31 Ways to Make the Most of Spooky Season
October has officially entered the chat. 🎃
And listen—I refuse to believe you have to spend the entire month at pumpkin patches wearing a flannel shirt and holding a $9 seasonal drink to properly participate in spooky season.
Absolutely not. 😂
There are 31 whole days in October, which means we have plenty of time to be cozy, creepy, childish, nostalgic, outside, inside, slightly unhinged, and unnecessarily excited every time somebody puts a plastic skeleton in their front yard.
So I put together 31 ways to make the most of spooky season—one for every day of October.
You don't have to do them in order. You don't even have to do all 31.
Pick whatever matches your vibe.
Some are for the family. Some are perfect for friends or date night. Some are completely free. Some give you an excuse to leave the house. And some are specifically for those nights when you've already showered, put on pajamas, and you ain't going nowhere.
Ready?
Pick your vibe and let's get spooky!!!
👻👻👻
Vibe #1: Let Halloween Take Over the House
October 1 is your official permission slip to start pulling the Halloween shit out.
Put the skeleton on the couch. Throw fake spiderwebs somewhere they'll inevitably annoy you later. Change your phone wallpaper. Put the little ghost in the bathroom.
You don't have to turn your house into Spirit Halloween overnight, either. Add a little something whenever you feel like it and let the spooky slowly take over.
Bonus points: Hide one decoration somewhere ridiculous and wait to see how long it takes somebody else in the house to notice it.
Vibe #2: Let the Movie Pick YOU
No spending 47 minutes scrolling through movies just to eventually say, “I don't know, you pick.”
Everybody gets to write a Halloween or horror movie on a piece of paper. Throw them all in a bowl, bag, witch hat—whatever you've got—and blindly choose one.
Whatever comes out is what you're watching.
No vetoes.
Yes, even if somebody put something absolutely terrible in there just to be an asshole. 😂
Vibe #3: Go Find the Halloween Houses
Take a walk or slow drive through a neighborhood and look for the people who have clearly been waiting all year for this moment.
You know the houses.
Six skeletons climbing the roof. A twelve-foot monster in the yard. Fog machine working overtime. Somebody's fake graveyard has a whole damn backstory.
Make a little unofficial competition out of it: funniest house, creepiest house, most dramatic house, and the coveted “Okay, they did too damn much” award.
Cost: FREE.99.
Vibe #4: Have a Scary Book Night
Turn off the TV. Put the phone somewhere you can't mindlessly grab it every six minutes and read something creepy.
Horror. Thriller. Paranormal. Murder mystery. Gothic fiction. Whatever makes you suspicious of the dark hallway afterward.
Already reading something completely unrelated?
That's fine too.
October isn't going to arrest you.
The point is to give yourself a night to disappear into a story.
Vibe #5: Make a Monster Dinner
This one is especially fun with kids because the food does not need to look good.
Actually, the uglier it gets, the better. 😂
Turn pizzas into monster faces. Make mummy hot dogs. Draw jack-o'-lantern faces on quesadillas. Make spaghetti look intentionally disgusting. Add candy eyeballs to something that absolutely did not need eyeballs.
Everybody can create their own monstrosity.
Then eat the evidence.
Vibe #6: Go Thrifting for the Weirdest Halloween Shit You Can Find
Give yourself a tiny budget—$5, $10, whatever—and hit a thrift store.
You're not looking for anything useful.
You're looking for the object.
The weird ceramic cat. The haunted-looking picture frame. The candleholder that definitely belonged to somebody's grandmother. The decoration so ugly that somehow it circles back around to being amazing.
Winner is whoever finds the strangest thing without going over budget.
Vibe #7: Have a Throwback Halloween Night
Time to go back in time.
Pick the Halloween movies, shows, candy, music, or traditions you loved when you were younger and give yourself one night to be completely nostalgic.
Watch an old Disney Channel Halloween movie. Find Halloween episodes from cartoons you forgot existed. Buy the candy you always wanted in your trick-or-treat bag.
And yes, adults are allowed to get excited about this shit.
Being grown already comes with bills.
Let us have Halloweentown.
Vibe #8: Make Something Spooky to Drink
This can be a cocktail, mocktail, punch, milkshake, coffee, tea—whatever matches your evening.
The only requirement is that you make it unnecessarily Halloween.
Give it a ridiculous name. Put it in the fanciest glass you own. Add gummy worms. Freeze fruit into ice cubes. Make the kids judge everybody's creations.
You are now running a questionable little haunted bar out of your kitchen.
Congratulations.
Vibe #9: Fall Down a Local Haunted-History Rabbit Hole
Every city has some story that makes you go:
“Wait... WHAT happened there?”
