About Halloween
Halloween is celebrated on 31 October, the evening before All Saints' Day. Its roots go back to Samhain, a Celtic festival in Ireland and Scotland that marked the end of harvest and the start of the dark half of the year. People lit bonfires, and some wore disguises.
Irish and Scottish emigrants brought their customs to North America in the 1800s, where pumpkins replaced turnips for lanterns and trick-or-treating grew into the street party it is today. The cards on this page stick to friendly, not frightening, words: pumpkins, owls, costumes and candy, plus a few gentle spooks.
Did you know?
The name Halloween is short for All Hallows' Eve, the evening before All Hallows' (All Saints') Day on 1 November.
Halloween grew from Samhain, a Celtic festival celebrated in Ireland and Scotland more than 1,000 years ago.
The first jack-o'-lanterns in Ireland and Scotland were carved from turnips and other root vegetables. Pumpkins took over in North America.
Candy corn dates back to the 1880s, when it was made by hand by pouring warm sugar syrup into moulds.
Black cats are seen as unlucky in some stories, but in parts of Britain and in Japan they are a sign of good luck.
Words in this puzzle 54
Full list 32 words
- apple bobbing
- A party game where you try to pick up apples floating in water using only your teeth.
- bat
- A furry animal that flies at night using wings made of skin. Bats are mammals, not birds.
- black cat
- A cat with all-black fur. Some stories call them unlucky; in other places they are thought to be lucky.
- broomstick
- A broom with a long handle. In stories, witches fly on them.
- candle
- A stick of wax with a wick that gives light as it burns.
- candy bag
- A bag or bucket for collecting sweets while trick-or-treating.
- candy corn
- A small sweet shaped like a corn kernel, striped yellow, orange and white.
- cauldron
- A big, round metal cooking pot hung over a fire. Storybook witches stir potions in one.
- cobweb
- An old, dusty spider web, often found in corners.
- costume
- Clothes you wear to dress up as someone or something else.
- creaky door
- A door that makes a long, squeaky sound when it opens.
- crow
- A large, clever, all-black bird with a loud caw.
- fog
- A thick cloud that sits close to the ground and makes it hard to see far.
- full moon
- When the whole face of the Moon is lit up and looks like a bright circle.
- ghost
- In stories, the spirit of a person, often drawn as a floating white sheet with eyes.
- graveyard
- A place where people are buried; also called a cemetery.
- haunted house
- A house that, in stories, ghosts are said to live in. At Halloween, a spooky-themed fun house.
- jack-o'-lantern
- A hollowed-out pumpkin with a face cut into it and a light inside.
- lantern
- A light inside a case that protects it, often with a handle for carrying.
- mask
- A covering for your face, worn to hide who you are or as part of a costume.
- monster
- An imaginary creature in stories, often big and scary-looking, or sometimes silly.
- mummy
- A body that was carefully preserved and wrapped in cloth long ago, as in ancient Egypt. Also a costume of wrapped bandages.
- night sky
- The sky after dark, when you can see the Moon, stars and planets.
- owl
- A bird that hunts at night, with large forward-facing eyes and very quiet wings.
- potion
- A magic drink in stories. At a party, often a fizzy juice with a spooky name.
- pumpkin
- A large, round orange fruit with a thick skin and seeds inside, carved into lanterns at Halloween.
- scarecrow
- A figure dressed in old clothes, set in a field to scare birds away from crops.
- skeleton
- The frame of bones inside your body that holds you up and protects your heart and lungs.
- spell book
- In stories, a book of magic words and recipes for potions.
- spider web
- A net of sticky silk threads that a spider spins to catch insects.
- trick-or-treat
- Going door to door in costume on Halloween to collect sweets.
- witch hat
- A tall, pointed black hat with a wide brim, a classic part of a witch costume.
Kids' list 22 words
- apple
- A round, crunchy fruit with red, green or yellow skin. Apples are harvested in autumn.
- bag
- A container made of cloth, paper or plastic for carrying things.
- bone
- One of the hard, white parts that make up a skeleton.
- boo
- A word shouted to make someone jump.
- broom
- A brush with a long handle for sweeping floors.
- candy
- Sweets such as chocolate, toffee or lollipops.
- cat
- A small, furry pet with whiskers and sharp claws that purrs when happy.
- corn
- A tall plant grown for its yellow kernels. Dried corn stalks are a common autumn decoration.
- creepy
- A bit scary in a way that gives you shivers.
- hat
- Something you wear on your head, like the pointed hat in a witch costume.
- howl
- A long, loud cry, like a wolf calling or the wind blowing hard.
- leaf
- One of the flat, usually green parts of a plant. Many turn red, orange or brown in autumn.
- moon
- Earth's natural satellite, which shines at night by reflecting sunlight.
- night
- The time when it is dark outside, between sunset and sunrise.
- pie
- A baked dish with a pastry crust and a filling, such as pumpkin or apple.
- pot
- A deep, round container used for cooking.
- spider
- A small animal with eight legs that spins silk. Spiders are not insects.
- spooky
- Strange and a little scary, in a fun way.
- star
- A huge ball of glowing gas that looks like a point of light in the night sky.
- treat
- Something special and nice, like a sweet or a small surprise.
- web
- A net of thin silk threads made by a spider.
- witch
- A character in folk tales and stories who casts spells, often shown with a pointed hat and a broom.
Spooky, not scary
Halloween bingo is a natural fit for the classroom party slot: everyone plays together, nobody needs a costume, and it fills thirty minutes with no mess. The built-in lists stick to the friendly side of Halloween (pumpkins, owls, potions, creaky doors) so they suit young children and school rules. There are no horror-film characters or gore, and nothing that will keep a five-year-old awake.
The full list has 32 words and short phrases for older kids and adults. The kids' list uses short words like bat, boo and web for readers in kindergarten and first grade. Pick one, set the number of cards to the number of players, and print.
Game ideas for October
- Candy-corn markers: a classic, and they are easy to hand out at the end.
- Costume parade bingo: use the free square for “someone dressed as a…” and call costumes as children walk past.
- Pumpkin patch blackout: older groups play for a full card; the winner picks first from the prize bucket.
- Read-aloud bingo: while reading a Halloween story, children mark words they hear.
Before you print
Four cards per page saves paper for a big class; one per page makes a bold, easy card for little ones. Add calling cards and pull them from a witch's hat or a plastic cauldron. Lists and cards never leave your browser.
Questions people ask
Where does Halloween come from?
It grew out of Samhain, a Celtic festival marking the end of harvest, mixed with the Christian All Hallows' Eve. Immigrants carried the customs to North America, where trick-or-treating developed in the 1900s.
Are these Halloween bingo cards too scary for little kids?
No. The lists avoid gore, weapons and film characters. Choose the Kids' list of 28 short words and a 3×3 grid for preschoolers.
Why do people carve pumpkins?
It comes from an Irish and Scottish custom of carving faces into turnips and putting a light inside. In North America, pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve, so they took over.
How many cards can I print?
Up to 100 unique cards per batch. The ready-made Medium and Hard PDFs each have 20 cards plus a caller sheet.
What is the difference between the Medium and Hard PDFs?
Both have 5×5 cards using the full list and the kids' list together (54 words). Medium has a free centre square; Hard has no free square, so each game takes a little longer.