25 Horror Books for Kids Age 9-12 Years

These creepy horror chapter books are filled with ghosts, zombies, haunted houses, and more, perfect for scaring the socks off 9-12 year olds and keeping them turning the pages late into the night!

As with all of the lists in our Best Chapter Books for Kids collection, each title in this list links to an Amazon page (these are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you) where you can find more information and reviews for titles you might not be personally familiar with.

Dust & Grim by Chuck Wendig
When her father passes away, 13 year old Molly discovers an older brother she never knew existed. And now that they’ve both been orphaned, Molly moves in with Dustin so they can figure out the details for managing the funeral home they’ve inherited from their mother. A magical funeral home with a peculiar clientele…it’s a mortuary for monsters!

Molly is really not sure how she will ever deal with talking wolves, their vampire accountant, the secrets hiding behind strange and mysterious doors, and a secret cemetery in this perfect middle grade mix of silly, gross, and scary! Age 9+ years.

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Spirit Hunters (book 1 of the series) by Ellen Oh
Harper’s family has just moved from an air conditioned apartment in New York to a stuffy old house in Washington D.C. Harper knows the move has something to do with a fire at school and a serious accident that put her in hospital, but she has no memories of the incident. Harper is wary of her new home and when her new friend, Dayo, tells her the rumors that her new house has a terrible history of hauntings and evil deeds, she fears that the source of her memory loss may have been caused by a malevolent spirit.

When her little brother, Michael, begins to exhibit signs of plotting something terrible, Harper’s blocked memories begin to resurface. The accident she caused and the change in Michael both seem to have connections to supernatural beings. Harper has no choice but to engage with the spirit world in an attempt to stop another tragedy from tearing her family apart. Age 9+ years.

There are three books in the scary Spirit Hunters series.

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Ghost Girl by Ally Malinenko
Ghost Girl explores the power of friendship when trio Zee, her best friend Elijah and her arch nemesis, Nellie, are trapped within a spooky, paranormal existence. Following a dark and stormy night, the people of their town have begun mysteriously disappearing, others are acting in strange and dangerous ways. Zee, who has always loved ghost stories suddenly sees all manner of things that frighten her – including… a ghost!

The trio must work together to defeat the evil forces that threaten them, and work together to save their town. Age 9+ years.

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Scritch Scratch: A Ghost Story by Lindsay Currie
Blending Chicago history, a ghostly mystery and a story of friendship, in Scratch Scratch Claire’s start to seventh grade has been a challenge, thanks to her dad’s embarrassing ghost tour business and a new girl moving in to steal her best friend.

Claire doesn’t believe any of the paranormal nonsense her dad is pushing, until one night she’s forced to help him on his ghost tour, and a very troubled spirit follows her home. Now she must overcome a fear of new situations and new people, while using her tried and true love of science to solve the mystery of the ghost boy. Age 10+ years.

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For more kids horror books by Lindsay Currie, check out her other spooky titles;
– The Girl in White
– What Lives in the Woods
– The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street
– It Found Us

The Ghouls of Howlfair by Nick Tomlinson
Serious young historian Molly Thompson suspects that the creepy legends about her tourist town of Howlfair are beginning to come true. But when her mother bans her from doing any further research, bookworm Molly and her friends become covert monster-hunters to keep Howlfair safe. It seems that someone is secretly trying to summon Howlfair’s mythical monsters and to Molly and her friends everything, and everyone, is becoming increasingly suspicious! Age 10+ years.

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Crater Lake: Don’t Ever Fall Asleep by Jennifer Killick
In this horror-sci-fi-humor inspired tale, friends Lance, Chet, Maksym, and Katja have arrived at Crater Lake, with all their year six classmates on a school trip. The new campground is called Crater Lake as is built in a huge crater formed when a meteor that crashed to earth many years prior.

Suddenly, their bus slams to a halt as they come across a strange, blood-covered man in the road. Is he a zombie? Is he an alien? Is he dead? Who is he and what is he trying to tell them? His warnings are garbled and unclear. From that moment on, things don’t seem quite right. Things take an even stranger turn when night falls as the those who have fallen asleep become bug-eyed and brainwashed, and begin heading into the woods on some strange mission – including the teachers. Those who haven’t fallen asleep yet remain still very much human.

The friends must work together in an attempt to stop alien entities from taking control of their classmates and teachers, all while making sure their minds are still functioning and their bodies are still moving, as apparently sleep is not an option! Age 10+ years.

There are two books in the Crater Lake series.

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City of Ghosts (book 1 of the series) by Victoria Schwab
This spooky, atmospheric read follows Cassidy Blake, a young girl who can travel behind “the veil” to see the ghosts within. How is that possible? When Cassidy drowned, her best friend Jacob, himself a ghost saved her, and he now walks within the living realm with her.

When her author parents are presented with an opportunity to host a television show that takes viewers on a tour of the scariest cities in the world, Cassidy finds herself in Scotland. There she begins to feel that the pull on the veil is stronger here, and that the ghosts in Scotland are much more sinister than Cassidy has previously encountered.

With the help of a new friend, Cassidy finds out that there is a reason she can see ghosts, and a job she must do. She needs to help send the ghosts walking within the living realm permanently behind the veil, off to whatever lies beyond. And so beings the Cassidy’s adventure of trying to defeat an evil spirit, and save her own life! Age 10+ years.

There are three horror books in The City of Ghosts series.

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This Appearing House by Ally Malinenko
Jac is getting ready for a series of tests that will hopefully label her as No Evidence of Disease five years post disease. But Jac fears the disease is returning. She’s taken a couple of falls, her hands have started to twitch, and she might be experiencing hallucinations – how else can you explain the house that just appeared at the end of Juniper Drive? She also has to deal with irritating jerks John and Sam, who like to pick on her best friend, Hazel.

