100+ Spooky Halloween Vocabulary Words for Kids

Author:
Candace Bacon
Updated date:
Sep 30, 2021

Candace is a mom, mad scientist, and enthusiast of all things spooky. Needless to say, Halloween is her favorite holiday.

Halloween is a great time to combine fun with education—here are some spooky vocabulary words you can use in your celebrations.
freestocks via Unsplash; Canva

This autumn, make vocabulary fun by incorporating word exercises into your children's Halloween celebrations. The words in these lists can be used in charades, story-writing, word searches, and other fun activities to introduce an educational twist to this year's Halloween.

Over 100 Halloween-related words are included in these vocabulary lists. Topics include trick or treating, monsters, scary sounds, gross materials, body parts, mad science, magic, and more! Spanish and French Halloween vocabulary is included as well.

Vocabulary Terms and Phrases for Halloween

These are some basic Halloween words for a variety of reading levels.
All Hallows' Eve	Lantern	Prank
Costume	Make-believe	Sweets
Darkness	Monster	Shadows
Decorations	Moonlight	Spiderweb
Disguise	Night	Supernatural
Dress-up	October	Superstition
Holiday	Orange	Thirty-first
Jack-o'-lantern	Party	Trick or treat

Fall/Autumn Vocabulary Words

These words relate to the fall season and harvest time.
Acorn	Gourd	Pumpkin
Autumn	Harvest	Scarecrow
Cornmaze	Hayride	Squash
Crop	Leaves	Squirrel
Crow	Plow	Turkey

Spiderweb (noun): A silken web made by a spider.
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Creepy Creatures That Love Halloween

Some of these words are good for younger children who are just learning how to spell. A few are a little more advanced.
Bat	Hound	Raccoon
Bug	Owl	Spider
Cat	Rat	Tarantula
Crow	Snake	Worm

Costume Idea Vocabulary Words

These words relate to popular Halloween costumes. Write each one on a flashcard and see if your child can match them to images of the costumes.
Animal	Orc	Queen
Cartoon character	Pirate	Superhero
Fairy	Pixie	Vampire
King	Prince	Warlock
Ninja	Princess	Werewolf

Trick-or-Treat Vocabulary Words

This list includes words that have to do with trick-or-treating. They range from short and easy to longer and more difficult.
Apple	Fangs	Mask
Candy	Flashlight	Nighttime
Cloak	Goodies	Safety
Costume	Gown	Treat bag
Doorbell	Hat	Wig
Face paint	Makeup	Yummy

Skeleton (noun): An internal framework of bone and cartilage that supports the body of an animal.
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Monsters and Creatures From Horror Movies

These are some of the most well-known monsters and scary creatures related to Halloween. Some may not be appropriate for younger children.
Alien	Giant	Vampire
Boogeyman	Goblin	Villain
Cyclops	Mummy	Warlock
Extraterrestrial	Mutant	Werewolf
Ghost	Shapeshifter	Witch
Ghoul	Troll	Zombie

Famous Halloween Characters

These are famous, kid-friendly creatures that are not necessarily horror film characters. Younger children may not recognize some of these character names.
Addams Family	Frankenstein	Maleficent
Beetlejuice	Great Pumpkin	Scooby Doo
Casper	Harry Potter	Spookley, the Square Pumpkin
Cruella de Vil	Headless Horseman	Ursula
Dracula	Jack Skellington	Voldemort

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Scary Vocabulary Word List

Halloween can be a scary time. These are words that describe fear. Many of these words are great for older children to learn. Use these words as a way to introduce the concept of synonyms.
Alarming	Fear	Scary
Bloodcurdling	Frighten	Shocking
Boo	Goosebumps	Spine-chilling
Chilling	Hair-rising	Spooky
Creepy	Horrify	Startling
Eek	Nightmare	Unnerving
Eerie	Petrified	Wicked

Gross Vocabulary Words

Children like talking about and playing with gross things. Have your children list as many gross or disgusting words they can think of for a bit of Halloween fun.
Boogers	Mucus	Revolting
Goo	Ooze	Rotten
Gory	Pus	Slimy
Icky	Repulsive	Snot

Body Part Vocabulary Words

Body parts are another fun thing to talk about at Halloween. Teach your kids the body parts and how to spell them. Older kids can learn the names of all the bones in the skeleton.
Blood	Eyeballs	Heart
Bones	Femur	Lungs
Brain	Fingernails	Skeleton
Cadaver	Guts	Skull

