These 60 Halloween riddles are spooky in a silly way: friendly ghosts, bats, costumes, jack-o'-lanterns and lots of candy. Each riddle has two hints and a hidden answer, and nothing is truly scary. They are sorted by age, from easy clues for little kids to puns, math and logic puzzles for ages 10 to 12. Print them as cards for a party or a treat bag.
Gentle riddles about pumpkins, ghosts, bats and candy, easy to read aloud before bed.
I am a hollow orange fruit with a carved grin and a light inside. I welcome Halloween visitors from the porch. What am I?
A grown-up scoops out my seeds before decorating me.
My traditional name begins with a boy's name and ends with a portable lamp.
A jack-o'-lantern
Why it works: A jack-o'-lantern is a pumpkin carved with a face and lit from inside.
Did you guess it?
I wear a white sheet with two eyeholes. I float down the hall and say Boo, but I am friendly. What am I?
In stories, I live in an old, creaky house.
My name rhymes with toast.
A ghost
Why it works: A ghost is a floaty, friendly figure in a white sheet that says boo.
Did you guess it?
I fly at night with wings made of skin. I sleep hanging upside down in caves. What am I?
I eat bugs in the dark.
I find my way by squeaking and listening for echoes.
A bat
Why it works: A bat is a night-flying animal that sleeps upside down.
Did you guess it?
I am a pretend face painted onto your cheek for Halloween. I wash away with gentle soap and water. What am I?
A grown-up applies me with a brush or sponge.
I add temporary colors and shapes to your skin.
Face paint
Why it works: Face paint decorates skin with washable colors for costumes.
Did you guess it?
I am sweet and I come wrapped in shiny paper. Kids collect me from door to door in bags and buckets. What am I?
Dentists say you should not eat too much of me.
Chocolate bars, lollipops and gummies are all kinds of me.
Candy
Why it works: Candy is the sweet treat kids collect while trick-or-treating.
Did you guess it?
I am what you wear to become a pirate, a robot or a bunny for a night. What am I?
I am dress-up clothes.
You pretend to be someone else when you wear me.
A costume
Why it works: A costume lets you dress up as something else.
Did you guess it?
I have a handle and a wide mouth. On Halloween night I get filled with treats. What am I?
Kids carry me from house to house.
I can look like a plastic pumpkin or a canvas bag.
A treat bucket
Why it works: A bucket or bag with a handle is what kids carry to collect candy.
Did you guess it?
I have a knob and I swing open. Kids knock on me and say Trick or treat. What am I?
I open and close.
Kids ring the bell next to me.
A door
Why it works: Trick-or-treaters knock on a door and wait for it to open.
Did you guess it?
I have eight legs and I spin a web. I might dangle from a thread in your Halloween decorations. What am I?
I catch flies in a sticky net.
A song says I climbed up the water spout.
A spider
Why it works: Spiders have eight legs and spin webs.
Did you guess it?
I look like a bright circle behind the bats in a Halloween night scene. I am not a star. What am I?
On other nights, the bright part of me can look like a thin sliver.
Astronauts have walked on my rocky surface.
The moon
Why it works: The moon can look full or crescent-shaped, and astronauts have walked on its surface.
Did you guess it?
I have a long handle and stiff bristles at the bottom. I sweep up dust, and in stories I carry a witch across the sky. What am I?
I clean up dust and crumbs.
My name sounds like room with a B at the start.
A broom
Why it works: A broom sweeps the floor and is the witch's ride in stories.
Did you guess it?
I am tall, black and pointy, with a wide brim. I sit on top of a head and make an ordinary kid look magical. What am I?
I am part of a costume.
I go with a broomstick and a bubbling pot.
A witch's hat
Why it works: A tall, pointy black hat is the classic costume piece for a witch.
Did you guess it?
I am wrapped from head to toe in long white strips. I walk slowly with my arms out in front. What am I?
My story comes from long ago in Egypt.
Kids make me by wrapping a friend in paper strips.
A mummy
Why it works: A mummy costume is made of wrapped strips from head to toe.
