October always sneaks up on me and suddenly my living room floor is completely covered in plastic spiders and candy wrappers.
It’s that unpredictable time of year when keeping three kids entertained inside becomes an absolute survival skill. Our team started designing these Halloween coloring pages because we desperately needed an afternoon distraction that doesn’t involve eating more sugar.
There is something strangely relaxing about filling in all those spooky little details when you look at the designs below for reference. My youngest is currently coloring ghosts orange which I think is a brilliant creative choice.
Just let them go wild with the crayons and don’t worry about staying inside the lines. Grab a Halloween coloring sheet and see what kind of weird monsters they create.
Halloween Collections
Featured Halloween Coloring Pages
I love how this little black cat weaves between the pumpkins, looking as though it’s choosing the perfect spot for a dusk-time nap. I’d keep the fog soft and pale, then let the kids go wild with pumpkin colors, who says there can’t be a purple one?
I think this little ghost looks like it’s practicing ballet beside that lantern post, while the spiders have clearly been busy decorating with extra-thick cobwebs. I’d give the lantern a warm yellow glow and let the kids choose a silly color for our twirling friend.
I’d give this little jack-o’-lantern a golden glow and the scarecrow a wonderfully mismatched outfit, guarding a foggy field doesn’t mean you can’t dress up! A soft swirl of lavender or gray would make the fog feel more like a cozy autumn blanket than anything spooky.
I think this pumpkin’s wide-open mouth looks more like it’s belting out a Halloween song than giving anyone a fright! A sunny yellow glow and a soft gray tombstone would make a lovely start, but purple grass could be fun too.
I think this bony fellow has taken “rise and shine” a little too literally, popping up with dirt flying in every direction! I’d try a few different browns for those tumbling clumps, though purple soil would make this a wonderfully silly backyard surprise.
This little spider seems to have picked a rather fancy spot for its web, right between two tombstones! I’d add a purple evening sky and give our dangling friend some bright orange stripes, just to keep things more silly than spooky.
I think this skull-etched tombstone looks like it’s been waiting all autumn for someone to untangle those scruffy old vines! I’d try soft gray for the stone and rusty brown for the vines, with a little purple tucked into the shadows for a playful Halloween touch.
I think this vampire looks rather proud of his grand gothic castle, even with thunder rumbling and lightning putting on a show overhead. I’d give him a plum-purple cape and a few golden windows behind him – surely even a vampire likes coming home to a cozy glow!
I’d give this little witch’s cottage a warm yellow glow and keep the fog soft and lavender, like a cozy blanket tucked around the windows. It looks like the sort of place where a friendly witch would invite you in for cinnamon toast and a very silly spell.
Halloween Coloring Page Highlights
Graveyard Gate Ghost
This one has a happy little ghost floating right out of a tangled graveyard gate. You can see a big full moon in the background lighting up the old tombstones. The cobwebs are torn and hanging off the iron bars.
My middle kid loves trying to color the moon a bright neon yellow. It makes the whole printable Halloween coloring pages pile look so vibrant. Honestly the sky takes a lot of black crayon.
Hollow Tree Hideout
Here we have a ghost just looking out from inside a giant spooky tree trunk. The hollow space is completely stuffed with thick cobwebs and flying bats. It looks like a cozy little spot for a monster to hide.
Drawing wood grain is surprisingly fun to color because you can use three different brown markers. These cute Halloween coloring pages are perfect for practicing blending. Let the kids go crazy on the tree bark textures.
Skeleton Ribcage Surprise
This is probably my favorite because a tiny ghost is actually peeking through the ribs of a skeleton. The skeleton is just slumped lazily against a big tree root. It is equal parts creepy and funny.
You need a really fine tip marker for those little finger bones. Whenever I hand out a free printable Halloween coloring pages stack this one goes first. I think they just like the goofy skull face.
Vintage Lantern Ghost
A super cheerful ghost is twirling around an old street lantern post. The lamp is wrapped thick in cobwebs and there is a smiling jack-o-lantern sitting at the base. It feels very classic trick-or-treat night.