When John declares that he’ll leave Hazel alone if Jac goes in to the house, she does. The boys follow her, and then things start to go wrong. The doors lock behind them, every door leads back to the room they were just in, and voices call out to them. But Jac soon realizes that the house is meant for her. She feels that “the only way out is through,” and she and Hazel try to figure out the mysteries of the house as they’re taken on a dark adventure to find the truth. Age 10+ years.

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Serafina and the Black Cloak (book 1 of the series) by Robert Beatty
Serafina lives in the basement of the magnificent Biltmore mansion, the home of the wealthy and influential Vanderbilt family. She’s lived there all of her life with her Pa taking care of her, but the Vanderbilts have no idea she’s even alive.

With the entire estate to roam, she must take care never to be seen by the rich folks upstairs, and never to leave the estate grounds to venture into the forbidden forest nearby. But, when the children of the estate begin to vanish, only Serafina knows the truth. Her life is thrown into turmoil on the night that she witnessed the Man in the Black Cloak vaporize a child into thin air. And now, he wants her. With the help of Braeden Vanderbilt, the young master of Biltmore Estate, they must stop him before he strikes again. Age 10+ years.

There are four books in the Serafina series.

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Doll Bones by Holly Black
Zach, Poppy and Alice have an ongoing pretend game with dolls in which they act out fanstastical stories about pirates, mermaids and thieves. Until one day the dolls are thrown away, and in desperation to continue the game Poppy takes a creepy bone-china doll they call the Great Queen from her mother’s cabinet.

Then Poppy begins having dreams that Great Queen won’t rest until she’s buried in an empty grave! As the children make plans to lay the Queen’s ghost to rest creepy things begin to happen. Is the doll just a doll or something more sinister? Age 10+ years.

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The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
Molly and Kip are two Irish orphans trying to make their own way in Victorian England. Desperate for work and a place to call home, the children take roles as servants to the Windsor family, who live in an isolated place people refer to with a shudder as “the Sourwoods.” When they arrive, they can’t help but notice that the estate is in a state of disrepair. However, what stands out more than anything is the huge tree that grows so close to the house that some of its branches have grown right through the walls.

The longer Molly and Kip stay, the more they realize there is an eerie connection between the tree and all the strange things they observe – the Windsor family’s sickly complexions, the nightmares that plague everyone at bedtime, a mysterious room upstairs that is kept locked at all times, and a mysterious nighttime visitor. But just as Molly and Kip decide they need to leave this dangerous place, the power of the mysterious tree lures them in. Will they be able to save themselves? Age 10+ years.

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The Clackity (book 1 of the series) by Lora Senf
Blight Harbor is the seventh most haunted town in America, and a place where it’s normal to know by name the ghost who haunts your house or the local hardware store! So when things take a sinister turn, and a creature called The Clackity kidnaps the local paranormal expert from the abandoned abattoir at the edge of town, a little girl named Evie knows if she doesn’t go after her, she’ll lose everything. Because that expert is her Aunt and guardian, Desdemona, Evie’s only family.

The Clackity makes a deal with Evie to help get Des back in exchange for the ghost of John Jeffrey Pope, a serial killer who stalked Blight Harbor a hundred years earlier. Evie reluctantly embarks on a journey into a strange otherworld, with her love for her missing aunt propeling her forward through a host of horrors while her ingenuity and pluck allow her to navigate a world where skewed rules and half-truths run the game. Age 11+ years.

There are three books in the scary Blight Harbor book series.

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The Nest by Kenneth Oppel
“We’ve come because of the baby,” she said. “We’ve come to help.” Steve is worried about his newborn brother, born with multiple congenital difficulties and facing surgery, concerned for his parents and their stress at the situation, and anxious about the nest of strange wasps outside his window.

When Steve first dreams about what he believes is an angel with an offer to help the baby, he is eager to accept the plan. But this is no angel. The silvery winged wasps have tricked Steve into a horrible contract that will see him help the queen to take his defective baby brother and replace him with a perfect one that the wasps are manufacturing. When Steve realizes his mistake, he fights to do everything possible to keep the strange wasps away from his baby brother. And all the while, the wasps’ nest is growing, the angel keeps visiting him in the night and the adults can not seem to see the danger all around them, in a horror filled story about the dangers of perfection and wishing things were back to normal at any cost. Age 11+ years..

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Small Spaces by Katherine Arden
11 year old Ollie spots a woman about to throw an old book in the water. As any book lover would do, Ollie snatches the book away. She discovers it is a personal history from the 1800s. Soon after she finds the book, Ollie goes on a field trip to a nearby farm, and begins to draw parallels between the book and the people around her.

The school bus breaks down on the trip home and Ollie and few of her classmates get thrown into a terrifying adventure as the strange bus driver offers them the strangest advice, “Best get moving. At nightfall they’ll come for the rest of you.” Nightfall is, indeed, fast approaching when Ollie’s previously broken digital wristwatch begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN!!!  As Ollie and two classmates head into the woods that are bordered by a field of scarecrows that seem to be watching them, the bus driver offers one final piece of advice to the trio, “Avoid large places. Keep to small.” Age 11+ years.

There are four scary books in the Small Spaces book series.

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The Keeper by Guardalupe Garcia McCall
James’ family have moved to Oregon from Texas and he is feeling homesick, and still grieving the death of his grandmother. He and his sister, Ava, are in the middle of a prank war that their parents are sick of. When James starts receiving sinister letters from “The Keeper,” warning him that his home is being watched and that someone is looking for “young blood,” his parents think it’s just another prank between James and his sister. But when the siblings find out that the town has a history of missing children, they must work together to figure out who is sending the letters before they become the next victims of The Keeper! Age 11+ years.