Did you guess it?
I hide your face but I am not a hat. People guess who is underneath, and the mystery ends when I come off. What am I?
I cover the face and not the head.
I come with eyeholes so that you can see.
A mask
Why it works: A mask hides your face until you take it off.
Did you guess it?
I am a pet with soft black fur and bright eyes. I say meow, and you see me on lots of spooky decorations. What am I?
I curl up and purr on a warm lap.
My fur is the color of the night sky.
A black cat
Why it works: A meow and soft fur point to a cat, and black ones are a classic Halloween picture.
Did you guess it?
I am a thin stick that a fairy or a wizard waves to do pretend magic. Sparkles fly from my tip in cartoons. What am I?
Say abracadabra and give me a swish.
I am part of many wizard and fairy costumes.
A magic wand
Why it works: A wizard or fairy costume often comes with a wand, the stick they wave for pretend magic.
Did you guess it?
I am a crunchy fruit on a stick, dipped in a sticky golden coat. You find me at fall fairs and Halloween parties. What am I?
My inside can be red or green, and I grow on a tree.
My sticky coat is made from melted sugar and butter.
A caramel apple
Why it works: An apple on a stick dipped in melted caramel makes a sticky, golden party treat.
Did you guess it?
I am a field full of big, round, orange things growing on vines. Families visit me in October to choose one to carve. What am I?
You walk along the rows and pick the one you like best.
My second word rhymes with catch.
A pumpkin patch
Why it works: Pumpkins grow on vines in a field called a patch, where families pick one to carve.
Did you guess it?
I am a squishy, chewy candy shaped like a wiggly creature that lives in the soil. What am I?
I often come in two bright colors at once.
Birds love to eat the real version of me.
A gummy worm
Why it works: The candy is shaped like an earthworm, the wiggly animal that lives in soil.
Did you guess it?
What is a ghost's favorite fruit?
It is small, round and blue.
Say a ghost's favorite word, then add the end of strawberries.
Boo-berries
Why it works: Swapping the blue in blueberries for boo turns a small blue fruit into a ghost snack.
Did you guess it?
Ghost puns, spooky objects and party math puzzles for confident readers.
I am a pretend smile you slip over your teeth for a costume. My two long points come off when the party ends. What am I?
I am a removable dress-up accessory.
My pointed teeth make a storybook creature's grin.
Costume fangs
Why it works: Costume fangs are removable pretend teeth worn as part of a Halloween outfit.
Did you guess it?
I glow on your wrist at a costume party. Bend my sealed tube and colors shine inside. What am I?
I am a bright loop you wear.
My light needs no flame or battery.
A glow bracelet
Why it works: A glow bracelet produces light through a chemical reaction inside its sealed tube.
Did you guess it?
Why did the skeleton stay home from the dance?
The joke plays with a word meaning not a single person.
Split that word into two to describe what the dancing frame of bones seems to lack.
He had no body to go with
Why it works: No body to go with sounds like nobody to go with.
Did you guess it?
What dessert do ghosts love most?
Think of a frozen dessert served in a cone.
Its name sounds like a sentence about making a loud, startled shout.
Ice cream
Why it works: Ice cream sounds like I scream, which is what a startled ghost might shout.
Did you guess it?
Why do ghosts love the library?
Libraries lend out things made of pages.
Add two letters to a friendly spirit's shout to name things you read.
For the boo-ks
Why it works: Books becomes boo-ks, because a ghost says boo.
Did you guess it?
A storybook witch swaps a forest hut for a cottage beside the sea. What lunch-like nickname fits this sandy new address?
Think of a lunch held between two slices of bread.
Join what covers a beach to the name of the storybook spell-caster.
A sand-witch
Why it works: Sandwich sounds like sand witch, fitting this witch's home on a sandy beach.
Did you guess it?
Why did the paper-strip costume refuse a windy holiday?
Think of how the costume is held together.
A phrase about keeping a secret also describes staying covered.
It wanted to keep things under wraps
Why it works: Under wraps means kept secret, and the costume wants its paper covering to stay in place.
