Halloween and Scary Stories 🎃
Whether you’re a kid dressing up as your favorite hero or an adult who loves a good fright, Halloween is about imagination — and what better way to celebrate than with stories? In this guide we explore the world of Halloween and scary stories for children and adults.
🧙♀️ For Kids
1. What Is the Story of Halloween?
A long time ago, people in ancient Ireland celebrated Samhain (pronounced “sow-in”), marking the end of harvest season and the beginning of winter — a time when it was believed that ghosts could visit the living. Over the centuries, Samhain mixed with other traditions to become the Halloween we know today, filled with trick-or-treating, costumes, candy, and spooky fun!
But underneath all the sweets and giggles, Halloween is still about telling stories that tingle your imagination and make you feel brave.
2. Famous Halloween Stories for Kids
Halloween has inspired many beloved tales that are just the right amount of spooky:
- “Room on the Broom” by Julia Donaldson – A friendly witch and her animal pals show that teamwork and kindness win over any scare.
- “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (kid version) – The Headless Horseman gallops through the night — but sometimes courage means facing what frightens us most.
- “Coraline” by Neil Gaiman (adapted for kids) – A mysterious door, a hidden world, and a brave girl who discovers what “home” truly means.
There have also been great Halloween films for children over the years. Perhaps the best is the Toy Story spooky adventure: “Toy Story of Terror!” In this short film, Woody, Buzz, and the gang find themselves in a creepy motel after Bonnie’s toys mysteriously start to disappear. It’s a perfect mix of humor, adventure, and light scares.
3. Popular Halloween Costumes
Every October, the streets fill with witches, vampires, superheroes, and — lately — even video game characters! For 2025, the top costumes for kids are predicted to be:
- 🖤Wednesday Addams (thanks to the Netflix series!)
- 🕷️Spider-Man (still a classic)
- 👻Ghostbusters
- 🎃Pumpkin witches
- 🤠Toy Story characters like Woody and Jessie
Halloween costumes are a fun way to become part of your own story.
4. What Types of Halloween Stories Can You Make on Story Spark?
On Story Spark, kids can create so many different Halloween tales. Some of our favourites are:
- Funny ghost stories (silly skeletons and clumsy monsters)
- Cute creature tales (friendly bats or shy werewolves)
- Adventure stories (a quest to find the Golden Pumpkin!)
- Mystery stories (who took the Halloween candy?)
You can write them, read them aloud, and even illustrate them, all in your own spooky style. Use these guides for how to create the best story books and how we can illustrate stories you have already written.
5. What Are the Best Illustration Styles for Halloween Stories?
Halloween art can be cute, creepy, or beautifully mysterious. We have lots of options on our Create Story page, but some of the most popular Halloween styles are:
Cartoon – bright colors and funny expressions for younger kids
Mystical – bold shadows and pops of orange, purple, and green
Watercolor – soft edges and dreamy, foggy skies
Pixar – create your own Toy Story book!
7. Meet the Story Spark Halloween Characters
Patch
Bella
Zombella
Frankie
Mumford
Count Giggles
Hazel
Sir Skelly
Snarlok
Morvena
Luna
👻 For Adults
When the trick-or-treaters go home and the moon hangs high, Halloween becomes the perfect night for something darker, a scary story.
1. Scary Stories for Adults
From gothic classics to modern horror, Halloween invites us to explore the thrill of fear. Some timeless tales include:
- “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
- “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs
- “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
- “Bird Box” by Josh Malerman
- “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” by Alvin Schwartz
- “Dracula” by Bram Stoker
- “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson
- “Mexican Gothic” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- “The October Country” by Ray Bradbury
2. What Are Popular Types of Halloween Stories for Adults?
Halloween storytelling for grown-ups usually falls into a few favorite categories:
- Psychological horror – the mind as the monster.
- Supernatural thrillers – ghosts, curses, and haunted places.
