A list of free halloween games

Bobbing for apples and other Halloween party amusements. Bobbing for apples heads the list of favorite Halloween games. Protect the floor with a plastic drop cloth, and float apples in a large pan or tub with about 6 inches of water. Have the bobbers kneel, singly or in groups, and try to bite into one of the bobbing apples and lift it out of the water.

For a drier variant, suspend apples by their stems from strings in a doorway. Have the guests clasp their hands behind their backs and try to bite into the freely spinning fruit.

If your guests are old enough, try this. Once a player secures an apple, have him or her try to peel it in one continuous strip and toss the peel over the left shoulder. Read the initial of the player’s true love in the shape the peel forms.

Murder in the Dark
If you’re entertaining older children, try Murder in the Dark. Give out slips of paper, one marked “district attorney,” one “murderer,” and the rest blank. Have the district attorney leave the room, but instruct the other players not to let anyone know what’s on their slips. Turn out the lights. In the dark, the murderer prowls and grasps the neck of a victim, who gives a blood-curdling scream and falls to the floor. After the lights are turned on, the district attorney returns to ask questions until the murderer is exposed. The murderer may lie; everyone else must answer truthfully. Halloween relay races Give relay races a seasonal flavor. For younger children, try a witches’ relay by having members of competing teams race to the end of the room and back, straddling broomsticks. For a spooky nighttime relay, have each team member put on a scary costume, race around the outside of the house, then take off the costume and pass it to the next team member.