How to do a Kids Halloween-Themed Escape Room incl. 20 puzzle ideas!
Looking for a fun and unique way to entertain the kids this Halloween? How about a Halloween-themed escape room!
Escape rooms are a great way to provide some spooky entertainment AND sneak in some fun learning too! Through a mix of petrifying puzzles, creepy challenges, and terrific teamwork, you can keep children engaged and entertained as they solve riddles, crack codes, and collaborate to escape.
Here’s our how to guide for setting up a Halloween escape room at home (or in the classroom / any kids group setting). Full of tips and ideas for creating a frighteningly fun experience with simple, easy-to-set-up Halloween-themed puzzles!
Step 1: Set the Spooky Scene
To captivate your players and bring your Halloween escape room to life, you’ll need a thrilling story! The first step is setting the scene and creating a haunting atmosphere.
Choose a Theme and Storyline
Every great escape room needs a plot to get the players really invested in the game. Here are some terrifying theme ideas you could use…
Haunted House:
Set the scene: Picture cobwebs, flickering candles, and sheets draped over furniture for a haunted, abandoned look.
Storyline: “The ghost of the manor has trapped you inside their haunted house! Solve the puzzles to find the key and escape before the clock strikes the hour…”
Witch’s Lair:
Set the scene: With cauldrons bubbling, broomsticks and eerie potions on display. Perhaps a few ‘spell ingredients’ scattered around, like dried herbs or plastic eyeballs.
Storyline: “The wicked witch is brewing a dreadful spell! You must find her hidden spell book and destroy it before she returns in [X] minutes.”
Mad Scientist’s Lab:
Set the scene: Bottles labelled as ‘Chemical X’ or ‘Monster Serum,’ scattered notebooks or scribbled ‘lab notes,’ and jars filled with strange-looking specimens (cotton balls, slime, or rubbery toys!).
Storyline: “A mad scientist’s experiment has gone terribly wrong, and a monster is on the loose! You must gather the tools and codes to fix the lab and stop the creature.”
Create a Creepy Atmosphere
Don’t be afraid to go all out with props, lighting, and sound effects to create that perfect creepy atmosphere! It doesn’t have to be expensive – creativity is key…
Frightening Lighting:
Dim the lights and use flickering battery-operated candles or string lights to set a spooky tone. Could some of your clues be highlighted with coloured lights? For example, shining a green or red light to indicate when they’ve gotten something right or wrong! You could even turn off the main light to draw attention to a special moment in the game. Just be mindful of the players’ ages and sensitivities when adding suspenseful effects.
Spooky Sound Effects:
Play eerie background music or use sound effects like howling winds, creaky doors, or bubbling cauldrons. These are easily found on music apps or YouTube or get creative with props at home! You could time these with key moments in the escape room – imagine a sudden knock on the door or a loud crash just when they solve a clue. But, again, make sure it’s age-appropriate for your group.
Petrifying Props:
You don’t need to spend much – get creative with what you already have! Drape fabric over furniture to add an air of mystery. Empty bottles filled with coloured water can become ‘potions’ (add a little cotton wool or glitter to make them look more magical!). Simple cardboard cutouts can help turn your room into a spooky setting. Use fake cobwebs, plastic spiders, cauldrons, skeletons – anything you can find cheaply or make at home. Our free Halloween Activity Pack includes a DIY pumpkin garland to craft and hang up!
Once your spooky escape room is set up and your storyline is ready, it’s time to start creating the clues…
Step 2: Spooky Clues and Petrifying Puzzles
The key to a great escape room is the puzzles! Make sure your spooky challenges are varied and age-appropriate. Mix fun physical activities with engaging mental tasks to keep things interesting, you could incorporate digital activities from Busy Things too!
Halloween-themed Escape Room Puzzle Ideas
Here are 20 easy-to-set-up Halloween-themed educational puzzle ideas to challenge and entertain your little escapees:
Puzzle 1: Riddle of the Skeleton Key (Math Puzzle)
Set up a combination lock on a box or treasure chest and hide skeleton key cardboard cut-outs with math problems on the back around the room. Children solve the math problems to discover the numbers for the combination lock. Use simple addition and subtraction for younger children and add some harder riddles for older ones. Each solved problem brings them closer to unlocking the treasure/next clue.
Puzzle 2: Zombie Musical Statues (Physical Challenge)
Get everyone moving with a round of Zombie Musical Statues! Play some Halloween-themed music and ask the children to dance like zombies. When the music stops, they must freeze in place. Challenge them to go 5 rounds without any moving to win the next clue!