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The List of Unspeakable Fears by J Kasper Kramer
In this historical spooky story set in the early 1900s, we meet Essie, a fearful, anxiety-ridden girl who comes home from school to find her mother already packed to leave to a new home with a step-father her daughter has never met. Worse yet, he’s a doctor who lives on North Brother Island where patients with extremely contagious diseases are sent to be quarantined.

The island poses many dark secrets, and there is something terribly unsettling about her new home, and her stepfather, all things that add to Essie’s ever growing list of unspeakable fears. And when she sees the red door from her nightmares just down the hall from the bedroom of her terrifying new home, Essie is sure a true life nightmare is just about to begin! Age 11+ years.

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Nightbooks by J. A. White
Alex loves writing spooky stories but hates being called a weirdo, so late one night he goes out to burn the Nightbooks in which he has long recorded his hair-raising tales. Unfortunately, Alex is captured and imprisoned by a witch and must tell a scary story each night to stay alive. Alex knows that scary stories don’t typically have happy endings and on discovering that there have been other children before him that have now long disappeared, he is desperate for a different ending to the nightmare he now finds himself trapped in! Age 11+ years.

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The Screaming Staircase (book 1 of the series) by Jonathan Stroud
In an alternative modern day London, the world is haunted by supernatural beings, and private agencies rely on child operatives to combat the ghosts, as they are the only ones with senses sensitive enough to detect them.

After a horrible accident in her home village, Lucy Carlyle flees to London and joins a small struggling agency, Lockwood & Co. She is soon they are embroiled in a mystery that may cost Lucy and her teammates their lives in this tale of ancient evil, unsolved murders, powerful ghosts and nefarious mortals. Age 12+ years.

There are five books in the Lockwood & Co horror book series.

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The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie
When Sunshine and her adoptive mother move to Washington from Texas, an oppressive, wet cold settles upon Sunshine. Everything is gray and creepy and stale. Almost immediately Sunshine begins to experience mysterious noises, hearing cries, footsteps, and even giggling in the middle of the night.

It quickly becomes clear that someone or something is haunting their home and, even more frightening, it seems that only Sunshine can sense it. What starts off as small shifts, quickly escalates into something else, something much scarier. Sunshine is enthralled by what’s happening, and with the help of a new friend, Nolan, is determined to unravel the mysteries that chill the air of her new home. Age 12+ years.

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Classic Kids Horror Books for 9-12 Year Olds

The Witches by Roald Dahl
They live in ordinary houses, they look and behave like ordinary women. But witches aren’t ordinary at all. They have murderous, bloodthirsty thoughts and they absolutely hate children – and their leader, the Grand High Witch, is hatching a wicked plan to make every child disappear forever! Age 9+ years.

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Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Coraline, feeling ignored by her overworked parents, finds an alternative world behind a previously locked door in her home where an alternative apartment just like hers exists. But in this other apartment she also finds an “other mother”  and “other father” who promise her everything she wants from life as long as she stays with them forever. Could this other life be just too good to be true? A classic horror book for children that will hook readers ages 9+ years.

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See Coraline and other great horror books transformed into graphic novel format in our list of spooky graphic novels for kids!

The Field Guide (book 1 of the series) by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
In book one of The Spiderwick Chronicles, twins Jared and Simon and their sister, Mallory, move into the decrepit Spiderwick Estate and discover a field guide for fantastical faeries (that was never intended for human hands) that leads them into a dangerous parallel world to their own!

Be aware that the first book in the series is milder than the content in the remainder of the series titles. Age 9+ years.

There are five books in The Spiderwick Chronicles spooky book series.

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Goosebumps book series by R.L. Stine
If you grew up in the 90s, you are probably familiar with R.L. Stine’s spooky Goosebumps series! With more than 60 titles in the series, these short, horror books for kids continue to keep children turning the pages, and could just about keep young fans entertained forever!

With collections like the Classic Goosebumps 20 book set containing titles such as Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes, The Haunted Car, The Scarecrow Walks at Night, The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb, The Blob That Ate Everyone, Night of the Living Dummy and The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, you can see that Stine has re-imagined virtually every nightmare scenario into a page-turner for younger horror readers. Age 9+ years.

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The Bad Beginning (book 1 of the series) by Lemony Snicket
Book one of Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events series finds the three very intelligent and lovely but very, very unfortunate Baudelaire children sent to live with their distant cousin, Count Olaf, when they are orphaned. Olaf is despicably evil and who will do absolutely anything to get his hands on the children’s inheritance in this dark comedy that is both terribly hilarious and dreadfully irreverent. Age 10+ years.

There are thirteen books in the complete A Series of Unfortunate Events book series.

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The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Orphaned Nobody Owens, known as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn’t live in a graveyard, being raised by ghosts, with a guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the dead.

He lives there following the brutal murder of his family. Granted the Privilege of the Graveyard and taught how to fade into the background, Bod spends his entire childhood playing among graves, learning his letters from the gravestones, running into trouble with ghouls, being tutored by a werewolf with a taste for Eastern European food, and dancing with Death.

And all the while the evil that tried to murder him in the first place is still searching for him! A clever story that is both creepy and nostalgic with a bittersweet ending. Age 10+ years.

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More Spooky Books & Resources

For more spooky stories, books and resources, check out these related posts;

15 Teen Murder Mystery Books

21 Halloween Movies for Kids

Free Printable Halloween Games

The post 25 Horror Books for Kids Perfect for Halloween and In Between! appeared first on Childhood101.

Sensory play is a great way to help little ones explore their senses. This includes touch, sight, smell and even hearing.

