Kids love Halloween — the costumes, the candy, the spooky stories! October is the perfect time to spark creativity with engaging Halloween writing activities for kids.
These writing prompts and lesson ideas will help your students craft creepy tales, magical potions, and haunting descriptions they’ll be proud to share.
If you’re looking for even more inspiration, check out The Best Halloween Writing Activity to Try This Year — it’s a classroom favorite!
🏚 Haunted House for Sale
One of the most popular Halloween writing activities for kids in my classroom was inspired by a real-life Halloween event.
A local school always holds a Halloween fete, and a local real estate company put up hilarious Haunted House For Sale signs outside the school. This became the perfect prompt for descriptive and persuasive writing.
Students designed their own haunted houses and wrote imaginative descriptions to ‘sell’ them — complete with eerie rooms, ghostly residents, and creepy features. This activity engaged even the most reluctant writers because it was creative, spooky, and fun.
🧹 Inspired by Room on the Broom
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson is a wonderful picture book that works beautifully as inspiration for Halloween writing activities for kids.
You can use this book to:
- Create character descriptions of witches, dragons, and magical creatures.
- Practise sequencing by retelling the story.
- Write spells, broomstick adventures, or alternative endings.
It’s a versatile, engaging text that students love — especially at Halloween!
You’ll find the prompts below in here.
👻 Senses Writing
Senses writing is another effective and engaging Halloween writing activity for kids.
Encourage students to imagine what it’s like to trick-or-treat at a haunted house or encounter a monster, witch, or ghost. Prompt them to describe:
- What they see: eerie shadows, glowing jack-o’-lanterns.
- What they hear: howling winds, creaking doors, ghostly whispers.
- What they smell: smoky candles, musty rooms, bubbling potions.
- What they feel: cold wind, sticky cobwebs, goosebumps.
This sensory focus helps students write vivid, descriptive pieces that really come alive.
📝 Procedural Writing
Halloween is also the perfect time to practise procedural writing! The clear structure and sequencing in procedural texts make them approachable for students — and creating spooky or silly “how-to” guides is always a hit.
Some of my favourite Halloween writing prompts for procedures include:
- How to Sneak a Monster into School — always a classroom favourite! You can pair it with the picture book How to Sneak Your Monster Into School for extra inspiration.
- How to Make a Jack O’Lantern — hands-on and perfect for home or school. A YouTube tutorial can help guide students through the steps.
- How to Make a Witch’s Brew or Magic Potion — let students invent creative ingredients and magical instructions to brew something mysterious.
For even more procedural ideas, visit my post on Halloween Procedure Writing Activities.
✨ Descriptive Writing: Spooky Characters
Halloween is full of weird and wonderful creatures, which makes it perfect for creative and descriptive writing.
Here’s an idea:
- Have students draw their own spooky characters — witches, wizards, goblins, ghosts, or monsters.
- Then, write vivid descriptions of their characters’ appearance, personality, magical abilities, and where they live.
- Finally, describe the haunted setting where their characters’ adventures take place.
Combining art and writing makes this an engaging, creative lesson for students of all levels.
Get All These Activities in One Spooktacular Bundle!
Save time and bring Halloween magic to your literacy block with our ready-to-use Halloween procedure writing activities bundle. It comes complete with templates, prompts, and ideas.
Buy all of these activities in one spooktacular bundle!
Remember to download your halloween spelling freebie here:
