| Lizz Schumer |
Halloween is the most frightfully fun of all the fall holidays. We love it all, from coming up with a spooktacular fit (whether you DIY your costume or pick out the perfect outfits for the whole fam), Halloween parties with lots of fun and games to keep everyone monster mashing the whole night long and, of course, trick-or-treating and carving up the best pumpkin in the patch.
But in the midst of all that revelry, you might find yourself with a little time to fill. Whether it’s a lull in the conversation while waiting in line to tour a haunted house, kids getting dangerously close to meltdown after too much sugar and a double dose of excitement or you’ve been tasked with bringing an activity for the class party, these best Halloween riddles will get little minds working — and their giggle boxes engaged — before you can say “trick-or-treat?”
These are a few of our favorite brainteasers, mind-benders and tongue-twisters that will turn that frown upside down. They also make great Halloween Instagram captions to pair with those too-cute costume snaps, too. And for more laughs, look to these Halloween jokes and quotes.
Brainteaser-style Halloween riddles
Who makes it, has no need for it.
Whoever buys it won’t use it.
Who uses it, won’t care.
What am I?
Answer: A casket.
I protect, I stand tall
my purpose is to strike fear in all.
What am I?
Answer: A scarecrow.
You’re in a room and there’s a ghost in the room, but you are the only one in the room. How is this possible?
Answer: You are the ghost.
Each morning I appear to lie at your feet. All day I will follow no matter how fast you run, yet I nearly perish in the midday sun.
Answer: Your shadow.
Two girls ate dinner together.
They both ordered iced tea.
One girl drank them very fast and had finished five in the time it took the other to drink just one.
The girl who drank one died while the other survived.
All of the drinks were poisoned.
How is that possible?
Answer: The poison was in the ice.
Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it you die. What is it?
Answer: Nothing.
I have a body, arms, legs and a head, but I’m heartless and have no guts. What am I?
Answer: A skeleton.
I’m tall when I’m young, I’m short when I’m old, and once a year, I make heavy pumpkins light. What am I?
Answer: A candle.
Look in my face, I am somebody. Look in my back, I am nobody. What am I?
Answer: A mirror.
A man was shot in the heart. Nobody tries to save him and it doesn’t kill him. What happened?
Answer: He was already dead.
Funny Halloween riddles
Why don’t mummies take vacations?
Answer: They’re afraid they’ll relax and unwind.
What is wicked, homeless, white and goes up and down?
Answer: A ghost in an elevator.
I have hundreds of ears, but I can’t hear a thing. What am I?
Answer: A cornfield.
What’s the problem with twin witches?
Answer: You never know witch is which.
Dracula loves to draw this, as well as put it in the bank. What is it?
Answer: Blood.
Why are there fences around cemeteries?
Answer: Because people are dying to get in.
Halloween riddles inspired by movies and books
Frankenstein’s father has three sons. The names of two of them are Snap and Crackle. What is the third son called?
Answer: Frankenstein.
Oz had good ones from the north and south
And wicked ones from the east and west,
But flying around on a broomstick
Is probably how I’m known the best.
What am I?
Answer: A witch.
Often buried with fabulous wealth
I’m often called wrapped up in myself.
What am I?
Answer: A mummy.
Pearly and white, spooky alright, playing with children every night. Who am I?
Answer: Casper the Friendly Ghost.
Senior Editor
Lizz (she/her) is a senior editor at Good Housekeeping, where she runs the GH Book Club, edits essays and long-form features and writes about pets, books and lifestyle topics. A journalist for almost two decades, she is the author of Biography of a Body and Buffalo Steel. She also teaches journalism as an adjunct professor at New York University’s School of Professional Studies and creative nonfiction at the Muse Writing Center, and coaches with the New York Writing Room.