Look up old ghost stories, supposedly haunted buildings, strange local legends, abandoned places, historic cemeteries, or unexplained events from where you live.
You don't even have to visit.
Sometimes sitting safely in your house reading about creepy shit that happened ten minutes away is more than enough adventure. 😂
Vibe #10: Build a Halloween Playlist That Makes Absolutely No Sense
Obviously, Thriller is invited.
After that?
No rules.
Add songs from horror movies. Songs that sound witchy. Songs that remind you of fall. Songs you'd play if you were the villain dramatically entering the room. Songs that aren't remotely Halloween-related but somehow feel correct in October.
If your playlist goes from Michael Jackson to creepy instrumentals to Megan Thee Stallion to The Nightmare Before Christmas...
Keep minding your business.
It's a vibe.
Vibe #11: Do a Pumpkin Carving Night—Badly
Not everybody needs to carve some elaborate haunted castle with perfectly symmetrical windows.
Some of us are going to cut three triangles and a crooked mouth into that pumpkin and call it a damn day.
Make snacks. Put music on. Give everybody a pumpkin and see what happens.
If yours looks terrible?
Even better.
Give it a name.
Vibe #12: Have a “Would You Survive?” Horror Night
Pick a horror movie and spend the entire time deciding whether everybody would actually survive.
“Why would she go DOWNSTAIRS?!”
“Nope. I'm leaving the house.”
“Why are you investigating the noise?! The noise can have the house!”
You can even pause before major decisions and have everybody say what they would do.
Then watch the character do the exact opposite and get themselves into some bullshit.
Classic.
Vibe #13: Make Halloween Treats With Zero Concern for Pinterest
This is not The Great British Bake Off.
Nobody is judging your piping technique.
Buy the premade cookie dough if you want. Make brownies and throw Halloween sprinkles on them. Dip pretzels in chocolate. Attempt ghost cookies that somehow end up looking like melted snowmen.
And if kids are decorating them, accept right now that there will be an illegal amount of frosting.
They're still going to taste good. Also, good luck with that sugar rush! 😬
Vibe #14: Go Somewhere That Feels Like Fall
Pumpkin patch. Farmers market. Corn maze. Outdoor festival. Park. Hayride. Apple orchard if you've got one nearby.
Or just find somewhere outside where the weather has finally stopped personally attacking you.
You do not need a professional fall photoshoot.
You can literally just go outside and enjoy yourself.
Revolutionary, I know. 😂
Vibe #15: Read Ghost Stories With the Lights Off
Everybody picks a creepy story.
Turn the lights down. Grab a flashlight. Sit somewhere together and take turns reading.
Kids involved? Keep the stories spooky-funny.
Adults only?
Oh, we're trying to make somebody regret walking to the bathroom alone later.
Different audience? Different mission.
Vibe #16: Make a Costume Out of Shit You Already Own
Before you spend $74.99 on a costume made out of approximately eleven cents worth of polyester...
Check the closet.
Give yourself a challenge: create an entire costume using only things already in your house.
Old clothes. Makeup. Cardboard. Sheets. Random accessories. Stuff from the kids' craft bin.
The more ridiculous the result, the better.
Vibe #17: Have a Halloween Game Night
Take regular games and make them spooky.
Halloween charades. Horror movie trivia. Guess the monster. Halloween bingo. A murder mystery game. “Name that scary movie” from terrible plot descriptions.
Or play completely normal games while wearing Halloween costumes for absolutely no reason.
That also counts.
Vibe #18: Take Yourself on a Spooky Little Date
Everybody does not need to come.
Go browse the Halloween section at a store. Get yourself a seasonal snack. Visit a bookstore. Walk around somewhere decorated for Halloween. Sit outside with a book.
Take yourself, or the family, somewhere purely because you feel like going.
Spooky season includes solo vibez too. Just don't go investigating strange noises. 😅
Vibe #19: Pick a Horror Movie You've Somehow Never Seen
We all have one.
That movie everybody assumes you've seen, so at this point you've just stopped admitting you haven't. 😂
The Exorcist? Scream? Halloween? The Shining? A Nightmare on Elm Street?
Pick one of your cultural blind spots and finally see what everybody has been talking about.
And if you hate it?
At least now you can complain with authority.
Vibe #20: Have a Halloween Craft Night
Important:
The craft does not have to be good.
Paint mini pumpkins. Make paper ghosts. Decorate a tote bag. Make Halloween jewelry. Paint a little sign. Turn cardboard into decorations.
Put on a movie in the background and make some shit.
That's it.
That's the activity.
