13 Spooktacular Halloween Activities for Seniors

By Anna Hazard

As the temperatures being to drop and the leaves begin to change (at least in some regions), this marks the time of year where autumn and winter holidays begin parading in -- starting with a classic favorite in Halloween.
 
While All Hallow's Eve is best known for its trick or treating festivities for children, it definitely remains a holiday meant for the young at heart as well as the young of body.
 
Even ignoring some of the gorier or scarier ways of celebrating (from full blown murder mystery parties to visiting the haunted houses that spring up like mushrooms around this time of year), there are plenty of spooktacular activities that seniors and elderly loved ones can easily participate in to join in the spirit of the holiday.
 
Here are some senior friendly activities listed below...

Halloween Crafts & Decorations

• There are a wide variety of simple crafts that can be done in celebration of this time of year, ranging from decorating pumpkins, gourds, dried corn cobs, pinecones, candles, and balloons and transforming them into ghosts, cats, owls, witches, or other Halloween related imagery.
  
• For those with hand dexterity issues, paints, wide markers, ribbons, stickers, and festive orange or black construction paper are suggested rather than the traditional carving of jack-o'-lanterns with knives.
  
• These decorations can further be used in the games and other activities listed below.
  

Pumpkin Ring Toss Game

• Similar to the carnival game, this can be recreated by using pumpkins with long stems that have already been previously decorated by seniors. Rings can be made from inexpensive dollar store bracelets, decorated embroidery hoops, rolls of hemp, or glow-in-the-dark necklaces for an added extra bit of fun.
  
• Keep in mind that the wider the ring, the easier the game for those with manual dexterity issues.

Pumpkin Bowling

• Use small gourds or pumpkins with short stems to knock over previously decorated paper or styrofoam cups.
• Keep in mind the rounder the chosen gourd or pumpkin, the easier it will roll (but the lumpier, the funnier the results may be)

Pumpkin Shuffleboard

• With the floor mocked up with appropriated themed scoring sections (the shuffleboard triangle can become a creepy pyramid with black cats, ghosts, and pumpkins marking the scoring zones)  the Halloween themed version of this game can be played with costume scythes/swords/wizard staffs and  gourds (either whole & round or cut into appropriate disc shapes) instead of the game's normal cue sticks & weighted discs.
  

Hot (Sweet) Potato

• A variation on the old classic hot potato game, whoever is left with the 'hot potato' (taking the form of an autumn sweet potato, small pumpkin, or colorful gourd) at the end of the rhyme or song is out for the round.
  

Spooky Jack o' Lantern Volleyball

• Indoor or outdoor game using a festively decorated balloon (usually an orange one decorated as a jack o' lantern or a white/clear balloon decorated as a ghost) in the place of a volleyball.
  

Easy-to-Make Halloween Treats

• Besides the spooky decorations, Halloween is best known for its treats whether sweets or something a bit healthier. Have seniors help decorate some festive food as well.
• Some examples include making candy or caramel apples or other dipped fruit (and garnishing them even further with candy, sprinkles, and other edibles),  frosting cupcakes, Halloween inspired cookies, no bake pumpkin cheesecake, hot apple cider mixes, or orange tinted popcorn (think carrots more than pumpkin when it comes to bright natural food dyes).
  

Spooky Sensory Story

• This particular activity is good for those with dementia or other conditions that respond well to tactile sensory input. While telling a spooky story that involved describing remains (such as Poor Joe or The Withered Corpse) pass around covered bowls or boxes that match what is being described in the story.
• Some examples would include having lightly cooked spaghetti as 'brains', chilled and peeled grapes for 'eyes', peeled carrots of varying sizes for 'toes' etc.
  
• Have the participants guess what it is they really felt once the story is over.
  

How to Survive a Classic Horror Movie Marathon

• Show a classic movie marathon of scary or Halloween related movies that originate from around the time of your elderly loved one's youth.
  
• For added fun, afterwards hold a group discussion concerning how one can stay alive in a horror movie with extra treats for the more ingenious answers.
  

Halloween Themed Board Games

• A standard for less rowdy parties, some classic board games that easily lend themselves to the spirit of the holiday or can easily be retrofitted for to a more ghostly and ghastly theme include Pictionary, Clue, Mystery Mansion, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (yes, it's a game as well as a TV special), The Walking Dead Monopoly, or Werewolf.
  
• Halloween Bingo cards can be decorated & created ahead of time by the seniors or pre-made commercial Halloween themed Bingo cards can be bought for relatively cheap [1, 2, 3]
• Dried corn, candy corn, or other bits of candy can be subbed in for the normal Bingo or other game tokens for a bit more added festivity
  

Halloween Themed Charades & Trivia Games

• These can be based on Halloween history or other such spooky themes such as scary movies & songs, urban legends & other superstitions, classic monsters etc.
  
• The charade suggestions & trivia questions can be drawn out of a witch's cauldron, skull, or other creepy bowl with plastic bugs or bits of wrapped candy added into the mix for both tricks & treats for those whose turn it is to draw a slip.
  

Halloween Themed Scavenger Hunt

• Depending upon the mobility issues of those involved, this can be held either indoors or outdoors. Certain Halloween themed items (such as a fuzzy black cat, a purple witch's hat, a balloon ghost with googly eyes) can be hidden amongst the normal decor with a scavenger list & time limit provided to all participants.
  
• This is a good activity for mixed groups of kids, adults, and seniors and can include Halloween decorations previously created by the elderly loved ones.
  

Halloween Karaoke

• Because it's time to do the mash, the Monster Mash. Break out those golden oldies Halloween songs and have everyone sing along. For added fun, have the lead singer put on a bit of costume or decoration to suit the current song being sung (ie singing Superstition with sunglasses and mirror