Puzzle 3: Potion Ingredient Scavenger Hunt (Science Puzzle)
Hide various “magical” ingredients around the room and provide the children with a potion recipe that has missing components. They must search for the correct items based on the clues given. Once all ingredients are gathered, they can “mix” the potion! Bonus: Let them combine the ingredients, including baking soda and vinegar, to create a fizzing reaction. Kids love this classic science experiment!
Puzzle 4: Colour Mixing Potion (Art/Science Puzzle)
Provide bottles of coloured water (red, blue, yellow) and challenge the children to mix the correct secondary colour (such as purple or green) to “complete the potion.” Once they successfully create the right colour, reveal the next clue. This fun activity introduces a basic art lesson about primary and secondary colours.
Puzzle 5: Ghostly Anagram (Literacy Puzzle)
This spooky spelling challenge is a fun way to boost vocabulary! Write Halloween-themed words on separate cards and scramble the letters (e.g., turn “WITCH” into “CIHTW”). Before hiding the cards, colour specific letters in each word to spell out the location of the next clue (e.g., if the coloured letters spell out “BROOM,” the next clue could be hidden behind a broomstick). Hide the scrambled cards around the room for the children to find. As they discover each card, they must unscramble the letters to reveal a Halloween word AND use the coloured letters to guide them to the next clue!
Puzzle 6: Pin the Spider on the Web (Physical Challenge)
Enjoy a Halloween twist on “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” by having children “pin the spider on the web.” When they successfully place the spider close to the centre of the web, they win the next clue—perhaps the web opens up to reveal it!
Puzzle 7: Skeleton Jigsaw Puzzle (Visual-Spatial Puzzle)
Cut out a paper skeleton into pieces and hide them around the room. Children must find and assemble the skeleton correctly to get the next clue.
Puzzle 8: Creepy Counting Challenge (Math Puzzle)
Hide a selection of spooky items, such as plastic spiders, skeleton bones, or eyeballs, around the room. Ask the children to find and count them. The total number they collect will reveal part of a combination for a lock or provide them with a numerical code for the next clue.
Puzzle 9: Creepy Crosswords (Literacy Puzzle)
Create a crossword puzzle where all the answers are Halloween-related words. Once the children complete the puzzle, they can turn the sheet over to reveal the next clue! For an easier option, check out the ‘jig-word’ puzzle included in our free Halloween activity pack.
Puzzle 10: Invisible Ink Message (Science Puzzle)
Write a secret message on a piece of paper using a white crayon. Then, give the children some watercolour paints to brush over the paper. As they paint, the hidden message will be revealed! This puzzle feels very magical while also teaching a basic science concept about materials and absorbency.
Puzzle 11: Magic Word Decoder (Literacy Puzzle)
Provide the children with a key to decode a hidden message that will unlock the next step. Use a simple Caesar cipher or substitution code to disguise a clue word in plain sight. For example, shift the letters in “PUMPKIN” by one to create “QVNQLJO.” For a math version of this puzzle, check out the ready-made math code-breaker included in our printable Halloween activity pack!
Puzzle 12: Haunted Map (Coding/Direction Puzzle)
Design a simple “haunted” treasure map of the room or house, where children must follow the directions (e.g., “take three steps north, then two steps east”) to find the next clue. This puzzle helps children practice basic directional skills and introduces basic coding principles.
Puzzle 13: Pumpkin Math Puzzle (Math Puzzle)
Create a simple pumpkin cut-out with sections labelled with math problems (e.g., basic addition, subtraction, or multiplication). Each correct answer leads to a part of a code they need to unlock a padlock or find another clue.
Puzzle 14: Scavenger Hunt (Observation and Vocabulary)
Challenge the children to locate a list of items in the room (Top tip: there is a ready-made Halloween-themed scavenger hunt included within our Halloween activity pack). Once they find them all, reveal the next clue!
Puzzle 15: Digital Pumpkin Carving (Technology and Art)
Incorporate digital Halloween activities into your escape room! The children can carve a virtual pumpkin using Busy Things. Once they complete their design and turn on the light of their jack-o-lantern, you can reveal the next clue.
Puzzle 16: Mismatched Monster Puzzle (Visual-Spatial Puzzle)
Create monster cut-outs and mix up their body parts. The children must assemble the monsters correctly to get the next clue, matching heads, torsos, and legs of famous monsters like vampires, werewolves, or ghosts.