It is super beneficial to a child’s early development and can help develop fine motor skills and be used as a teaching aid for counting reading and writing. Sensory play can also be wonderful for calming or grounding purposes, to help little ones process big emotions. 

Our Halloween sensory play ideas range from something as simple as Halloween water play to those requiring (just) a little more set-up, like edible eyeballs! Either way, whatever activity you choose is sure to be a hit with your little ghouls and ghosts.

25 Halloween Sensory Play Ideas

1. Stick And Stone Skeleton Sensory Board by Little Pine Learners

Make this simple sticks and stones skeleton sensory board out of easy-to-find items, it even doubles as a decoration.

2. Purple Monster Floam by Childhood 101

Roarsome purple monster floam is super fun to play with, and the additional printable labels makes it the perfect Halloween sensory play gift too.

3.  Halloween Play Dough by Picklebums

This frightfully fun playdough activity lets your kids make a menagerie of monsters.

4. Halloween Water Play by Fun With Mama

This Halloween-themed water play is simple to set up and fun for even the littlest of monsters.

5.  Halloween Sensory Bin for Baby and Toddlers: Edible Eyeballs by Fun At Home With Kids

Jiggle, poke and squish these edible eyeballs safe for any little vampire to sink their fangs into. 

6.  Magical Witches Potion Sensory Bin by Taming Little Monsters

Brew up a foamy witches potion perfect for some magical outdoor play.

7.  Pumpkin Guts Slime by Kimspired DIY

Check out this ghoulishly great pumpkin guts slime fun to stretch and squish. 

8.  Spider Counting Sensory Activity by A Dab Of Glue Will Do

Practice counting with creepy crawlies using this spider sensory bin.

9. Halloween Spider Web Sensory Bottle by Little Bins For Little Hands

Practice fine motor skills making this spooky spider web (or Halloween creature) sensory bottle.

10. Halloween Sensory Bottle by Childhood 101

This not-so-scary Halloween sensory bottle is sure to entertain your pint-sized ghost. Makes a great calm down tool too!

11. Scented Fine Motor Pumpkin Activity by Fun A Day

Make these scented “tiny Pumpkins” out of chickpeas to hex-plore the sense of smell

12. Spider Sensory Bin by Messy Little Monster
 
This spider rescue sensory bin using tape for the spider web is fang-tastic!

13. Halloween Sensory Bag by Natural Beach Living

Create a Halloween sensory bag for all the squishy fun of slime and no fear of mess.

14. Halloween Sensory Bin by How We Learn
 
Your kids will love practising writing using this fa-boo-lous sensory bin.

15. {Halloween-themed} Sensory Play On the Go By Mama Papa Bubba

Set up this on-the-go Halloween sensory set to keep the spooky spirit going on those busy days.

16. Halloween Sensory Activity- Let’s Dig Out Bones! by Pink Stripey Socks

This spooktacular sensory bone dig activity looks like loads of fun.

17. Halloween Sensory Busy Jars by Craft Bits

These Halloween busy jars use a few simple materials and make great calm-down tools. 

18.  Halloween I Spy Bottles by One Time Through

I spy with my little eye something that’s clawsome! This Halloween-themed I-spy bottle of course.

19. Halloween Ice Play by Pink Oatmeal

Ice play is a great sensory play option and this Halloween-themed ice play will be a hit with every little ghoul and ghost.

20. Fizzying Ghost Moon Dough by Steam Powered Family

Combine science and sensory with this ghostly fizzing moon dough.

21. Bat Themed Sensory Bottle By The Educators Spin On It

Practice your kid’s sight words in a way that won’t drive you both batty using this bat-themed sensory bottle.

22.  Halloween Sensory Bin by Natural Beach Living 

This sensory bin uses bowtie pasta as bats how adorable.

23. Pumpkin Cloud Dough by Little Bins For Little Hands

This pumpkin cloud dough only uses a few ingredients and feels amazing.

24. Pumpkin Sensory Bag by Active Littles

Use water beads to make this creeperific pumpkin sensory bag. 

25. Monster Slime by Hands On As We Grow

Your kids will be absolutely de-frighted with this easy monster slime.

For even more frightfully fun Halloween play ideas, check out these related posts;

   

The post 25 Halloween Sensory Play Ideas appeared first on Childhood101.

Just as a FYI, while some of the books on this list are dark and scary, others some are not-so-spooky despite featuring characters considered traditionally evil or feared (think witches and ghosts!), so be sure to look through our description and the associated reviews at Amazon and be selective if you want a more traditional horror graphic novel to read. Many of these titles, both those that are lighter and those that are scary, explore themes that are super relevant to pre-teens, including negotiating friendships, finding ones own true identity, anxiety, and even grief.

And if you have a tween who loves reading all things spooky, be sure to also check out our list of Horror Chapter Books for 9-12 Year Olds.

As with all of the lists in our Best Graphic Novels for Kids collection, each title in this list links to an Amazon page (these are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you) where you can find more information and reviews for titles you might not be personally familiar with.

25 Best Scary Graphic Novels for Tweens

Scary graphic novels for kids list continues below.

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The post 21 Best Scary Graphic Novels for Tweens (Age 9-12 Years) appeared first on Childhood101.

10 Printable Halloween Games for Kids

1. Silly Spiders Drawing Game: A fun way to create with school age children at Halloween.

2. Halloween Alphabet Bingo Game: Revise alphabet learning with kindergarteners with this fun, printable Halloween alphabet bingo.

3. Printable Halloween Picture Bingo: Bingo is a great first game for preschoolers and this Halloween picture version is simple to print and play.

4. Halloween Charades Cards: Charades is such a fun game for families! Get family and friends up on their feet, playing and laughing together, with this set of printable Halloween charades game cards. Even adults cannot resist a game of charades!

