Halloween drawing activities for kids

Popular Halloween drawing activities for kids include step-by-step ghosts, witches, mummies and pumpkins, designing a costume, drawing a haunted house, and making Halloween cards and decorations. Halloween characters are made of simple shapes and can be as cute or spooky as kids like, so they’re perfect for every age. Our Halloween hub has free lessons and printables.

Draw Halloween characters step by step

Ghosts, pumpkins, bats, black cats, witches, skeletons and mummies are all great for step-by-step drawing. In a How to Draw book, every step shows the complete drawing as a light gray outline, so kids can see where the black lines go. Younger kids can trace a dotted outline, then color. Grab the free Halloween drawing and coloring pages to start.

Design a costume

Kids draw themselves in their dream costume, then label the parts: “cape,” “wand,” “glowing eyes.” It’s a fun planning tool before Halloween, and a great keepsake after.

Draw a haunted house

1. Draw a big rectangle for the house and a triangle roof.
2. Add crooked windows, a door and a chimney.
3. Fill the windows with ghosts, bats, eyes and a witch.
4. Add a full moon, a twisty tree and a path.

Ask kids to tell you who lives in each room.

Halloween prompts

• A ghost who’s afraid of people.
• A pumpkin with a funny face.
• A witch whose broom won’t fly.
• A skeleton playing a xylophone.
• A monster trick-or-treating.
• A mummy unraveling.
• A vampire at the dentist.
• A black cat in a costume.

For a friendlier list for little ones, see not-so-scary Halloween activities.

Decorations and cards

• Window ghosts. Draw ghosts on white paper, cut them out and tape them to the window.
• Paper bats. Fold black paper, draw half a bat on the fold and cut it out.
• Pumpkin plans. Design your jack-o’-lantern face on paper before carving.
• Halloween cards for grandparents.

For the classroom party

Directed drawing of a pumpkin or a friendly ghost works for a whole class in 20 minutes. Add a “spooky story” writing prompt. See directed drawing and early finisher activities.

Monster week

Halloween is the perfect time to invent monsters. See monster drawing ideas and meet the Crusty Goobers, gross-out characters kids love.

Tip: Draw the same pumpkin three ways: cute, silly and spooky. It’s an easy lesson in how expressions change a character. See cartoon expressions for kids.

The book that helps

The Halloween and Spooky Stuff books come in all three formats, so every kid can draw ghosts, witches and skeletons at the right level.

How to Draw: HalloweenSee it on Amazon

How to Draw: Spooky Stuff for HalloweenSee it on Amazon

Trace Then Color: Cartoon Halloween CharactersSee it on Amazon

Draw by Grid: Spooky Stuff for HalloweenSee it on Amazon

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