Cemetery (noun): A graveyard or burial place for the deceased.
Tom Wheatley via Unsplash

Ghostly Vocabulary Words

These are words about ghosts, graveyards, and spirits. They may be best for older children.
Apparition	Ectoplasm	Phantom
Cemetery	Ghastly	Poltergeist
Coffin	Ghoul	Reanimated
Corpse	Graveyard	Spectral
Crypt	Haunted house	Spirit
Dead	Other-wordly	Tombstone

Halloween Action Words

These words are about ghosts, graveyards, and spirits. They may be best for older children.
Battling	Creeping	Pretending
Bobbing	Dancing	Raking
Breaking	Decorating	Scaring
Bulging	Partying	Slithering
Bursting	Dribbling	Sneaking
Carving	Fluttering	Sparkling
Crawling	Grinning	Tricking

Scary Halloween Sounds

This is a spooky sound list for Halloween. Words like these are great for going over tenses with the kids (e.g. howl, howling, howled).
Bellowing	Creaking	Screaming
Bubbling	Hooting	Yelling
Bumping	Howling	Thumping
Cackling	Rattling	Whooshing

Spanish Halloween Vocabulary Words

Learning words in Spanish and other languages is a great way to teach your children about the similarities and differences between the various languages we use.
La araña (spider)	El cráneo (skull)	El fantasma (ghost)
La bruja (witch)	La noche de brujas or el Halloween (Halloween)	La fiesta (party)
La calabaza (pumpkin)	El dia de los muertes (Day of the Dead)	El gato negro (black cat)
La calabaza iluminada or la jack-o'-lantern (jack-o'-lantern)	El diablo (devil)	El hombre lobo (werewolf)
Los caramelos (candy)	El disfraz (costume)	La enmascarar (mask)
La casa embrujada (haunted house)	El esqueleto (skeleton)	El maquillaje (makeup)
El murciélago (bat)	El monstruo (monster)	La momia (mummy)
La peluca (wig)	El/la superhéroe (superhero)	Truco o trato or queremos Halloween (trick or treat)

French Halloween Vocabulary Words

These are some basic french Halloween words and phrases.
La araignée (spider)	L'épouvantail (scarecrow)	Le monstre (monster)
Les bonbons (candy)	Le fantôme (ghost)	La sorcière (witch)
Le chat noir (black cat)	Le feu follet (jack-o'-lantern)	Le squelette (skeleton)
Le chauve-souris (bat)	Friandises ou betise (trick or treat)	Toile d'araignée (web)
Le cimetière (cemetery)	L'Halloween (Halloween)	Le vampire (vampire)
Le citrouille (pumpkin)	Le loup-garou (werewolf)	Toussaint (All Saints' Day from October 31 to November 2)
Le déguisement (costume)	La maison hantée (haunted house)	Le zombi (zombie)
Le diable (devil)	Le masque (mask)	—

Magical Vocabulary Words

Halloween is a time when magic seems real. The words on this list are all magic-related.
Brew	Hocus pocus	Spell book
Broom	Ingredients	Toad
Cackle	Magic wand	Warlock
Cauldron	Potion	Wicked
Enchant	Spell	Wizardry

Toad (noun): A tailless, warty, four-legged amphibian.
Jaunathan Gagnon via Unsplash

Mad Science Vocabulary Words

Mad scientists love Halloween. These terms are scientific, spooky, and educational.
Beaker	Flask	Petri dish
Boiling	Goggles	Test tube
Bunsen burner	Graduated cylinder	Thermometer
Experiment	Lab coat	Wires

Halloween Party Food Vocabulary Words

These vocab words are all popular Halloween snacks and treats.
Candy Corn	Cupcakes	Pie
Candied apple	Deviled eggs	Popcorn
Cotton candy	Gummy Worms	Punch

Fun Halloween Vocabulary Activities for Kids

Learning vocabulary words can be boring for kids. Here are some fun ideas you can use to spice up the learning process and entertain your children this fall.

Incorporate the vocabulary words above into word searches and bingo games to make them more interesting.
Create scavenger hunts for some of the items listed above.
Play games of Jeopardy or Halloween Pictionary—the children will be so entertained that they won't even realize they are learning.
Use jokes and puns to put a fun spin on vocabulary and keep the kids laughing.
Encourage your kids to write their own Halloween stories using at least 10 of the above vocabulary words.

Who knew learning vocabulary could be so much fun?