Celebrate Halloween with book-based activities that spark creativity, boost literacy and bring spooky fun to your classroom. Inspired by real educators!
Hi everyone! I’m Cherish Mims, the Education Relations Manager at Epic, where I get to drive brand visibility, awareness and engagement within our amazing educator community. I also have the privilege of working closely with our Epic Educator Ambassadors—a group of passionate teachers who share their creativity and classroom expertise with educators everywhere. Before joining Epic, I spent nine years teaching 2nd–5th grade in Texas, where I primarily taught reading and language arts.
Halloween was always a highlight in my classroom. There’s just something magical about the buzz of October—costumes, creativity and the joy of reading slightly spooky stories together. I still remember the laughter and wide eyes when my students first met Creepy Carrots or Room on the Broom. Those shared reading moments always inspired our most imaginative classroom projects.
That’s why I’m so thrilled to share these Halloween classroom activities from our Epic Educator Ambassadors! Their ideas are not only festive and fun, but they also show how reading can be the spark for hands-on learning and storytelling. Each activity starts with a great book, and from there, the possibilities are endless for bringing stories to life in your classroom this Halloween season.
Halloween Activities for the Classroom
Design Your Own Unique Pumpkin
From Educator Ambassador Tonya Kelly
This Halloween activity lets students get creative and express their own uniqueness. All you need is a pumpkin template and some basic art supplies!
- Start by reading Spookley the Square Pumpkin with your class.
- Hand out pumpkin templates and let students decorate their pumpkins with wild shapes, bright colors and patterns that show what makes them one-of-a-kind.
- Have each student share their pumpkin and one thing about themselves that makes them proud.
- Wrap it up by celebrating everyone’s creations—just like Spookley, our differences make us special!
The Golden Arm Ghost Story Tradition
From Educator Ambassador Lexi Daly
Let students practice their reading comprehension and creative writing skills with this fun Halloween activity.
- Kick things off by listening to storyteller Jackie Torrence’s spooky version of The Golden Arm (complete with a jump scare!).
- Break down the tale together using the “Somebody wanted something, but then what?” retelling framework.
- Have students write their own modern-day versions of the ghost story.
- On Halloween, turn off the lights, grab flameless candles and let students share their stories—jump scares encouraged!
Creepy Carrots Craft
From Educator Ambassador Andy Yung
Students get to create their own one-of-a-kind creepy carrot in this literacy-to-art crossover project.
- Read Creepy Carrots or Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds with the class.
- Gather recycled materials and let students design their own “creepy carrots.”
- Display the creations around the classroom for a spooky, fun atmosphere that brings the story to life!
Spooky “Nine” Art Fun
From Educator Ambassador Jennifer Burnett
Students will love to create their own one-of-a-kind cat with this creative Halloween craft activity.
- Read Frankenstein’s Cat with your class.
- Provide all kinds of art supplies—markers, crayons, glitter, scraps of paper—and invite students to create their own Nine (the cat from the book that was created from nine different cats).
- Encourage students go for wild, wacky or spooky designs—each “Nine” will be one of a kind!
- Hang the finished creations around the room for a super fun, quirky display.
Pumpkin Seed Challenge
From 2025 Educator Ambassador
Counting is even more exciting when there are pumpkins involved! This classroom activity brings a little light competition and lots of messy fun.
- Read The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons as a class and spark your students’ excitement for all things pumpkin!
- Bring in a small pumpkin and give it a silly or spooky name.
- Have students guess how many seeds are hiding inside.
- Cut it open and count the seeds together (messy fun guaranteed!).
- The student with the closest guess wins the pumpkin to take home.
More ways to get in the spooky spirit with Epic!
Whether you’re a teacher or a parent, Epic has tons of fun Halloween activities for your kids to enjoy.
Halloween Boredom Busters Activity Book
This Halloween activity book is filled with fun ideas and their favorite Epic Originals characters. Guided by Gertie, the quirky custodian from the Creepy Cafetorium series, this book provides step-by-step instructions for Halloween projects. Activities include:
- Cosmic Costumes: Transform everyday materials into imaginative space-themed costumes.
- Mummy Toast: Create fun and edible mummy-themed snacks.
- Trick-or-Treat, Hide and Seek: Enjoy a Halloween twist on the classic game, perfect for indoor play.
Each activity in the book encourages creativity and hands-on learning, making it a great resource for teachers and parents looking to add some festive flair to their Halloween celebrations.
Cat Ninja Costume Activity
Kids will love dressing Cat Ninja up for Halloween! This printable activity includes a Cat Ninja paper doll, plus nine different costumes to choose from! They can mix and match for an extra silly disguise. Get the Cat Ninja paper doll activity, plus a coloring page, word search and more fun downloadables here!
Draw Your Own Monster Book
A perfect activity for kids who love to draw! In this fun, colorful book, they’ll get step-by-step instructions for drawing not-so-scary monsters. There’s a bubbly monster, a spider monster, Scaredy Monster and so many others—and they’re all extremely adorable.
Halloween Crafts Collection
Finally, I wanted to share this collection of books showcasing Halloween activities! There are so many great ideas here, from recipes and crafts to games and science experiments. Whether you’re a teacher in the classroom or a parent at home, you’ll find tons of hands-on fun and learning in this collection of Halloween activity books.
There you have it! I hope these ideas spark some Halloween fun for your students and kiddos this month. A very special thank you to all of the Educator Ambassadors who shared their ideas. I look forward to more creative, classroom-tested inspiration from this amazing community in the months ahead. Happy Halloween!
Frequently Asked Questions
▶ Does Epic have Halloween activity books?
Yes! Epic has tons of Halloween activity books for kids of all ages. You’ll find everything from crafts and recipes to games and decorations. One of our absolute favorites is the Halloween Boredom Busters book, which features popular Epic Originals characters. Other special mentions go to I Can Make Costumes, Witch Craft and Gruesome Grub.
▶ What are the best Halloween books for kids ages 6-8?
Kids in this age range are just getting into the spooky side of Halloween. We have so many popular books for them, like Ghoulia, Scooby Doo: A Haunted Halloween and Danger Guys. Share these books with your 6-8 year old kid to get them in the Halloween spirit.
▶ What are the best Halloween books for kids ages 9-12?
Many 9-12 year old kids are ready for scarier Halloween books—and we’ve got tons of titles for them to explore. Halloween classic Goosebumps is available as an audiobook complete with spooky sound effects. We also just added The Graveyard Book, an award-winning chapter book by Neil Gaiman. An Unofficial Minecraft Graphic Novel: Into the Mansion: A Spooky Adventure and Wrapped Up: Halloween Comic Fest are also popular.
▶ What are the best Halloween books for kids 5 and under?
For the littlest readers, we want to keep things silly and fun—not spooky or scary. That’s why we’ve curated Halloween books specifically for this age range. Kids 5 and under love My First Dino-Halloween, It’s Halloween What Will We Be and The Pumpkin Book. All three of these books come in Read-To-Me formats, so kids of any age and reading level can enjoy them.