Click through for more charades ideas for your next family game night!

5. Play Halloween Who Am I?: Use our Halloween Charades Cards (see above) and the instructions included with our Christmas Who Am I? game for a fun guessing game.

6. Halloween Memory Matching Game: A classic game of memory matching using Halloween pictures and symbols. A fun first game for preschoolers.

7. Pumpkin Memory Matching Game: Develop visual discrimination skills with this set of spooky, Halloween pumpkins matching cards.

See our full collection of Matching Games for Kids for more printable memory matching games.

8. Halloween Movement Brain Breaks: Glide like a shadow…bubble like a cauldron…rattle like a skeleton! This fun set of Halloween movement brain breaks cards includes 24 Halloween inspired actions that are super fun for moving and grooving at Halloween.

9. Halloween Find and Colour Printable from Picklebums: Make a game of this fun printable by racing each other to see who can find all eight witch’s hats and all ten spider webs first! There are lots of fabulously spooky things to find.

10. Halloween Alphabet Mazes: These four printable Halloween alphabet mazes make a great, low prep alphabet learning activity. Make them a game by setting two children side by side, each with a copy of the same maze so they can race through the maze. First to make it all the way from A to Z is the winner!

For more Halloween fun for home or school be sure to check out our list of Kids Halloween Movies and our pick of the best Halloween Books for Kids.

The post 10 Printable Halloween Games for Kids appeared first on Childhood101.

With more than 25 titles on this list, we have also some board book suggestions for your littlest ghoul, and some spookilicious Halloween picture books for older children – we’re sure they will be a hit in your middle grade classroom. Many of these scary stories also explore themes related to empathy, friendship, overcoming fears, and more.

Halloween Books for Kids

As with all of the lists in our Best Books for Kids collection, each title in our Halloween books list links to an Amazon page (these are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you) where you can find reviews and age recommendations for those you might not be personally familiar with.

Pig the Monster by Aaron Blabey
Pig is the world’s greediest pug and he is on a rampage for TREATS! TREATS! TREATS! But don’t even think about being stingy with the goodies, because this candy-fueled glutton has some terrible tricks up his sleeve.

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Beast Feast by Emma Yarlett
A super fun, funny and interactive story, with real letters to open! Beast has found a tasty dinner, and he’s invited all his friends to a feast. Unfortunately, Dinner is a child who very much does not want to be eaten! As Beast’s friends send their instructions for cooking Dinner, is there any way Dinner can convince Beast to change his menu?

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Poultrygeist by Eric Geron
A very funny and a creative take on the chicken crossing the road story with an appealing chicken hero, a clever premise, witty puns…and roadkill!

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Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble by Tracey Corderoy
The first in a wonderful picture book series, Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble asks if your granny were a little bit different from other grannies (even if she is, in fact, a WITCH!) would you want to change her? Or would you love her just the way she is?

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A Very Brave Witch by Alison McGhee
A little witch afraid of humans decides to spy on a human Halloween (from a safe distance!) to discover more about the scary spectacle but it all wrong when her broomstick crashes and she finds herself face to face with a human!

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The Vampires Next Door by Sigi Cohen
A catchy, humorous Halloween tale about Lee’s fail-proof mission to get rid of her family’s bloodsucking neighbors…without being bitten!

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Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds
Jasper Rabbit is definitely not afraid of something as silly as underwear. But when the lights go out, suddenly his new big rabbit underwear glows in the dark! Jasper’s done with creepy underwear but despite trying everything to get rid of them, they just keep coming back!

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How to Catch a Monster by Adam Wallace
A fun Halloween story with a special message about conquering fears and overcoming anxiety, reminding us that even monsters aren’t always as scary as they seem!

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Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
A witch and her cat encounter a series of animals who would love to join them on their broomstick – the friendly witch is welcoming, while her cat is more than a little skeptical! When they come upon a dragon who would like to eat the witch, she is saved thanks to the ingenuity of her collection of new (and old!) animal friends.

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Room on the Broom is also a fun short film for kids to watch at Halloween, check it out in our list of fabulous short films from children’s books and check out our complete list of Halloween Movies for Kids.

The Witch’s Cat by Sonica Ellis
Little Pepper is no ordinary cat but indeed the blackest cat you’d ever meet. Pepper finds it hard to make friends. Is it because of how she looks – the black cat curse? Or is it because she’s a witch’s cat? The Witch’s Hat is great for inspiring discussion about friendship and building confidence.

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Monster Mess by Margery Cuyler
A sweet story about a tired monster who cannot sleep because of the mess in a small boy’s room.

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Love Monster and the Scary Something by Rachel Bright
The lovable Love Monster is afraid of the dark! All the sounds of the night make his imagination run wild! Will he be brave enough to stare his fears straight in the googly eye?

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Monsters Love Underpants by Claire Freedman
A super fun story of monsters of all shapes and sizes who love wearing underpants, even though they know that, if they’re caught, no one will ever find them scary again! Super cute and funny too.

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Bonaparte Falls Apart by Margery Cuyler
Bonaparte is falling apart! His bones keep falling off – whenever he plays catch, visits the doctor, even when he rides his bike! With the help of his friends, can Bonaparte find a way to stay together before school starts?⁣

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Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli by Barbara Jean Hicks
A rollicking, rhyming tale of monsters and their menacing meals – they certainly won’t eat broccoli! Or will they??!

Buy : Amazon

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds
Jasper the rabbit loves eating carrots until one day he notices that he is stalked by… carrots! Unfortunately his stalkers disappear as soon as he tries to spot them, and none of his friends believe his story. What will Jasper do to rid himself of these creepy carrots!