- Gothic tales – moody mansions, secrets, and tragic romance.
- Urban legends – stories that might be true… or might not.
- Dark fantasy – where magic meets menace.
Each type offers a different way to experience fear. Suspenseful, mysterious, or purely chilling.
3. Scary Stories Book Illustrations
Illustrations play a huge part in bringing horror to life. The eerie black-and-white sketches by Stephen Gammell in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark are famous for haunting readers long after the book is closed.
For adults creating on Story Spark, moody ink wash, monochrome sketching, or shadow-based digital art are perfect for giving your stories that ghostly tone. Think: blurred edges, faint glows, and hints of things unseen.
🕯️ The Magic of Halloween
Whether you’re crafting a funny ghost story for bedtime or a chilling short story for a grown-up audience, Halloween is your invitation to create. So light your pumpkin, grab your pen (or keyboard), and let your imagination wander through the mist — because every great Halloween begins with a story.
🧡 Story Spark Cards: 10 Fun Facts About Halloween
1. Halloween Began Over 2,000 Years Ago!
Fun Fact: The first Halloween came from an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain, when people wore costumes to scare away spirits.
🖌️ Illustration Idea: Kids dressed as ghosts and witches dancing around a glowing bonfire in a misty forest.
2. Jack-o’-Lanterns Were Made from Turnips!
Fun Fact: Before pumpkins, people in Ireland carved faces into turnips and potatoes to light their homes on Halloween night.
🖌️ Illustration Idea: A smiling turnip and a grumpy pumpkin having a carving contest!
3. The Biggest Pumpkin Ever Weighed Over 2,700 Pounds!
Fun Fact: The world record pumpkin was so big it needed a forklift to move!
🖌️ Illustration Idea: A farmer proudly standing beside a giant pumpkin wearing a crown.
4. Trick-or-Treating Came from “Souling”
Fun Fact: Hundreds of years ago, children went door-to-door asking for “soul cakes” instead of candy — and offered prayers in return.
🖌️ Illustration Idea: Kids in medieval clothes holding small cakes shaped like ghosts.
5. Black and Orange Are Halloween’s Official Colors
Fun Fact: Black means mystery and night; orange stands for the harvest and autumn leaves!
🖌️ Illustration Idea: A swirling mix of orange leaves and black bats flying under a crescent moon.
6. Candy Corn Was First Called “Chicken Feed”!
Fun Fact: When candy corn was invented in the 1880s, it came in boxes decorated with — you guessed it — chickens!
🖌️ Illustration Idea: A funny chicken eating candy corn from a Halloween bucket.
7. America’s Favorite Halloween Candy Is… Reese’s!
Fun Fact: Fun Fact: Year after year, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups win the Halloween candy popularity contest.
🖌️ Illustration Idea: A pile of candy with tiny ghosts fighting over the last Reese’s cup.
8. Some People Are Afraid of Halloween!
Fun Fact: There’s a real fear called Samhainophobia — the fear of Halloween.
🖌️ Illustration Idea: A friendly ghost trying to comfort a scared little monster with candy.
9. Bobbing for Apples Was a Love Game!
Fun Fact: In old times, people bobbed for apples to see who they’d marry — each apple stood for a different sweetheart!
🖌️ Illustration Idea: Apples in a wooden tub, each with funny faces and little hearts floating above them.
10. Halloween Is the Second Biggest Holiday in the U.S.!
Fun Fact: Only Christmas beats Halloween for decorations and candy spending. People spend billions every year to celebrate!
🖌️ Illustration Idea: A neighborhood full of glowing pumpkins, twinkling lights, and trick-or-treaters everywhere.
Bonus Card: Even Pets Join the Fun!
Fun Fact: Millions of pets dress up for Halloween — the top costumes are pumpkins, bats, and hot dogs!
🖌️ Illustration Idea: A cat in a pumpkin suit and a dog in a hot dog costume posing for a Halloween photo.