Vibe #21: Make Dinner Based on a Halloween Movie
Pick a movie and let it inspire dinner.
Watching Hocus Pocus? Make something witchy.
The Nightmare Before Christmas? Get weird with it.
A vampire movie? Red pasta sauce suddenly has a theme. 😂
You do not need to recreate some 19-step recipe from the movie.
We're aiming for a vibe, not culinary accuracy.
Vibe #22: Have a No-Phone Horror Movie Night
I know.
Terrifying.
Put the phones away for one entire movie.
No scrolling when the plot slows down. No Googling the actor because you're positive you've seen him somewhere. No checking TikTok and accidentally spoiling the movie you're currently watching.
Just watch.
Your notifications will survive without you.
Probably.
Vibe #23: Create Your Own Halloween Tradition
This is one of my favorites because traditions have to start somewhere.
Maybe every October you buy one ridiculous new decoration.
Maybe the family watches the same movie.
Maybe everybody gets Halloween pajamas.
Maybe you cook the same dinner, visit the same place, take the same ridiculous picture, or have an annual horror marathon.
It doesn't need to be something anybody else does.
That's kind of the point.
Vibe #24: Have a “Who Picked This Shit?” Movie Night
Everybody submits the worst-looking horror movie they can find.
Bad reviews encouraged.
Terrible acting? Excellent.
Questionable CGI monster? Even better.
Plot sounds like somebody wrote it during their lunch break?
WE HAVE A CONTENDER.
Pick one blindly and watch it together.
Sometimes a terrible movie is a fantastic time.
Vibe #25: Make the House Smell Like October
No, you don't have to buy seventeen candles.
Simmer apples, cinnamon, cloves, and orange peels on the stove. Bake something. Use whatever fall scent you already own.
Basically, make somebody walk through the door and immediately think:
“Oh, it's OCTOBER October in here!”
Vibe #26: Do a Halloween Photo Challenge
Give everybody the same list:
Something creepy.
Something orange.
A skeleton.
The best costume you see.
Something that looks accidentally haunted.
The most dramatic decoration.
Something that made you laugh.
Go for a walk, visit an event, or just see what you can find throughout the day.
At the end, compare pictures.
No professional photography skills required.
Vibe #27: Tell Your Own Ghost Stories
Instead of reading one, make one up.
Start with one sentence and have everybody add to the story.
The next person has to continue from wherever the last person stopped.
With kids, this will almost certainly go completely off the rails within three minutes.
Honestly?
That's the best-case scenario.
Vibe #28: Give Yourself a Cozy October Night
We've been doing shit all month.
Tonight?
We're not.
Blanket. Comfortable clothes. Favorite food. Book, movie, game, whatever.
Turn the big light off because everybody knows the big light destroys the vibe.
Nothing has to be productive.
You're allowed to enjoy October horizontally. 😂
Vibe #29: Do Something That Actually Scares You
Haunted house.
Scary maze.
Ghost tour.
Roller coaster.
Horror movie you keep avoiding.
Or maybe your version of scary has absolutely nothing to do with Halloween.
Do one thing that gives you that “I don't know about this shit...” feeling.
Within reason, obviously.
We're making memories. Not insurance claims.
Vibe #30: Get Ready for the Main Event
If you've been engaging in a spooky vibe once a day, then tomorrow is Halloween.
Get the candy ready. Finish costumes. Charge your phone. Figure out dinner before everybody gets chaotic. Put the final decorations out.
And most importantly:
Do not wait until 9:47 PM to realize somebody needs something for their costume.
Actually...
Who am I kidding?
Somebody absolutely will. 😂
Vibe #31: DO HALLOWEEN YOUR WAY 🎃
This is it!!!
And there is no correct way to spend it.
Take the kids trick-or-treating. Pass out candy. Go to a party. Watch horror movies. Dress up. Don't dress up. Make drinks with friends. Stay home and turn your porch light off.
You made it through all 31 days or went through 31 days in only six.
Spend the last one doing whatever sounds good to you.
Because the whole point of a vibe is that you get to pick your own.
Spooky Season: Completed. 👻
You don't need to complete all 31 of these to have a good October.
Hell, you could do three and decide you've participated enough. 😂
Save the list. Send it to the friend who's always asking “What should we do?” Let the kids pick a number. Close your eyes and point at one when you're bored.
Just don't spend the whole month waiting for the perfect fall weekend and suddenly look up on October 30 like:
“Damn. We didn't do shit.”
October only shows up once a year.
Be cozy. Be creepy. Be nostalgic. Be ridiculous.
Pick your vibe and enjoy the damn season. 🎃