Buy : Amazon

At the Old Haunted House by Helen Ketteman
A frightfully fun counting book for kids! Young readers will enjoy count the cast of creepy creatures as they prepare for their holiday celebration – the Halloween Fright party.

Buy : Amazon

The Halloween Tree by Susan Montanari
Most young saplings dream of becoming Christmas trees but one grumpy, old tree who doesn’t like lights, decorations, or people is determined to be different. He’s determined to be the Halloween Tree! A lovely story about finding your own place in the world.

Buy : Amazon

The Good, The Bad and the Spooky by Jory John
Bad Seed LOVES Halloween! But what’s a seed to do when he can’t find a show-stopping costume for the big night? Can he get a costume together in time? Or will this seed return to his bad ways?!!

Buy : Amazon

Benny J. and the Horrible Halloween by Sivan Hong
A useful tool for helping children to understanding why some of their friends may not be looking forward to Halloween, as they find it scary or overwhelming. This is a great Halloween picture book for helping kids to understand kindness and empathy.

Buy : Amazon

Hey, That’s My Monster by Amanda Noll
When Ethan looks under the bed for his monster, he finds this note instead: “So long, kid. Gotta go. Someone needs me more than you do. -Gabe” How will Ethan ever get to sleep without his monster’s comforting snorts? And who could need Gabe more than Ethan does?!!

Buy : Amazon

Meg and Mog by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski
The first in the classic series of simple stories featuring a kind hearted witch, Meg, and her faithful companion cat, Mog, these titles have remained popular for over 40 years for a reason.

Buy : Amazon

Goodnight Little Monster by Helen Ketteman
Super cute and fun to read, young children will love reading about the little monster and how he gets ready for bed…which might be a little different to their own routine with howling at the moon, scrubbing his scales and enjoying a bedtime snack of worm juice and baked beetle bread!

Buy : Amazon

That Monster On The Block by Sue Ganz-Schmidt
Monster is excited to see what kind of creature will move into Vampire’s old house. But when the moving truck pulls up, it’s not a greedy goblin, an ogre, or a dastardly dragon that steps out. Instead, Monster’s new neighbor is something more terrifying than Monster could ever have imagined!

Buy : Amazon

Monster Trouble by Lane Fredrickson
Nothing frightens Winifred Schnitzel – but she needs her sleep, and the neighborhood monsters won’t let her be! They sneak in, growling and belching and making a ruckus. Even Winifred’s clever traps don’t stop these crafty creatures. What’s a girl to do?!

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Moldilocks and the Three Scares: A Zombie Tale by Lynne Marie
Papa Scare, Mama Scare and Baby Scare live in a spooky haunted house. One night, they go out to walk their dog to let their alpha-bat soup cool down but while they’re away in walks the zombie Moldilocks! A spooky twist on a hauntingly familiar story.

Buy : Amazon

The Monster At the End Of This Book by Jon Stone
Sesame Street’s Grover will do anything to stop you turning the pages of this book.. you see, there is a scary monster at the end of the book!

Buy : Amazon

There’s a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers
Jeffers has created a fun interactive Halloween picture book about a haunted house. A little girl takes you through the rooms of the house searching for the ghost that she is sure lives there. Using a clever transparent page between each of the book pages, sees ghosts appear on each page! Watch the narrator closely, there is something ghostly about her too!

Buy : Amazon

Halloween Picture Books for Elementary & Middle School

The Dark by Lemony Snicket
Laszlo is afraid of the dark. The dark lives in the same house as Laszlo but mostly it spends its time in the basement. It doesn’t visit Laszlo in his room.

Until one night it does!

Buy : Amazon

The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman
Lucy believes there are wolves living in the walls of her home. Her father, mother, and brother continue to deny the reality of the situation, and ultimately choose to flee one night when the wolves do indeed come out of the walls to take over the home. But Lucy has other ideas, determined to retake her family’s home from the worrisome wolves.

Buy : Amazon

My Dead Bunny: A Zombie Rabbit Tale by Sigi Cohen
A creepy picture book aimed at older kids who don’t mind reading about scary things! When a boy’s pet rabbit chews through the TV cord he is electrocuted. But the misses his rabbit, Brad, and decides to dig him up to see him once last time. The boy later throws the corpse in the trash but late that night hears his sisters scream – it seems Brad is back and this time he’s not going to be thrown away!

Buy : Amazon

Hansel and Gretel: A Darkly Brilliant Fairy Tale by Neil Gaiman
A brilliant and dark retelling of the classic fairy tale of a brother and sister who must survive abandonment by their parents and being captured by a hungry witch..

Buy : Amazon

Monsters: 100 Weird Creatures from Around the World by Sarah Banville
Monsters includes the story or folklore surrounding 100 monstrous creatures from all around the world – including the well known Bigfoot and Loch Ness Monster, alongside lesser-known monsters such as the Japanese Sea Serpent and Chinese Hopping Vampires.

Buy : Amazon

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll
Five truly spine chilling illustrated horror stories for kids aged 14+ years, each depicting characters from a wide range of time periods, social statuses, and general walks of life coming face to face with supernatural horrors.

Buy : Amazon

More Halloween Learning Resources

For more Halloween learning tools and resources, check out these related posts;

10 Printable Halloween Games

21 Halloween Art Activities

Printable Halloween Alphabet Mazes

The post 35 Spookilicious Halloween Books for Kids appeared first on Childhood101.

This Halloween arts and crafts list is chock-full of fun ideas including spooky spiders, page-stopping bookmarks, and creepy pop-up cards that definitely grab your attention! You’ll also find DIY projects like ghoulishly clever wooden spoons that make great puppets that your kids can bring out year after year.

And the best thing about these Halloween art activities is that you can make most of them with supplies you already have around your classroom or home.

