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Seasonal & Holidays

Halloween Word Search

This halloween word search hides words like pumpkin, ghost, witch to find. Play it free online or print the PDF with the answer key, a handy halloween vocabulary activity.

10 words · 11×11 grid · Medium · Answer key included · Free printable PDF

Seasonal & Holidays
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Tap the first and last letter of a word — or use arrow keys and Enter. Dragging works too.

  • SKELETON
  • CAULDRON
  • WEREWOLF
  • PUMPKIN
  • VAMPIRE
  • COSTUME
  • MONSTER
  • LANTERN
  • GHOST
  • WITCH
🎉 Solved — all 10 words found!

Print this Halloween word search

Did you know?

pumpkin
The first jack-o'-lanterns were carved from turnips and beets in Ireland; Irish immigrants switched to bigger, softer American pumpkins.
ghost
The word ghost comes from the Old English gast, meaning breath or spirit, the same root behind aghast.
witch
Old witch-trial records include men as well as women, despite the familiar Halloween image of a woman in a pointed hat.
skeleton
An adult human skeleton has 206 bones, but a newborn has about 300; many fuse together as a child grows.
vampire
Vampire bats share blood meals with hungry companions, making an animal named for a frightening monster surprisingly cooperative with its neighbors.
costume
Scottish guisers traditionally earned Halloween treats by performing songs or tricks in costume, turning the doorstep visit into a little show.
cauldron
Denmark's ancient Gundestrup cauldron was made of silver and found in a peat bog, with elephants and lions decorating its enormous sides.
monster
The word monster comes from the Latin monstrum, an omen or warning, something thought to reveal a sign from the gods.
werewolf
In some werewolf stories, unbuckling a magic belt could reverse the transformation, giving a fearsome creature a surprisingly ordinary way back.
lantern
The name jack-o'-lantern once meant a night watchman carrying a lamp, long before it described a carved, glowing pumpkin.
graveyard
Graveyard originally meant a burial yard, often beside a church; cemetery came from a Greek word meaning sleeping place.
tombstone
Ludolph van Ceulen's tombstone displayed thirty-five decimal places of pi, honoring the famous number he spent years calculating by hand.
haunted
Victorian theaters could look haunted using angled glass to reflect hidden actors, making real people appear transparent before an audience's eyes.
goblin
Cobalt gets its name from German goblins called kobolds, blamed by miners when troublesome ores refused to yield the expected metal.
zombie
The modern movie zombie differs from older Haitian traditions, where the frightening idea centered on losing freedom rather than chasing brains.

Trivia

  1. What ancient Celtic festival, marking summer's end, is considered the origin of Halloween?

    Samhain.

  2. Halloween falls the night before which Christian feast that honors the saints?

    All Saints' Day (All Hallows' Day, November 1).

  3. In folklore, the carved lantern is named after a man who tricked the devil. What was his nickname?

    Stingy Jack.

  4. Which 1897 novel by Bram Stoker shaped the popular image of the vampire?

    Dracula.

  5. What is the irrational fear of the number 13 called, often linked to bad luck?

    Triskaidekaphobia.

Trivia · 1 / 5
What ancient Celtic festival, marking summer's end, is considered the origin of Halloween?
Samhain.

In their words

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

William Shakespeare, Macbeth

There is something haunting in the light of the moon; it has all the dispassionateness of a disembodied soul.

Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim

Is this halloween word search free to print?

This halloween word search is a free printable puzzle with 10 hidden words in an 11×11 grid. Find words like SKELETON, CAULDRON, WEREWOLF hidden across, down, and diagonally. You can play it right here in your browser — tap the first and last letter of a word — or download it as a printable PDF with the full answer key on page two. It's free for personal and classroom use, so teachers can print copies for a whole class with no sign-up and no account. Word searches like this one are a proven way to build vocabulary, spelling, and word-shape recognition, which is why they're a favourite with ESL learners, elementary classrooms, and anyone who likes a quiet puzzle with their coffee.

Print this Halloween word search
Printable Halloween Word Search — 10 words, Answer key included

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Sources: Heaviest pumpkin (Guinness World Records) · Keene 30,581 lit jack-o'-lanterns (NHPR) · Origins of Halloween traditions (Library of Congress) · Song of the Witches, Macbeth (Poetry Foundation)

Word list, facts & trivia researched and compiled by Sam Letterman — spotted a mistake? Tell us and we’ll fix it.