Halloween Writing Prompts

Halloween brings much inspiration to writers of all ages and backgrounds. Use these creative writing category prompts, designed specifically for Halloween, to treat your spookier sense of creativity. Responses to these prompts can vary in genre. Writers are encouraged to use rich detail and language, as well as all steps of the writing process (brainstorming, drafting, revising, and polishing), as best suited for their goals as a writer. Keep in mind that some prompts may demand contextualization depending on the learner’s age and needs.

Halloween Writing Prompts

Category 1: Jack-O’-Lanterns

When it’s Halloween, there’s no doubt that many people celebrate by painting pumpkins or by carving jack-o’lanterns. This set of creative writing prompts offers writers an opportunity to celebrate and engage with this gourd-geous season.

Grades K-2:

1. Write a story about a jack-o’-lantern that disappears from someone’s front steps.
2. Write a poem about a jack-o’-lantern that is so beautiful that people travel from all over to view it.
3. Design a unique jack-o’-lantern pattern. Explain your design choice.

Grades 3+:

1. Research the history and tradition of jack-o’-lanterns. From where did this practice originate? How did it arrive in the United States?
2. Write about a jack-o’-lantern that, one family discovers, lights up without the use of a candle or flashlight. How does it glow?
3. Write about a night of pumpkin carving that comes to a halt when the carver discovers a pink slime oozing out of the pumpkin.

Category 2: Haunted Castles

When it’s Halloween, many people celebrate by decorating by enjoying spooky stories about ghouls, ghosts, and haunted castles. Use these Halloween writing prompts to write stories, news articles, and conduct research about paranormal venues.

Grades K-2:

1. Write a story about a haunted house in a nearby town.
2. Write a story about a castle that looks perfectly beautiful on the outside, but is actually eerily haunted on the inside
3. Write a news article about a castle that is haunted by a friendly ghost named Mike.

Grades 3+:

1. Research a castle or location that claims to have a lot of paranormal activity. What is allegedly a source of all the paranormal activity? In other words, why is the castle so haunted?
2. Write about a castle that a group of teens discover is underneath their football stadium at their high school.
3. Write the story about a teenager who narrowly escapes a terrifying haunted castle on Halloween night.

Category 3: Southern Spooky Stories

When it’s Halloween, each part of the United States reflects on its own traditions and cultural ties to all things spooky and haunted. Use these writing prompts to explore stories of spooky bayous, ghostly lakes, and haunted hills.

Grades K-2:

1. Write about an old abandoned home in South Carolina that even the police are too afraid to drive past.
2. Write about a strange creature that lives inside Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana.
3. Write a story about a group of scientists who discover a haunted garden with strange and unusual plants and bugs.

Grades 3+:

1. Create an infographic that helps readers understand the genre of Southern Gothic literature.
2. Write about a bridge in Georgia that sometimes randomly disappears.
3. Write about an orange, glowing cave that’s discovered in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains.

Category 4: New England Nightmares

When it’s Halloween, each part of the United States reflects on its own traditions and cultural ties to all things spooky and haunted. Use these writing prompts to explore stories of New England’s haunted coastal spaces and places.

Grades K-2:

1. Write a story about a boat that disappears into the fog early one morning.
2. Write a story about a boat dock in Mystic, CT that suddenly disappears overnight.
3. Write a poem about late night sounds of horse hooves beating on pavement in Boston, MA.

Grades 3+:

1. Write an article about a fictional murderer named the Rhode Island Roadster.
2. Write a persuasive essay in order to convince somebody that Cape Cod is completely haunted.
3. Write a short story about a woman who falls in love with a vampire during a weekend trip to the Berkshires in Massachusetts.

Category 5: Western Werewolves

When it’s Halloween, each part of the United States reflects on its own traditions and cultural ties to all things spooky and haunted. Use these writing prompts to explore stories of the wild and wicked west, with a specific focus on the history and origin of werewolves. Use these writing prompts to craft stories, poems, songs, and research.

Grades K-2:

1. Write about a werewolf from Montana who terrorizes the local farm.
2. Write about a wolf from Wisconsin named Willie who wants to become a werewolf by the time Halloween comes.
3. Write a song or a poem about werewolves who like to wear cowboy boots.

Grades 3+:

1. Research and write an essay about the origin of werewolves as a monster. Where do they come from? How are they portrayed in the media?
2. Write about a werewolf who takes a job in a Halloween costume shop in New York City.
3. Write a faux interview between a werewolf and a popular journalist. Make sure that the werewolf is articulate and well-spoken in delivering his opinions about how werewolves are poorly portrayed in the media.

Category 6: Frightening Fish

When it’s Halloween, the ocean and its mysterious depth can inspire creative writing. Use these writing prompts to explore stories of the frightening fish and darkest depths of our world’s bodies of water. Use these writing prompts to craft stories, infographics, and research.

Grades K-2:

1. Design and illustrate a short story about a fish that is also a vampire.
2. Write about a shark who is tired of people being afraid of them and who really wants to make more friends.
3. Write about a young person who designs their very own piranha costume.

Grades 3+:

1. Create an infographic about what people should do if they’re bitten by ocean life that could potentially be dangerous or hazardous to their health.
2. Write about a giant octopus that pulls a barge under the ocean.
3. Write about and research the deadliest fish in the sea.