Did you guess it?
What do witches put on their hair so it stays spooky?
It comes in a can and keeps your hairstyle in place.
Replace the first word with a rhyme that means to frighten.
Scare spray
Why it works: Hair spray becomes scare spray, a pun with a spooky word.
Did you guess it?
I am a sweet, three-colored candy shaped like a tiny cone, yellow, orange and white. Many people love me and some do not. What am I?
I am most popular in fall.
I look like a kernel from a cob, but I am made of sugar.
Candy corn
Why it works: Candy corn looks like a corn kernel and is made of sugar.
Did you guess it?
I am a big, black, round pot with two handles. In spooky stories I bubble with a green potion. What am I?
You cook soup in a smaller version of me.
A witch stirs me with a long spoon in stories.
A cauldron
Why it works: A cauldron is a big pot used in stories for bubbling potions.
Did you guess it?
I am a three-word Halloween greeting that offers two choices. Say me at a door, then hold out your bag. What am I?
Neighbors usually respond by handing over candy.
The first choice is a prank; the last is a goodie.
Trick or treat
Why it works: Trick or treat is the cry kids shout at each door, followed by a held-out bag.
Did you guess it?
I reflect a bright beam back to a driver from your Halloween bag, although I have no battery. What am I?
I help people notice you when light shines on me.
I send incoming light back toward its source.
A reflector
Why it works: A reflector returns incoming light toward its source, making the bag easier to see.
Did you guess it?
I am an old building with creaky stairs and dusty cobwebs. In stories I am full of friendly ghosts and floating candles. What am I?
People live in me, or they used to.
I am a ghost's home.
A haunted house
Why it works: A haunted house is the spooky building in stories where ghosts live.
Did you guess it?
I am a net of silk. A spider spins me in the corners of rooms, and people hang fake versions of me on porches. What am I?
Look in the corners of rooms that are rarely dusted.
I am sticky, silky and made by a spider.
A cobweb
Why it works: A cobweb is the silk net a spider spins, and fake ones decorate Halloween porches.
Did you guess it?
Sam gets 8 candies at the first house, 6 at the second and 9 at the third. He gives 5 to his little sister. How many candies does he have left?
First add up the candies from the three houses.
8 + 6 + 9 is 23. Now take away the 5 he gave away.
18
Why it works: 8 + 6 + 9 = 23, and 23 - 5 = 18 candies left.
Did you guess it?
A porch has 3 spiders and 2 bats in its decorations. How many legs are there in all?
A spider has eight legs and a bat has two.
3 x 8 = 24 and 2 x 2 = 4. Now add.
28
Why it works: 3 x 8 = 24 spider legs and 2 x 2 = 4 bat legs, so 24 + 4 = 28.
Did you guess it?
Why are ghosts bad at telling lies?
Think about what a ghost looks like.
When you spot a fib, you might say you can see through it.
You can see right through them
Why it works: Ghosts are see-through, and seeing through a lie means you can tell it is not true.
Did you guess it?
Where do baby ghosts go while their parents are at work?
Little kids go to the same kind of place.
Add one sound to daycare to make it spooky.
Day-scare
Why it works: Daycare looks after little kids, and adding an S sound makes it scare.
Did you guess it?
When you carve a jack-o'-lantern, you scoop out slimy strings and flat white ovals. A grown-up can roast the ovals into a crunchy snack. What are they?
Plant one in spring and a vine might grow.
Sprinkle a little salt on them after roasting.
Pumpkin seeds
Why it works: The flat white ovals inside a jack-o'-lantern are its seeds, and each one could grow a new vine.
Did you guess it?
A Halloween party has 3 tables. Each table has 5 cupcakes with orange icing and 2 with purple icing. How many cupcakes are there in all?
First count the cupcakes on one table.
One table has 7 cupcakes.
21
Why it works: Each table has 5 + 2 = 7 cupcakes, and 3 tables × 7 = 21.
Did you guess it?
Wordplay, logic and number puzzles with a Halloween twist for older kids.
