | 5 to 8 years | 8 to 12 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mummy wrapping | Yes | Yes | Yes, as the one being wrapped |
| Torchlight ghost hunt | Yes | Yes | Yes, if they get to hide the ghosts |
| Treasure hunt | With picture clues | Yes | As clue writers |
| Wink murder | No | From seven | Yes |
| Chain ghost story | They listen in | Yes | Yes |
The rule of thumb: the big ones get responsibility, the little ones get to win. A nine-year-old who gets to hide the ghosts for a three-year-old is not bored, she is in charge.
If a child gets scared
Three-year-olds and some five-year-olds don't find the dark exciting, they find it dark. The signs are a child who goes quiet, seeks you out or wants the light on. Do this: turn the light on, without comment. Give the child a job, holding the torch or being the one who hides the ghosts. Switch to a game without darkness; mummy wrapping always works. And never say it isn't scary, say it is pretend and that you are right there. A child who has been allowed to decide how dark it gets will happily keep playing. A child who was forced cries at bedtime instead. More on that in Children who are afraid of the dark.
The sweets
The sweets are not a game, they are the finale. Put them in bags by the door or as the treasure in the treasure hunt, not in a bowl on the table from four o'clock. A child who has been eating sweets for an hour has no energy for any game at all. And food first: a plate of spooky food makes the evening calmer. Our guide to Halloween food for kids has the simple stuff, and Halloween crafts for kids fill the afternoon before the games.
How we do it with our families
Sanna has two families in Hägersten on Thursdays, a five-year-old in one and two children of six and nine in the other. In the last week of October she swaps the playground for Halloween. With the five-year-old it is a torchlight ghost hunt in the hallway, a new ghost to find every Thursday, and he keeps count on the fridge. With the older ones she has built a treasure hunt that runs for three weeks: one clue per visit, hidden somewhere in the flat, and the last clue leads to the bags of sweets on Halloween. The nine-year-old has started writing his own clues for his little brother. That is what the same nanny every time makes possible: a game can grow over a month instead of being over in a quarter of an hour. And a dark afternoon in October is suddenly the best part of the week.
Would you like a nanny who comes on the same days every week and whom your children know? Book a free first meeting with the nanny in your home, and we will put together a quote for your hours.
Read more: Halloween crafts for kids · Halloween food for kids · Games for kids · FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Which Halloween games work indoors?
Mummy wrapping with toilet paper, a ghost hunt in the dark with a torch, spiders in the web and pumpkin bowling with toilet rolls. All of them work in an ordinary flat and need no preparation beyond a roll of toilet paper, some tape and a torch. Warn the neighbours if it is evening; a ghost relay is louder than you think.
How do you make a Halloween treasure hunt?
Hide five to ten spooky objects, plastic spiders, sweets, a torch, around the flat or the garden. Write rhyming clues for children who can read, draw pictures for the younger ones, and let each clue lead to the next. The last clue leads to the bag of sweets. Twenty minutes if the clues are pitched right, and the big ones can write clues for the little ones.
Which games work for mixed ages?
Mummy wrapping and the ghost hunt. A three-year-old and a nine-year-old can play them together without one getting bored or the other steamrollered, especially if the big one is given responsibility: being the one who is wrapped, hiding the ghosts, holding the torch. Avoid competitions with points when the ages are far apart; they always end with the little one in tears.
How long can children keep playing Halloween games?
Count on three to four games an hour for children under six, five to six for older ones. Switch games before interest runs out, not after, and have the next game ready in your head so there is no gap in which someone finds the sweets. Finish with something calm, a ghost story in the dark with a torch passed around.
How do you make Halloween less scary for small children?
Let your child decide how dark it gets. Turn the light on without comment if it gets too much, give your child a job like holding the torch or hiding the ghosts, and choose games without darkness like mummy wrapping and pumpkin bowling. Say it is pretend and that you are right there. Never force it; a child who was forced cries at bedtime instead.