Grades
K - 5
Boo! Use these spooky story starters to get your students to collaborate on creating a terrifying tale.
For students, Halloween is all about storytelling. Whether it’s through books, sharing spooky tales with one another, or the stories their costumes quietly convey, the creativity and imagination that the holiday inspires is a special treat for teachers.
Check out monstrously great halloween books for striving readers.
Reading series like Mister Shivers and Goosebumps aloud to your class is a great way to get students in the spooky spirit. Before reading, you can set the mood by dimming the lights and inviting students to sit around a makeshift cauldron or something else just as creepy, if they dare. And once you turn the final page and close the book with a quick slam, give your students a real scare by breaking some startling news: Now, it’s their turn to collectively craft a ghostly tale to share with the world.
Plus, find more Halloween books under $5 here.
To inspire their imaginations and help them tap their imaginations to create something truly spooktacular, here are 11 writing prompts students, working in small groups of three or four, can use to give their story a frightening start:
1. One dark, stormy Halloween night, I…
2. I didn’t believe in ghosts until…
3. The old, abandoned house was covered with…
4. I jumped up from bed when I heard a loud…
5. I didn’t think the house was actually haunted until…
6. When the black cat crossed my path I…
7. I could no longer ignore the strange sound coming from under my bed, so I…
8. The monster that lives in my closet is very…
9. When the jack-o-lantern started talking to me I…
10. The spider dropped down onto my shoulder and then I…
And the scariest of them all:
11. Come up your own spooky starter.
After students complete their stories, compile them in a class book before dimming the lights and sharing their spooky tales with the whole class. Alternatively, students can use the prompts as starters for oral storytelling, which will come in handy the next time they find themselves around a campfire or somewhere else that calls for a story with scary twist.
Shop thrillingly scary books below! You can find all Halloween books at The Teacher Store.
Paperback Book
Shadow in the Woods and Other Scary Stories: An Acorn Book (Mister Shivers #2)
What is making that strange sound in the woods? Who wrote that dark message on the wall? These five spine-chilling stories will have beginning readers everywhere begging to stay up late to read (with the light on!). With authentically scary, easy-to-read text and creepy, full-color artwork throughout, this book is perfect for young children who crave lite scares. This scary story collection from New York Times bestselling author Max Brallier is THE book to share at sleepovers or around a campfire. It will send SHIVERS down your spine!
Victor is nothing if not a good friend, so when Patti asks for help with her very large cello, he and Dumpylumps spring into action. However, the not-so-great sounds that come out of his creation are enough to wake the dead...literally. It's up to Victor, Patti, and the long-suffering, always-faithful Dumpylumps not to get eaten.
Will Victor be able to save the world from the zombie apocalypse? More importantly, will he ever make the perfect cello? Maybe. After all, things are what he does best.
Ben has just been invited to the birthday party of the year. The only catch is that you have to come in costume.
Luckily, Ben knows just the place to buy the perfect mask-that cool new store Frightville. It sells all sorts of spooky and one-of-a-kind items.
But when Ben puts on the mask he finds at Frightville, suddenly he has the ability to see strange and ominous creatures lurking all around him. Is it his imagination, or are they real?
When Morgan witnesses some eerie happenings in her family's new house, at first she shrugs them off. But as the unsettling dripping noises-and the sounds of someone crying-become more frequent, she starts to get nervous. Then a neighbor asks Morgan a blood-chilling question: What's it like to live in a haunted house?
Jay Gardner is a mischievous kid who can't stay out of trouble. Unfortunately, Jay gets in so much trouble, his family is forced to move. But there's something odd about Jay's new town. Why does everyone have lawn gnomes in front of their homes? And why is everyone afraid to go outside at night?
Internet horror superstar Trevor Henderson is famous for his ghastly creations and hair-raising creepypastas. Now he brings that talent for the terrifying to this debut middle-grade thriller.
When Cass accidentally awakens a frighteningly strong spirit, she must rely on her still-growing skills as a ghosthunter -- and turn to friends both old and new to help her unravel a mystery. But time is running out, and the spirit is only growing stronger
Things haven"t been the same since Shane"s accident. One minute he was a normal kid playing a game of tag with his friends, and the next he is stuck in a nightmare. Every time Shane falls asleep he is pulled into a dark world where a dark monster king reigns. The King is collecting children and keeping them as treasure. But Shane can't stay awake forever. It"s time to take matters into his own hands. He must go into the nightmare world and bring down the King.
In the Everglades, Sparrow, a lonely twelve-year-old convinces a mischievous spirit to contact her recently deceased mother. "Moving" -SLJ
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