Jump to:
Boo! Halloween is creeping closer, and your kid’s playhouse looks suspiciously un-haunted. Time to embrace the fun of the season, wake the little monsters and summon the giggles (and a few screams) for some fright-night fun. Here are a few Halloween playhouse ideas—no witchcraft required.
Tricks, Treats, and Halloween Playhouse Ideas
Let’s get spooky, shall we?
From the playhouse to the little haunt on the lawn
Your kid’s playhouse has the bones of a good scare, and it just needs the right touch of chaos.
Old bedsheets? Instant ghost curtains. A cardboard box can pass as a creaky doorbell that “summons” brave visitors. Stick glow-in-the-dark eyes in the windows, or let the kids make paper bats and name them. Every haunt needs its own bat butler, right?
Keep the lightning eerie to seal the spell. Swap torches for orange fairy lights and pair them with a few battery candles in old jars. Shadows do half the work.
You could also give it a backstory. Maybe it’s run by a forgetful witch who left her broom outside. Or a ghost who never quite finished tidying up (typical kids, eh?). It brings the whole setup to life—oops, undead.
The great pumpkin patch of mischief in the corner
No Halloween haunt feels right without a few pumpkins hanging about, plotting trouble. Forget perfect carving and go for creative chaos instead. Set up a small pumpkin corner where your little ones can give each gourd its own wicked personality.
One pumpkin could be a grumpy ghost who hates trick-or-treaters. Another might wear a paper hat and guard the sweets. The messier the craft table, the better the fun.
Skip carving altogether to keep those little hands safe. Instead, use a few push-in decorations or pop glow sticks inside plastic pumpkins.
Run a goblin sweet booth
There’s always that one spot where the sweets mysteriously vanish. So, might as well make it official with a trick-or-treat station of their own. Use the window or doorway as a counter for trading treats. All it needs is a cheeky sign like “Beware: Sugar Ahead” or “Enter If You Dare (and Fancy a Lolly)”
Use an old cauldron or a hollowed pumpkin bucket as the bowl. Your kids and their friends can take turns running the booth. Add a small bell or a pretend price list, such as one gummy worm for one good scare – fair enough!
Lure them in, but the friendly kind
Line the little path leading to the playhouse with glowing pumpkins. Jars of battery candles or lanterns also work, just make sure they flicker like ghost lights. Make it feel like your kids are walking into a secret lair, but hide a few surprises along the way.
A paper ghost swinging from the tree branch, a toy rat peeking out from the grass, or a pair of glowing eyes in the bushes. For extra goosebumps, sneak in a small speaker playing a faint howl, or the classic “ohhhh!”
Haunt the halls with ghosts
Inside is where the mayhem brews. Drape ghost garlands across the ceiling or along the playhouse walls. White felt, tissue, or even old pillowcases can turn into your ghostly gang. Give them wonky eyes or little grins, and before you know it, the walls are alive with floating faces.
Stick-on silhouettes, like bats flapping across the windows, also work like magic. And if the walls feel too bare, tangle up some cobweb netting. Then throw in a flicker of orange fairy lights to set the scene for your little ghouls’ next sweet heist.
Brew up a potion parlour
The idea is to make it feel like the witches have nipped out and left their brew behind. Empty jars, bottles, and a few mysterious-looking containers for their potion table. Fill them with coloured water or glitter mixes, then label each.
We’re thinking of Dragon Drool, Toad Tonic, Vampire Fizz, or Ghost Goo. Your children might come up with better ideas, so you’d better ask them.
Don’t forget the plastic cauldron and a wooden spoon for stirring. Even better, with a little smoke effect using a cup of warm water and a bit of dry ice – with your supervision, of course.
Let the ghouls glow after dark
When daylight fades and the little monsters refuse to call it a night, the ghosts clock in for playtime. Turn the wooden playhouse into a glowing lair with glow-in-the-dark paint. Outline windows in neon orange and the doors in eerie green.
You could also hang glow sticks inside jars for a “trapped spirit” look. Scatter a few glowing footprints on the floor, leading to who-knows-where. Once the sun dips, they’ll take over, making it look like the ghosts decided to throw a sleepover of their own.
Welcome the kids to the monster wardrobe
Let the playhouse double as a dressing den for your little stars of fright. Toss in a treasure chest filled with odds and ends. An old sheet becomes a ghostly cloak, a tattered scarf turns into a mummy wrap, or a shiny belt for the vampire lord. The fun is in the mix-and-match chaos, and parents are welcome to join!
Pin a mirror to the wall for last-minute boo checks. Before long, the playhouse will have a full cast of Halloween characters.
Whispers from the reading nook
When the sugar rush starts to fade, guide your little tricksters to the corner for one last round of thrills. Skip the serious stuff, but try to come up with stories together instead. It could be the garden gnomes coming alive at midnight, or the neighbour’s cat runs a secret witch school.
Let the torch pass from hand to hand so each storyteller can add their own twist.
Halloween Movie Night in the Playhouse
And if it’s not too cold, set up the playhouse into the tiniest cinema this side of Transylvania. Pull the curtains shut, hand out a few blankets, and let the kids pile in with popcorn like mini movie monsters.
A tablet or small projector does the trick. Keep the picks fun-sized and kid-friendly:
- Hotel Transylvania
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Monster House
- Corpse Bride
- Scooby-Doo mysteries
Serve green jelly cups, popcorn “ghost puffs,” or orange squash as “pumpkin punch.” It’s a fun way to end the night on giggles rather than growls, isn’t it now?
Which Playhouse Spells Work Best for Halloween?
Every playhouse can pull off a playfully frightful twist.
Wendy houses
These little cottages don’t need much to come alive for Halloween. Try a bubbling potion corner, a mini trick-or-treat booth by the window, or a ghost light in a jar. Stick to one theme from our list to keep things simple and turn it into a pint-sized fright fest.
Two-storey playhouses
A playhouse with an upstairs gives you a built-in stage for scares. The top floor can be the witch’s watchtower, while the ground is the potion parlour booth. String a few orange lights along the rail, drop spiders from above, and watch the magic unfold.
Tower playhouses
These already look like tiny castles, so lean into it. Add glow sticks along the ladder or slide, and call it the “Path of Doom”—dramatic, but the kids will love it.
Inside, the top deck can be a ghostly lookout with glow-in-the-dark stars or silhouettes. Meanwhile, the lower level makes a perfect mini trick-or-treat station. Scatter a few glowing footprints or jars of friendly ghost lights to tie it all together.
Round-up
Every playhouse can join the Halloween fun. Pick a few ideas from our list that suit the space, and let the kids lead the chaos. Lights flicker, shadows stretch, and every nook turns into a tiny haunt.
After that, plan for the next season: How Your Kids Can Enjoy Their Outdoor Playhouse in Cold Weather
