Halloween Word Search

How to play

Every puzzle on this page uses Halloween words: pumpkins, ghosts, witches, bats and more. Drag across a word, or tap its first and last letter. Words run across, down and diagonally, and on Hard also backwards.

• Easy: 10 × 10, 8 words, across and down only. Suits early readers.
• Medium: 13 × 13, 12 words, across, down and diagonally.
• Hard: 15 × 15, 16 words, in all eight directions.

Printing

Choose the level, press New puzzle until you like the grid, then press Print. The page has the title, lines for name and date, the grid and the word list, in black and white. In the print dialog you can also save it as a PDF. Every New puzzle is a different grid, so a class or a party can have as many different sheets as it needs.

Strategy

1. Hunt the rare letters. The Z in ZOMBIE, the W in WEREWOLF and the double L in SKULL stand out.
2. Start with the longest words. SCARECROW and TOMBSTONE have few places to hide.
3. Watch the shared endings. Several words end in -ER or -ON; check both directions before moving on.
4. On Hard, read backwards too. Words can run right to left and bottom to top.

Origins

Halloween takes its name from All Hallows’ Eve, the evening before All Saints’ Day on 1 November; “hallow” is an old word for “holy”, and the short form comes from Lowland Scots. By around 800, churches in Ireland and Northumbria were already keeping 1 November for all saints. Many of the customs are thought to go back further, to the Gaelic festival of Samhain, held on 31 October and 1 November in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.

The lanterns came first from turnips: in Ireland, Scotland and northern England people carved faces into them. When Irish and Scottish immigrants brought Halloween to North America in the 19th century, pumpkins took over because they are larger and much easier to carve.

History

Why it’s fun

• Seasonal words. Finding BAT, BROOM and CAULDRON is part of getting into the mood.
• Good for groups. Print one sheet per child or race each other on the same grid.
• No wrong answers. Every word is there; you only need to spot it.

FAQ

Which level is right for kids?

Easy uses a small grid and only runs words left to right and top to bottom, so it suits children who are starting to read. Medium and Hard add diagonal and backwards words.

Are the words scary?

The list keeps to classic Halloween imagery such as ghosts, witches, skeletons and candy, suitable for school use.

Is there a daily Halloween puzzle or a leaderboard?

No. The daily puzzle and the world leaderboard are on the main Word Search page, which also has 18 other themes.

Other Halloween games?

Halloween Mahjong: match pumpkins, ghosts, bats and black cats, with an Easy level of 40 tiles for children.

Word list

Each puzzle picks its words from these 44:

• Pumpkin
• Ghost
• Witch
• Zombie
• Vampire
• Skeleton
• Spider
• Bat
• Candy
• Costume
• Mask
• Broom
• Cauldron
• Potion
• Spell
• Moon
• Owl
• Grave
• Tombstone
• Coffin
• Mummy
• Monster
• Goblin
• Werewolf
• Scarecrow
• Haunted
• Spooky
• Candle
• Lantern
• Treat
• Trick
• Cape
• Fangs
• Cobweb
• Scream
• Shadow
• October
• Harvest
• Crypt
• Wand
• Howl
• Bones
• Skull
• Cat

This version

• Easy, Medium and Hard puzzles using Halloween words only; a new grid every time.
• Print any puzzle on one page with lines for name and date, or save it as a PDF.
• Spooky sound: minor-key notes for each word found and a ghostly finish.
• Free, with no sign-up. The daily puzzle and leaderboard are on the main Word Search page.

Updates

1. September 30, 2026Spooky sound effects.
2. September 29, 2026First version on Zippi: three levels and printing.

Page last reviewed September 30, 2026.

Sources

• Halloween, Wikipedia
• Word search, Wikipedia