57 Halloween Word Searches to Print and Play
From 8x8 grids for preschoolers to Poe's The Raven for high school. Pick a puzzle, choose one of 20 printable designs and download the PDF with its answer key. Free, no sign-up.
Halloween Shaped Word Searches16
The grid is the picture: pumpkin, ghost, bat, witch hat and more. Print one and color it in once it is solved.
Easy Halloween Word Searches8
8x8 grids with 6 to 8 words. Words run across and up and down, never diagonally, and some read backwards. Players finish them in a median of 41 seconds on their first try. Start with the Easy Halloween word search.
Medium Halloween Word Searches9
11x11 grids with 7 to 12 words. Words run across, up and down, and diagonally, and some read backwards. Players finish them in a median of 1 minute 55 seconds on their first try.
Hard Halloween Word Searches12
15x15 grids with 8 to 12 words. Words run in all eight directions, and some read backwards. Players finish them in a median of 4 minutes on their first try. Start with the Difficult Halloween word search.
Halloween Hidden Message Word Searches12
Find every word, then read the letters left over, row by row: they spell a joke or a famous line. Players finish them in a median of 1 minute 45 seconds on their first try.
Which Halloween word search should you print?
The 57 puzzles below go from 8 easy 8x8 grids to 12 hard 15x15 grids with words in all eight directions. Here is where to start, depending on who will solve them.
Ages 5 to 7: big letters, no diagonals
The easy puzzles have six to eight familiar words in an 8x8 grid, running only across and up and down. Easy Halloween, Haunted House (only six words) and Halloween Candy are the best first word searches for preschool and kindergarten.
Ages 8 to 11: diagonals and shapes
The medium puzzles add diagonal words in an 11x11 grid. Children's Halloween and Pumpkin are good next steps. This is also the age that loves the 16 shaped puzzles, like the bat, the spider and the jack-o'-lantern, which can be colored in once solved.
Teens and adults: long words in every direction
The hard puzzles hide up to twelve long words in a 15x15 grid, forwards, backwards and on both diagonals. Difficult Halloween, Ghosts and Spirits and Magic and Spells use words like apparition, poltergeist and incantation.
Seniors and large print
Halloween Large Print pairs twelve short words with the Large Print design, which prints bigger letters and a bold word list. Big Halloween has seven words in a small grid with large letters.
16 shaped Halloween word searches
In these puzzles the grid itself is the picture: a pumpkin, a ghost, a witch hat, a spider web, a haunted house with dark windows, a crystal ball and more. Each hides twelve words that belong to its shape. The skull names real bones, the bat explains how bats hunt, and the black cat is full of superstitions. Printed, they look like decorations, and kids can color them in after solving.
Hidden message puzzles: jokes and Gothic classics
In 12 puzzles there are no random filler letters. Once all twelve words are found, the letters left over, read row by row, spell a secret message. The printed sheet has a blank for each letter, and the answer key writes the message out.
Halloween jokes for kids
Eight puzzles end with a classic joke or rhyme: a skeleton with no body to go with, a witch at the beach, a haunted chicken, and the trick-or-treat rhyme kids chant at the door.
Gothic literature for high school
Four follow famous books, and their message is a real line from the text: Poe's The Raven (1845), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) and the witches' cauldron scene from Shakespeare's Macbeth. Each page has a glossary of the names and places in the book.
How to print a Halloween word search
- Open a puzzle from the list above, or press Download on its card to go straight to the printable section.
- Pick a design. Every Halloween puzzle offers 20 designs, from the plain Classic sheet to Halloween, Haunted Night, Friendly Ghosts, Pumpkin Patch and Graveyard, with pictures around the grid.
- Customize it if you like: change the colors, move or resize the title and the word list, add stickers or your own text. The preview shows exactly what will print.
- Choose Letter or A4 and download two PDFs: the puzzle and its answer key. Hand out the puzzle and keep the key for checking.
Halloween word search ideas for class and parties
- As a calm first activity at a class party, while everyone arrives and before the games begin.
- As a race: the first to find every word picks the next ghost story or the next game.
- As a word bank: after solving, students write a short spooky story with at least five words from the list.
- As a decoration: color in the shaped puzzles and hang them in the window or along a classroom wall.
- As a reading companion: solve the Dracula, Frankenstein or The Raven puzzle before reading the book in class.
Halloween Word Search FAQ
How many Halloween word searches are there?
There are 57: 8 easy, 9 medium and 12 hard puzzles, 16 shaped like Halloween pictures and 12 with a hidden message. All of them can be played online or printed.
Which Halloween word search is best for young kids?
Start with Easy Halloween, Haunted House or Halloween Candy. They have six to eight familiar words in an 8x8 grid, and none of the words run diagonally.
Do the printable Halloween word searches come with an answer key?
Yes. Each puzzle downloads as two PDFs: the puzzle itself and its answer key, with every word marked. For hidden message puzzles, the key also writes out the full message.
Can I print them on Letter or A4 paper?
Yes. Pick Letter or A4 before you download, and every design adjusts to the page. They look best in color, and the Classic design prints well in black and white.
Can I make my own Halloween word search?
Yes. In the word search maker you can type your own words, choose any of the Halloween designs and download your puzzle with its answer key. Open the word search maker.