20+ Ideas for spooky Activities with Goosebumps Factor

You’re seeking the thrill of the unexpected, the racing of the pulse in the darkness? Then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we open the door to a collection of activities that drive away peaceful sleep and summon the thrill of the night. Whether you delve into the darkness of old horror films, wander through a graveyard in the moonlight, or conjure creepy treats in the kitchen – over 20 ideas await to be discovered by you. Ready for an adventure that will freeze the blood in your veins? The journey into the realm of the eerie begins.

1. Watching horror movies: Horror movies are the absolute classic when it comes to getting spooked. If you’re into the flair of the 70s and 80s, you should check out the Halloween movie series with Michael (YouTube Trailer). If children are also part of the scary evening, the beautiful animated movie Coco (YouTube Trailer) is a recommendation. You can really get scared in the realistically appearing horror movie Paranormal Activity (YouTube Trailer).
2. Take a graveyard walk: Graveyards have their own dark charm and there is much to discover. If you live in or near a big city, you should find out if there are any historical graveyards there. You can make a graveyard visit even more exciting by incorporating small challenges (e.g., find the grave of someone who died in your birth month or try to find the oldest grave). Abandoned cemeteries can be even creepier.
3. Ouija-Board Night: Take a glimpse into the spirit world with a Ouija board. Invite friends, dim the lights, and try to contact spirits. Whether it works or not – the thrill is guaranteed!
4. Experience the Midnight Witching Hour: Stay awake until exactly 3:00 AM, the so-called “Witching Hour.” It’s said that paranormal activity is strongest at this time. Record a video and check later to see if any strange things happen around you.
5. Play a Horror-Themed Escape Room: Visit a horror-themed escape room or play a horror escape game at home. The tricky puzzles combined with eerie surprises and a dark atmosphere will give you an adrenaline rush.
6. Night Hike through the Forest: Grab a flashlight and take a walk in the forest at night. Try to be as quiet as possible to hear the eerie sounds of nature. If you want to raise the thrill level, choose an abandoned or lesser-known trail.
7. Overnight Stay in a Cursed Ruin: If you’re really brave, plan an overnight stay in an abandoned ruin or old castle. You might hear distant footsteps or whispering voices echoing through the old walls.
8. Drink a spooky cocktail: There are plenty of cocktail recipes with a spooky factor, which are also great for a scary party or evening. The Lychee-Eyeball-Cocktail (foodtalkdaily.com) is quite easy to prepare and looks great.
9. Carve a Halloween pumpkin: If you are having your spooky evening in the fall, it’s also pumpkin season. Buy a nice pumpkin, hollow it out, carve a spooky face into it, and light it up with candles. If you scoop a lot of pulp out of the pumpkin, you can make a delicious pumpkin soup from it.
10. Cook with a spooky factor: There are many great recipe ideas with a certain spooky factor. Very creative are the small sausage mummies (sainsburys.co.uk) or the witch fingers (texanerin.com) are very creative. These two recipes are also great as finger food for a party.
11. Bake Halloween muffins: If you enjoy baking, then bake some muffins and decorate them spookily. You can, for example, draw spider webs on the icing, dye the muffins deep black with activated charcoal, or form little tombstones out of icing.
12. Have a corpse feast: In some countries, there is the tradition of eating a specific dish after a funeral. Learn about these customs and prepare a corresponding dish. (In Luxembourg, for example, there are fries, cooked ham, and salad after a funeral.)
13. Read a horror novel: There are insanely many good horror books on the market. Those who like it classical can read Bram Stoker’s Dracula. A masterpiece among horror thrillers is Evil by Jack Ketchum. It gets frighteningly realistic in the horror-novel Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt.
14. Learn more about death: Non-fiction fans will enjoy the books by undertaker Caitlin Doughty. It gets historical in the book Rest in Pieces by Bess Lovejoy*. One of the best books about death is the book With the End in Mind: How to Live and Die Well by author Kathryn Mannix, who accompanies people in their last days and has collected their experiences (Absolute recommendation!).
15. Horror PC and console games: If you like computer games, you will find here at IGN a list of good games that will scare you.
16. Visit dark places: Visit dark or morbid places in your vicinity or go on a night hike. At darktourism or atlasobscura you can also search for places in your area.
17. Decorate the apartment creepily: Transform your apartment into a nest of horror. Craft spooky decorations, get LED lamps to create a fitting light mood, and you can find suitable music here at Spotify.
18. Organize a creepy or Halloween party: Invite people over and organize a creepy party with everything that goes with it. You can find many ideas in our article.
19. Paint dark themes: If you’re artistically inclined, grab your drawing or painting utensils and try to create artworks with a dark aura. For example, paint a graveyard, a skull, or a mysterious landscape. Your imagination knows no bounds.
20. Photo tour of terror: Take a photo tour in your surroundings and try to take creepy photos through image composition, motifs, and lighting mood (dark, foggy autumn evenings with few people outside are excellent for this).
21. Listen to Death Metal music: Dive into the world of Death Metal. Watch a concert on YouTube (e.g., this one by Septicflesh Infernus Sinfonica MMXIX) or enjoy a corresponding playlist on Spotify in a darkened room.
22. Calculate your own life expectancy: Calculate your remaining time on earth with this calculator from blueprintincome.com.
23. Write your own will: Since you can’t escape death, it doesn’t hurt to deal with your own passing and thoughtfully compose your own will or define what the mourning ceremony should look like.
24. Play horror board game: There are also some board games with horror or creepy factor on the market. Black Stories is a card game series where you have to shed light on mysterious stories.
25. Play hide-and-seek in a darkened house: If you live in your house, play hide-and-seek at night or in a darkened house.
26. Tell creepy stories by the campfire: Have a campfire with your friends in the evening and tell each other creepy stories. Whether they are made up or true doesn’t matter. You can increase the creepy factor by incorporating places into the stories that you know.
27. Listen to a horror podcast: Horror vibes have also made it to the podcast scene. For some cool recommendations, check out this cosmopolitan article.