21 Halloween Art Activities for Kids

Silly Spiders Drawing Game
Make your Halloween art activity a game to play with others with this fun, printable spider drawing activity.

Witch Hat Printable from Two Pink Peonies
Your children can use paint, markers, and crayons to decorate a witch’s hat as unique and colorful as they are. Who said all witches’ hats had to be black and gloomy?

Cute Halloween Bookmarks from The Savvy Sparrow
Reading bedtime stories will be even more engaging with these DIY Halloween bookmarks. Help your child choose from the adorable cat, bat, and candy corn templates, or make all three!

Paper Plate Black Cat from Crafts by Amanda
This is the purrrr-fect Halloween craft to make on a chilly Halloween night! All you need is a paper plate, acrylic paint, pom-poms, and googly eyes. 

Popsicle Stick Spider from Little Bins for Little Hands
Popsicle stick spiders are an ideal Halloween art activity for the preschool classroom or an afternoon at home. This is a rare case where it’s okay to have these creepy-crawly creatures all around. 

Toilet Paper Roll Ghost from Little Bins for Little Hands
Whether they’re swinging in the wind on your back porch or your child is flying them through the house, these toilet paper roll ghosts are a quick and easy Halloween activity that provides hours of fun!

Scratch Art Spiderwebs and Thumbprint Spiders
These spidery activities will make a web-tastic addition to your Halloween-themed kids’ activities. Your child can draw a beautiful scratch art web and add a sweet-not-spooky thumbprint spider. 

Folded Paint Monsters
This folded page painting technique is one kids love! It’s perfect for preschool and kindergarten and makes a great base for magnificent monsters.

Let’s Make Spiders! Invitation to Create
This simple playdough idea is a great way to involve toddlers and preschoolers in making Halloween art, however temporary!

Easy Plastic Cup Halloween Bat Craft from Two Kids and a Coupon
Create this adorable plastic cup bat with construction paper, scissors, and markers. Just print out the free bat craft template and make several for stackable Halloween fun. 

Apple Stamping Pumpkin Craft from Mom in the Six
Turn a fruit into a veggie with this apple stamping pumpkin craft. This simple Halloween art activity is a fun way to use up old or bruised apples that you’re getting ready to throw away.

Happy Halloween Pop-Up Card from Easy Crafts for Kids
Your kids will love making these eye-catching pop-up cards to give to their friends and family members. Brightly colored cardstock and a spooky haunted house are just right for capturing the Halloween spirit.

Halloween Decor Window Silhouettes from Family Focus Blog
If you have older kids, they’ll enjoy making their own creepy Halloween characters for these magical-looking window silhouettes. All you need is a few pieces of black poster board, black foam board, and different colored tissue paper. 

Recycled Bottle Cap Spiders from Kids Activities Blog
Find new uses for leftover bottle lids with these recycled bottle cap spiders. The multiple googly eyes give these eight-legged critters loads of personality!

Sponge Painted Monsters from Danya Banya
You won’t have to worry about these monsters hiding under the bed at night! This inexpensive Halloween craft involves a few sponges and bottles of acrylic paint. The end result can be any kind of monster your child can dream up!

Paper Ghosts from Picklebums
These paper ghosts are simple to make for a little spooky fun.

Love Monster Craft
Requiring just a few common craft materials, these love monsters are a treat for both Halloween and Valentine’s Day!

Halloween Pop-Up Cards for Kids from Red Ted Art
These ghost and spider cards are another way to spread Halloween cheer. Watch the YouTube video to find out just how easy these are to make. 

Halloween Painted Wooden Spoons from Dollar Crafter
Help your children turn inexpensive wooden spoons into spooky, silly Halloween characters with some serious personality.

Haunted House Craft for Kids from Simple Everyday Mom
Combine paper crafting with oil pastels for a visually captivating Halloween art activity your kids will love. If your child is new to using pastels, this is a great way to introduce them to a new art tool.

Halloween Monster Floam Slime
Ooey, gooey monster slime is a fun sensory activity that kids can really get hands-on with. However, this slime isn’t edible and we suggest avoiding play with it with children under three years of age.

More Halloween fun for kids:

The post 21 Halloween Art Activities That Go Bump in the Night appeared first on Childhood101.

What makes a memory matching game such a great game for kids? It has simple rules, is easy to play, requires just a set of matching game cards, and is great for developing visual discrimination skills…. especially when played with printable Halloween pumpkin memory matching cards!

Why Halloween pumpkins? Because, apart from being fun and a teensy bit spooky, they make this matching game trickier than many of the others in our matching games collection. Players need to look for subtle differences to find those matching pairs!

Halloween Pumpkins Matching Cards Game

Why is Visual Discrimination Important?

Visual discrimination is the ability to see differences and similarities, even subtle ones, between physical objects and images on printed materials. These likenesses and differences may be in size, shape, form, colour or position. Being able to recognise these differences helps children as they learn to read, write, spell, and develop in all areas of mathematics.

Games That Support the Development of Visual Discrimination

There are many great games that help develop visual discrimination ability, including jigsaw puzzles, dominoes, bingo games, mazes (including our printable alphabet mazes), sorting games and visual matching games.

For more like this: Check out our Cupcake Visual Discrimination Matching Game.

How to Play the Halloween Pumpkins Memory Matching Game

Prepare a set of Halloween Pumpkins Cards (download link and printing instructions can be found at the bottom of this post).

Shuffle the cards well and spread them face down across the table.

Players take turns to turn over two cards, searching for the matching pairs of pumpkins. If the cards selected are a match, the player keeps the matching pair and takes another turn. If they are not the same, the cards are turned back over in the same location and play moves to the next player.

Once all cards have been matched, the player with the most pairs wins the game.