I mark the safe path to a porch with a row of little glowing bags. Battery lamps sit inside me. What am I?
I make a glowing line along a walkway.
My name comes from a Latin word for light.
Luminarias
Why it works: Luminarias are decorative bags with lights inside, used here with safe battery lamps.
Did you guess it?
Lena visits 14 houses and gets 3 candies at each. She gives 10 candies to her brother and eats 8. How many does she have left?
First find out how many candies she collected.
14 x 3 is 42; subtract the amounts she gave away and ate.
24
Why it works: 14 x 3 = 42, and 42 - 10 - 8 = 24.
Did you guess it?
I am a loud, high shout you might make on a roller coaster or when a friend jumps out to surprise you. Take away my first letter and I turn into something you can whip. What am I?
I am what you do when something makes you jump.
Remove the first letter and you get a dairy product.
Scream
Why it works: Remove the s from scream and you get cream.
Did you guess it?
Four kids wait at a door for candy: Ava, Ben, Cy and Dee. Ava is first. Ben is right behind Ava. Cy is not at the back of the line. Which place in line does Dee have?
Ava and Ben take places one and two.
Cy cannot be at the back, so Cy takes the third place.
Fourth
Why it works: Ava is 1st, Ben is 2nd and Cy cannot be last, so Cy is 3rd and Dee is 4th.
Did you guess it?
Which sport do vampire bats love to play?
You hit a shuttlecock over a net.
Replace the first three letters of the sport with a flying animal that sleeps upside down.
Bat-minton
Why it works: Badminton becomes bat-minton, with a bat in the name.
Did you guess it?
A cartoon skeleton rewrites a French mealtime wish on a dinner invitation. What two-word wish gives it a bony twist?
The ordinary French expression means 'enjoy your meal'.
Change its first word to the hard material that makes up a skeleton.
Bone appetit
Why it works: The greeting changes bon to bone, turning a French mealtime wish into a skeleton pun.
Did you guess it?
I sound exactly like the word you use to ask which one, but I ride a broomstick in stories. What am I?
Two words have the same sound but different spellings.
I wear a pointy hat and stir a cauldron.
A witch
Why it works: Witch and which sound the same but are spelled differently.
Did you guess it?
Vampires and magicians wear me with flair, I flutter behind you and float in the air. I have no sleeves and I tie at the neck. What am I?
I am a piece of cloth worn on the back.
Superheroes wear me too.
A cape
Why it works: A cape is a sleeveless cloth that hangs from the neck and flutters behind.
Did you guess it?
A pumpkin grows by one quarter of its original weight and now weighs 10 units. What was its original weight?
The new weight is five quarters of the original.
Divide the new weight into five equal parts, then take four of those parts.
8 units
Why it works: 10 / 5 = 2 units per quarter, and 4 x 2 = 8 units originally.
Did you guess it?
A witch can cast me. You do me when you write cat letter by letter. I can also describe a short stretch of weather, like a cold one. What am I?
The same word has a magic meaning, a school meaning and a time meaning.
I rhyme with bell.
A spell
Why it works: A spell is a magic charm, a way to say letters in order, and a short period of time.
Did you guess it?
A bag holds red, orange and black candies, plenty of each. You reach in without looking. How many candies must you take to be sure you have 2 of the same color?
Imagine the worst luck, where you pull a different color every time.
After 3 candies of three different colors, the next one must match.
4
Why it works: With 3 colors, the first 3 candies could all differ, so the 4th must match one.
Did you guess it?
A friendly ghost always tells the truth, and a sneaky ghost always fibs. Two ghosts stand by the door. The left one says, At least one of us is a fibber. Which ghost is which?
Imagine that the speaker is a fibber and test whether the sentence could be false.
Once you know whether the speaker is honest, consider what the statement requires of the other ghost.
The left one tells the truth and the right one fibs
Why it works: A fibber cannot say something true, so the left ghost is honest and the right ghost fibs.
Did you guess it?
A clock strikes at equal intervals. From its first strike to its third takes 6 seconds. From its first strike to its sixth, how many seconds pass?