Puzzle 17: Ghostly Memory Match (Memory Puzzle)
Create pairs of Halloween-themed cards (e.g., bats, pumpkins, witches) and lay them face down. The children must find matching pairs to uncover their next clue. This puzzle is great for boosting memory skills!
Puzzle 18: Spooky Storytelling Challenge (English)
Encourage the children to create a spooky story! Can they scare away the spooky figure? Move the item when they’ve shared enough stories to reveal the clue underneath. You could use the story cube activity from our free Halloween pack to help inspire them!
Puzzle 19: Design a Monster (English and Art)
If you’re doing the lab escape room, the children could create a wanted poster for the monster using Busy Things. They can imagine what the monster looks like, draw it, and then write a description to develop their creative skills, blending literacy with art. Once complete, reveal the next clue.
Puzzle 20: Spider Web Maze (Physical Challenge)
Create a “web” using string or yarn stretched along a hallway. Challenge the children to crawl through it without touching the string. This tests both their agility and problem-solving skills as they figure out the best way through. Once they successfully navigate the maze, they could discover the next clue hidden at the end.
For even more Halloween inspiration, please check out our blog 20 Family Halloween Party Ideas. You’ll find fun activities that could also double as great puzzles, like balloon popping—where you could hide a clue inside one of the balloons alongside the sweets!
Halloween Escape Room Clue Reveals: Ideas for Revealing Clues
When the children successfully complete a task, how will they discover the next clue?
While some clues can be revealed by simply opening a locked box or arriving at a specific location, others might require a bit more creativity. Here are some ideas for you to consider:
- Spotlight Surprise: Use a spotlight – the torch on your phone will do – to illuminate where the next clue is hidden.
- Sneaky Delivery: Have someone subtly push the clue under a door or discreetly move an object to reveal it.
- Hidden Messages: Write the next clue in invisible ink that is revealed when they solve a previous puzzle (e.g. using a black light).
- Sound Signals: Incorporate sound by using a bell or chime that rings when they complete a challenge, indicating they should check a specific area for the next clue.
- Interactive Elements: Use items like a locked box that opens with a special action (e.g. mixing a potion, solving a riddle) to unveil the next clue.
Step 3: Tips for a Spooktacularly Successful Escape Room!
Now that you’ve set the scene and created your puzzles, it’s time to ensure your Halloween escape room runs smoothly!
Organise Puzzle Progression
It’s worth giving some thought to your puzzle sequence so that solving each puzzle unlocks the next clue. Here’s some ideas for smooth game flow:
- Begin with an easy puzzle: Start with a riddle or simple challenge to warm the children up and get them excited.
- Progress through harder tasks: Gradually increase the difficulty of the puzzles, saving the more complex ones for the end of the escape room.
- Provide hints if needed: If the children are struggling, offer gentle hints to help move things along.
- Create a final challenge: The last puzzle should unlock the “treasure chest” or solve the final part of the story – whether it’s defeating the witch, escaping the haunted house, or fixing the scientist’s experiment. For the final task, you could use a physical challenge like unlocking a box or piecing together a puzzle.
Time Limits and Teamwork
To keep things exciting, set a time limit for your escape room – 30 to 45 minutes is ideal for younger children. You could even add a spooky countdown clock to amp up the tension!
Do be sure to test out the puzzles yourself to confirm that they can be solved within the time frame – you want your little goblins to escape successfully!
And don’t forget to emphasize teamwork! An escape room is a brilliant opportunity for children to learn about collaboration and working together toward a common goal.
The Escape Finale!
Think about the finale of your escape room once the final puzzle is solved.
What will your finale be? How will the children “escape” and/or unlock the treasure! Will something open? Are there special effects?
What will their prize be? The treasure could be Halloween sweets, a small prize, or a special ‘I’ve Escaped the Witch’s Lair!’ certificate. You could reward them with a Halloween activity pack – if you haven’t heard, we have a free one ready for download: Free Printable Halloween Activity Pack! OR a Busy Things gift subscription is a perfect prize! Choose and personalise a gift certificate from just £4.49! Educational Gift Subscription
More Halloween fun
Don’t forget to sign up for a free trial of Busy Things for even more Halloween-themed learning games and activities.
You might also be interested in Halloween Family Party Ideas blog.
Happy Haunting!
We hope this guide has given you lots of ideas and inspiration to create a Halloween escape room full of fun, learning, and spooky thrills this half term! Please do tell us in the comments if you’re going to give it go…
AND Don’t forget to share your escape room adventures with us by tagging us on social media – we’d love to see how your little ghouls and goblins get on!