How to Print Your Halloween Pumpkins Matching Cards Game

Click here to download: Halloween Pumpkin Memory Matching Game . Save the PDF to your computer. Open the PDF and print the pages you require. When printing, select “Fit to printable area” (or similar) to ensure the page fits with your printer type and local paper size.

This printable includes a printed backing paper. To use the backing page, turn the printed matching card pages over and place them back into the printer to print the background onto the other side – note, this is optional, if your cardstock is thick enough you may choose not to print the background. Laminate the printed cards for durability.

Having trouble accessing or downloading the file? Please try a different internet browser.
Please note: All Childhood 101 printables are for personal use only, you may not use any part of this content for commercial purposes-that includes selling the document, giving it away to promote your business or website, or printing the file to sell. You may not share, loan or redistribute these documents. Teachers may use multiple copies for students in their own classroom.

The post Halloween Pumpkins Matching Cards Game appeared first on Childhood101.

Why not start a new tradition with the family in October, creating a Halloween movie watch list including everyone’s top picks! Snuggle down with some spooky snacks… or a candy bowl… and enjoy your custom made Halloween movie-thon!

For more fun with Halloween movies, be sure to check out our family friendly, printable Halloween Charades game.

Halloween Movies for Kids & Families

While I’ve sorted each category below by recommended age order, I would suggest checking out the reviews on the Common Sense Media website for any titles that you are unfamiliar with. There you’ll find more information about each movie and how scary it is, alongside their age recommendations from parents and children too. Each movie listed below is linked to an Amazon store page – these are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

Disney Halloween Movies for Kids

1. Toy Story of Terror! Follow the Toy Story gang on a new adventure that takes a rather spooky turn when Mr. Potato Head goes missing.

2. Mickey’s House of Villains Mickey and his friends are in for a Halloween battle when the Disney villains (including Ursula, Jafar and Cruella de Vil) set out to take over the House of Mouse.

3. The Nightmare Before Christmas When the Pumpkin King is bored with the same old Halloween he sets out to discover what is so amazing about Santa Claus and Christmas. But his adventure puts Santa in jeopardy, creating a nightmare for children everywhere! Featuring some nasty Halloween monsters, this one is best for kids ages 7 and up.

4. Coco Miguel just wants to be a musician, and through a trip to the Land of the Dead he discovers music plays a crucial role in his family history.

5. The Scream Team In this kooky Halloween offer from Disney, sibling pair, Ian and Claire, team up with some helpful ghosts to help their recently deceased grandfather’s soul cross over.

6. Twitches/Twitches Too Combo Twin witches who are separated at birth reunite when they turn 21, and discover they have magical powers that increase when they are together. Fun for young tweens.

7. Frankenweenie Victor unexpectedly loses his beloved pet and becomes determined to find a way to bring his dog back to life. Unfortunately his town isn’t so supportive of his new companion! This creepy Burton creation is great for tweens and up.

Animated Halloween Movies for Kids

8. Hotel Transylvania Discover Hotel Transylvania where all the things that go bump in the night come to have fun vacationing with their families – no humans allowed. Until one day a solo backpacker discovers the castle and falls for Dracula’s daughter! This is a great first Halloween movie for kids 5 and up.

9. Scared Shrekless Shrek and the gang are tasked with spending the whole night sharing scary stories without being the first to chicken out! A freakish, Shrek take on familiar scary tales and movies.

10. The Addams Family A new animated take on the popular Addams Family. There are some fresh changes and new characters added to this version making it a fun watch, even for fans of the older Addams Family movies.

11. ParaNorman Norman deals with his ability to speak with the dead on a regular basis but when his uncle passes and tells him of an impending curse, Norman’s whole family must jump into action.

12. Monster House Three kids discover the meanest guy in town, Old Man Nebecracker, lives in a house that is actually a living, breathing, super creepy monster! Scary for little ones, stick with ages 10+.

13. Coraline Coraline discovers a new world with her “other parents” and thinks it’s a dream world until things take a scary turn. Super cool but quite creepy, we suggest this one for tweens and up.

14. The Corpse Bride This popular stop motion film is a ghoulish love story, as we follow Victor, a groom stolen away to the underworld to wed a corpse bride, while his real bride waits for him above. A spooktacular choice for 10+ years.

15. 9 A scientist entrust nine of his creations with the spark of life as the world comes to an end. The group of creations must work together to help change history. A scary fantasy world for older tweens and teens.

Family Halloween Movies

16. The Little Vampire A young boy befriends a boy vampire who has just one request, to help him find an amulet that will grant his family to be human once again.

17. Halloweentown When she turns 13, Marnie discovers she’s a witch, and that she must help her grandmother track down the evil source threatening to turn the world’s population into zombies!

18. Casper A psychologist and his daughter visit a house that’s haunted by three ghosts, tasked with removing them. One of the ghosts befriends the daughter and the two discover a resurrection machine that the house’s owner has wicked plans for, leading to a chase in and out of the spirit worlds, and a tough choice for Casper, the friendly ghost.

19. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone An orphan raised by dreadful relatives is whisked away to Hogwarts – a boarding school for young witches and wizards, where he learns important lessons about courage, loyalty, perseverance and teamwork.

20. Hocus Pocus A trio of three hundred year old witches are out to reclaim their youth but the ones who accidentally conjured them are determined to stop them. Great for tweens and teens.

21. Beetlejuice A fun, classic movie where one couple discovers they are dead, tasked with haunting their previous home and its new inhabitants. When the teenage daughter of the new residents summons Beetlejuice – the leading bioexorcist – to help scare away family, the trouble really begins! This Tim Burton tale is pretty creepy, best for teens and adults.

More Halloween Fun for Kids:

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