Halloween Scavenger Hunt (Kids, Teens & Adults)

On this page

1. What’s on the printable
2. How to set up the hunt
3. The 15 clues and their answers
4. Halloween scavenger hunt for kids
5. Halloween scavenger hunt for teens
6. Halloween scavenger hunt for adults
7. Prize ideas
8. Questions hosts ask

The printable clue chain works for kids from about 5 to 10. Younger kids need a grown-up to read the rhymes aloud; older kids can read and race.

What’s on the printable

You get 15 clue cards and one answer sheet. Each card shows a short Halloween rhyme and a number. The answer sheet lists every card in order with the spot it points to, so you know where to hide each one. The answers never print on the cards.

The clues send hunters to ordinary spots: the fridge door, the coat closet, the washing machine, under the doormat, the pantry, a houseplant. The last clue points to the candy bowl, which is where the prize goes. A full run takes 15 to 30 minutes depending on age and how long the kids spend admiring the prize.

How to set up the hunt

1. Print the clue cards and the answer sheet. Cut the cards apart.
2. Keep card 1 in your hand. That’s the one you give the hunters to start.
3. Hide card 2 at the answer to card 1, card 3 at the answer to card 2, and so on. The answer sheet tells you each spot.
4. Put the prize in the candy bowl, the answer to the last card.
5. Walk the route once with the answer sheet. Make sure each card sticks out enough to be found.
6. Hand over card 1 and read it aloud, or let older kids read it. Follow along and give hints when the hunt stalls.

Short on time or space? Use fewer clues. Start with card 1, stop wherever you like, and put the prize at the spot your last card points to.

The 15 clues and their answers

Here’s the full chain, in hiding order. Swap any spot that doesn’t exist in your house by writing a new rhyme on a blank card.

1. Trick-or-treaters knock on me all night. Look by my handle, on the inside, left or right. Answer: inside the front door, by the handle
2. I’m cold inside like a haunted cave, and I keep the leftover pizza you save. Answer: on the fridge door
3. A ghost could hide in me, it’s true. I hold the coats and the rain boots too. Answer: the coat closet
4. Vampires can’t see themselves in me, or so the stories say. Look in the bathroom; you’ll see yourself just fine today. Answer: the bathroom mirror
5. Mummies need their wrappings clean. Look on top of the washing machine. Answer: on top of the washing machine
6. A witch keeps her spells in a book on a shelf. Find where your books live and look for yourself. Answer: tucked in a book on the bookshelf
7. Pick a scary movie, then press play. Look under the thing that clicks channels away. Answer: under the TV remote
8. Where the snacks and the cereal hide, open my door and look inside. Answer: the pantry
9. After a fright, where do you lay your head? Look under the pillow on top of a bed. Answer: under a bed pillow
10. Wipe your boots before you creep inside. Under me, the next clue hides. Answer: under the doormat
11. A witch stirs her pot with a spoon, but where do yours stay? Open the drawer where the forks are put away. Answer: the silverware drawer
12. I’m not a pumpkin vine, but I’m leafy and green. Look by a plant in a pot for a clue to be seen. Answer: next to a houseplant
13. Tick, tock, the spooky hour is near. Look by a clock; your next clue is here. Answer: next to a clock
14. Bats hang upside down, but towels hang straight. Check the towel rack, and don’t be late. Answer: the bathroom towel rack
15. Last stop, and the treat is where treats should be. Look in the candy bowl and see what you see. Answer: the candy bowl (the prize goes here)

Halloween scavenger hunt for kids

Ages 4 to 6

Cut the chain to six or seven clues and read each one aloud. Pause before the last word of the rhyme so the kids can shout it. Hold hands on the stairs. At this age, the running between spots is most of the fun, and the prize can be a single full-size candy bar.

Ages 7 to 10

Let them read the cards on their own and use the full chain. For two teams, print the clue cards twice in two colors and hide both colors at every spot. Each team collects only its own color. Everyone follows the same route, and nobody can grab another team’s clue.

