25 Spooky Halloween Activities For College Students

These fun, spooky, and entertaining Halloween activities for college students will be a howling good time for your student body.

Halloween is just around the corner and it’s one of our favorite holidays to celebrate every year! It’s the perfect time to watch a scary movie or organize a fun halloween theme event.

If you are looking for a list of ideas to entertain college students during spooky season, we’ve got you covered!

25 Fun and Entertaining Halloween Activities For College Students

Halloween Costume Contest:

Organize a costume contest with fun prizes for the most creative, scary, or unique costumes.

A costume contest is one of the simplest activities. Put it together by class or by dorm if your college is large. Even clubs can organize this easily. You primarily need judges, contest categories, a few rules, and prizes!

Pumpkin Carving Party:

Provide pumpkins, carving tools, and stencils for a creative pumpkin carving session. Display all of the pumpkins around campus!

Haunted House Tour:

Set up a spooky haunted house on campus for students to explore. This is not only a fun college activity but one you could open up to the public too as a fundraising event.

Horror Movie Marathon:

Host a movie night featuring classic and new horror movies. Play a Halloween movie every Friday and Saturday night through October! This is a great even for a college town to open to the public too.

DIY Halloween Decorations Workshop:

Provide supplies for making spooky decorations like paper bats, ghost garlands, and more. This is a fun and inexpensive way to make the dorms festive. This could be the perfect way to have student decorate their dorm room too.

Halloween Themed Karaoke:

Host a karaoke night with Halloween-themed songs and decorations. Offer a fun Halloween-themed mocktail for everyone to enjoy too.

Scavenger Hunt:

Organize a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt around campus. This could be as easy or challenging as you’d like. Download one from Etsy or design your own! Scavenger hunts are extremely easy to organize.

Glow-in-the-Dark Dance Party:

Decorate a room with glow-in-the-dark items and have a dance party with Halloween-themed music. Offer glow sticks and well-placed black lights.

Trick-or-Treating:

Organize a safe and fun trick-or-treating event on campus. You could even set this up in a residence hall. Trick-or-treating should not be reserved for little kids!

Halloween Bake-off:

Have a baking competition where students create Halloween-themed treats.

Escape Room Challenge:

Set up a Halloween-themed escape room for students to solve. You could rent out a local escape room or have one designed on campus for the month of October.

Ghost Storytelling Session:

Gather around a campfire or in a spooky room to share ghost stories. You could even have a popular horror or thriller author come do a reading.

Halloween Craft Fair:

Have a fair where students can showcase and sell their Halloween-themed crafts and artwork.

Witch’s Brew Tasting:

Set up a station with different kinds of Halloween-inspired beverages.

You can also offer Halloween treats too like candy corn, caramel apples, Halloween cookies, and chocolates. College students love free food!

Costume Relay Race:

Organize a relay race where teams of students dress up in costumes and pass a baton as they race around campus.

Zombie Run:

Arrange a fun run or obstacle course where participants dress up as zombies. You could organize a walk, a 5k, and a 10k for those students who like a challenge!

Offer toilet paper on site for students to get in the Halloween spirit! This is a fun way to encourage physical activitiy too.

Halloween Bingo:

Create Halloween-themed bingo cards and have a game night with fun prizes students will love like gift cards. Host it in a common area that can handle a large group.

Bobbing for Apples:

Set up a classic apple bobbing station. This is a great addition to another event, especially for a house party that sororities or fraternities might organize.

Tarot Card Readings:

Have a tarot card reader on campus for a fun, mysterious activity. It would be perfect to set up in the student union to celebrate Halloween

Halloween Photo Booth:

Set up a photo booth with props and backdrops for students to take spooky pictures. Create a hashtag on Instagram or private snapchat story so they can share their pictures on social media.

Costume Swap:

Organize an event where students can exchange or borrow costumes. This is a great way to encourage sustainability on campus!

You can even organize a costume collection event after Halloween so your school can offer them to students the following year instead of trashing them.

Outdoor Horror Movie Screening:

Set up an outdoor screen and project a classic horror movie on halloween night. Encourage everyone dress is Halloween costumes too. It will be a lot of fun!

Organize a Field Trip To a Pumpkin Patch:

Most pumpkin patches offer discounted field trip options. Have students sign up for a free trip to a pumpkin patch. Let them enjoy all fall has to offer at a local corn maze and let them bring home a small pumpkin.

Murder Mystery Dinner Party:

Host a murder mystery party where students can dress up as characters and solve a fictional crime. This is a more involved take on traditional halloween parties.

Halloween Themed Trivia Night:

Have a trivia night with questions related to Halloween folklore, movies, and traditions.

Halloween is a fun holiday that offers a lot of event and party options that students will love to participate in. Hopefully these great ideas inspired you to do something fun on campus for Halloween.

Here are 5 tips for throwing successful Halloween events for college students:

Throwing a Halloween event for students is a ton of fun but there are a few tips you can keep in mind to make it go smoothly:

Plan Well in Advance:

Start planning your event well ahead of time. This allows you to secure venues, gather supplies, and promote the event effectively.

Promote Inclusivity and Diversity:

Ensure that your event is inclusive and welcoming to all students, regardless of their backgrounds or beliefs. Avoid themes or decorations that may be offensive or exclusionary.

Offer a Variety of Activities:

Provide a mix of activities to cater to different interests. Include options like costume contests, games, movie screenings, and craft stations. This way, there’s something for everyone.

Emphasize Safety and Comfort:

Create a safe environment by having clear guidelines and security measures in place. Make sure there are well-lit areas, first aid supplies, and easy access to exits. Additionally, consider any dietary restrictions or allergies when providing food and beverages.

Engage Student Input:

Involve students in the planning process by seeking their ideas and feedback. This can help ensure that the event caters to their interests and preferences. Run a student survery to get an idea of what your students would like best.

Remember, a successful Halloween event should be enjoyable, memorable, and respectful to all participants. Keep the atmosphere fun and inclusive, and prioritize the well-being and comfort of all attendees. Enjoy the Halloween festivities!

About the Author

Nicole Booz is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of GenTwenty, GenThirty, and The Capsule Collab. She has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and is the author of The Kidult Handbook (Simon & Schuster May 2018). She currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons. When she’s not reading or writing, she’s probably hiking, eating brunch, or planning her next great adventure.

Website: genthirty.com