Count the gaps between chimes, not the chimes.
3 chimes have 2 gaps, so each gap is 3 seconds. 6 chimes have 5 gaps.
15
Why it works: 3 chimes have 2 gaps of 3 seconds, and 6 chimes have 5 gaps, so 5 x 3 = 15.
Did you guess it?
Why do some math fans say Halloween and Christmas are the same day? Think about Oct 31 and Dec 25.
Oct means eight, and Dec means ten.
Work out 3 x 8 + 1.
Because 31 in base eight equals 25 in base ten
Why it works: Oct is base eight and 31 in base eight means 3 x 8 + 1 = 25, the same as Dec 25.
Did you guess it?
When you scoop the insides out of a pumpkin, something gets bigger the more you take away. What is it?
The pumpkin itself gets lighter, not bigger.
You can put a light inside it, but you cannot touch it.
The hole
Why it works: Removing stuff makes the empty space inside bigger.
Did you guess it?
I am a word that makes you jump. Take away my first letter and I become a word for looking after someone kindly. What word am I?
I have five letters.
Haunted houses try to give you one.
Scare
Why it works: Scare without its S is care, and a scare is the thing that makes you jump.
Did you guess it?
Four houses stand in a row. The lollipop house is at the far left. The house with full-size bars is right next to it. The gummy house is at the far right, and the remaining house hands out stickers. Counting from the left, which house hands out stickers?
Place the lollipops and the gummies first.
The full-size bars take the second spot.
The third house
Why it works: Lollipops are first, full-size bars second and gummies fourth, so stickers fill the only gap: third.
Did you guess it?
A pumpkin costs $3 and a bag of candy costs $4. Ana buys 2 pumpkins and 3 bags of candy and pays with a $20 bill. How much change does she get?
Work out the pumpkins and the candy separately.
Everything together costs $18.
$2
Why it works: 2 × $3 = $6 and 3 × $4 = $12, so she spends $18 and gets $2 back from $20.
Did you guess it?
A boy in a black costume crosses a quiet road. The streetlights are broken and there is no moon. A driver with the headlights off still sees him and stops in time. How?
Nobody said what time it was.
The sun was up.
It was daytime
Why it works: The riddle makes you picture night, but no clue says it was dark, so the sun lit the road.
Did you guess it?
A Halloween window has paper spiders and paper bats. There are 10 creatures and 44 legs in all. Each spider has 8 legs and each bat has 2. How many of each are there?
If all 10 were bats, there would be 20 legs.
Each spider adds 6 more legs than a bat.
4 spiders and 6 bats
Why it works: Ten bats give 20 legs; the 24 extra legs divided by 6 per spider make 4 spiders, leaving 6 bats.
Did you guess it?
No riddles match both filters. Try another age or difficulty.
Run a party riddle game: tape one riddle card to each pumpkin or table, and let teams walk round to solve them. The team with the most answers picks a prize first.
Slip a printed riddle into each treat bag. The answer can be written on the back, so a child can check it at home.
For a riddle trail, hide the answers on cards around the room. Each correct answer leads kids to the next riddle.
Use the 4 to 6 riddles for the youngest guests, and let older kids read the riddles aloud and give the hints.
Hold a costume contest, and have each child give a riddle about their costume for the others to guess.
No. The riddles use friendly ghosts, pumpkins, bats and candy, and there is no gore or real fright. Little kids can enjoy them at bedtime, and you can skip any riddle your child does not like.
The first group has the easiest riddles, such as jack-o'-lantern, bat and candy. Read each one aloud and show the hints one at a time. If your child is still stuck, reveal the answer and explain the clues together.
Print the cards, put one at each station, and let small teams solve them in a set time. Give the second hint if a team is stuck. Keep a separate answer key for the adult who checks.
Yes. Print the cards, cut them apart and slip one into each bag with the answer on the back, or ask kids to say the answer at the door before they get their candy.
Every riddle here has its answer hidden under a button, plus two hints and a one-line explanation. You can also print the cards with a separate answer key for a classroom or party.