Flashlight hunt

Turn off the lights, hand every kid a flashlight and run the chain in the dark. Stick a glow-in-the-dark sticker on each card so it’s easy to spot. Keep the route on one floor and away from stairs.

Trick-or-treat spotting list

Some kids get restless on a long trick-or-treat walk. Give them a list of things to spot on porches and yards, and let them check each off. It keeps little legs moving between houses.

• A jack-o’-lantern with a silly face
• A jack-o’-lantern with a scary face
• A giant inflatable decoration
• Fake spiderwebs on a bush
• A scarecrow
• A skeleton sitting in a chair
• Purple or green porch lights
• A witch hat on a door
• Someone else dressed as the same thing as you
• A dog in a costume
• A house giving out full-size candy bars
• A teal pumpkin (it means non-food treats are available)

Halloween scavenger hunt for teens

Teens usually want a challenge they can do as a group without a grown-up reading clues. A photo scavenger hunt fits. Split into teams of three or four, give each team this list and a one-hour limit, and score one point per photo. Everyone on the team except the photographer has to be in each shot.

1. The whole team making their scariest face
2. A team member wearing a witch hat
3. A pumpkin bigger than someone’s head
4. The team reenacting a famous scary movie poster
5. Someone pretending to be scared of a lawn decoration
6. A black cat (a real one, a picture or a decoration)
7. A team member wrapped up like a mummy in toilet paper
8. A candy bar that starts with the letter M
9. Five different kinds of candy lined up
10. A team member doing their best zombie walk
11. A spooky family portrait, everyone posed stiff and unsmiling
12. Something orange that isn’t a pumpkin
13. A spiderweb, real or fake
14. The team dressed as one group costume made from things in the house
15. A ghost made from a sheet or a napkin
16. Someone balancing a mini pumpkin on their head
17. A “haunted” selfie in a mirror
18. A leaf pile with someone jumping into it
19. Someone “flying” on a broom
20. The whole team spelling BOO with their bodies

Set boundaries before anyone leaves: which houses and streets are in bounds, when everyone must be back, and that no one goes onto a stranger’s property for a photo. Teams can share their pictures at the end, and the group votes on the funniest photo for a bonus point. For more ideas for this age group, our Halloween party games for kids list includes several that older kids like too.

Halloween scavenger hunt for adults

At an adult party, a scavenger hunt works best as a mingling game. Hand every guest a card with a list of people to find, and have them get a name or initials next to each line. The first person to fill the card wins.

• Find someone who carved a pumpkin this year
• Find someone who made their own costume
• Find someone who has been to a haunted house attraction
• Find someone who can name three John Carpenter movies
• Find someone who handed out full-size candy bars
• Find someone whose costume is a pun
• Find someone who has watched a scary movie alone at night
• Find someone who likes candy corn
• Find someone who dressed as the same thing two years in a row
• Find someone who has read Frankenstein or Dracula
• Find someone who believes a house they lived in was haunted
• Find someone who has been on a hayride

For a bigger challenge, hide 10 small plastic spiders around the party space before guests arrive and announce a prize for whoever finds the most by 10 p.m. Everyone looks under napkins and behind picture frames for the rest of the night. For other games that suit a grown-up crowd, see our Halloween party games for adults.

Prize ideas

The prize doesn’t have to cost much. Kids get more out of finding it than from what’s inside. Try a bucket of candy to share, glow bracelets, a Halloween movie night with popcorn, or a coupon to stay up 30 minutes late on Halloween night. For teens, a pizza order or first pick of the candy haul works. For adults, a bottle of hot sauce with a skull on the label or a gold-painted pumpkin trophy.

For more clues that aren’t tied to Halloween, see our scavenger hunt clues for kids around the house. For a printable to play once the hunt is done, try our Halloween bingo, or browse everything on the Halloween games page.

Questions hosts ask

By the Party Game Book editors. Every game here is free to print for personal, classroom and non-commercial use. How we make and check our games.