The glow from the lantern gives you an excuse to use lots of bright yellow. Those cute Halloween coloring pages always need a pop of bright color. Sometimes we make the ghost pale blue instead of plain white.
The Creepy Haunted House
This page features a tall haunted house surrounded by completely twisted dead trees. There is drifting fog covering the ground and a big moon hanging behind the roof. It is packed with lots of little windows to color.
This Halloween coloring sheet takes my oldest at least an hour to finish. There are so many tiny roof shingles and wooden planks to fill in. Just making the fog look right is a whole project on its own.
Ghost in the Window
You are looking at a haunted house window from the outside and a ghost is peeking out. The corners are covered in spider webs and bare tree branches frame the brick wall. It has a really nice spooky atmosphere.
I always tell my students to color the bricks different shades of red and gray. It makes the wall pop right off the paper. This is a solid option if you need free Halloween coloring pages for a quick activity.
Cackling Jack-o-Lantern
A huge carved pumpkin is sitting on the ground looking quite evil. Bats are swirling all around it past a really crooked spooky tree. The sky is full of action.
Finding the right orange for a pumpkin is a serious business in our house. Grab one of these free printable Halloween coloring pages and let them experiment. Honestly the darker the orange the better it looks.
Field Scarecrow
A scarecrow with a stitched face is standing guard in a foggy field. There is a glowing jack-o-lantern right beside it and a wooden fence running behind them. The moon is huge in the background.
The straw sticking out of the hat and arms is really fun to trace over. It is a great printable Halloween coloring pages option for older kids. Perhaps they can draw some extra crows in the sky.
Tips for Coloring Halloween Color Pages
1. Ditch the Solid Black Sky
Everyone just grabs the black crayon for a night sky. It makes the paper messy and hides the bats. I try to get the kids to use dark blue or purple instead.
It gives the picture a much better spooky evening vibe. You can even layer the purple over a light blue. Honestly it saves your black marker from dying in one day.
2. Ghosts Aren’t Just Paper White
Leaving the ghost completely uncolored is a missed opportunity. Paper is flat. A tiny bit of shading makes them look round and floaty.
Take a really light silver or pale blue colored pencil. Just trace the inside of the lines lightly. It makes the ghost look like it is actually glowing in the dark.
3. The Perfect Pumpkin Orange
Pumpkins look terrible if they are just one flat shade of neon orange. They have those deep ridges. You need to create some depth.
Color the whole thing light orange first. Then take a red or brown crayon and draw heavy lines right where the pumpkin curves. It makes a huge difference.
4. Smudging the Fog
Fog is tricky to draw with regular markers. It usually just ends up looking like weird gray blobs on the ground. You need a softer touch for this.
Use a regular pencil and color very lightly. Then literally just rub it with your thumb to smudge the graphite everywhere. Your hands get dirty but the fog looks amazing.
5. Making Haunted Windows Glow
Haunted houses always have those creepy yellow windows. If you color them flat yellow they look boring. I think the trick is in the edges.
Keep the very center of the window white. Color the edges dark orange and blend it into yellow toward the middle. It creates an illusion of a bright light inside.
6. Layering Dead Tree Colors
Dead trees are a staple of October artwork. But brown tree trunks get very repetitive. Nature is full of strange colors.
Try mixing some olive green or dark gray into the brown bark. It makes the wood look rotten and ancient. Sometimes we even throw in a little purple for the shadows.
7. Tracing the Cobwebs
Those tiny cobwebs are so frustrating for little hands to color around. They end up just scribbling over them entirely. I tell my students to trace first.
Use a metallic silver pen or a fine black liner to go over the web lines before coloring the background. It seals the shape. Then you can lightly shade around it without losing the web.
8. Neon Monster Eyes
Sometimes crayons just don’t have enough punch for a monster or a bat eye. You want them to look terrifying. Or at least mildly startling.
Steal a neon yellow or green office highlighter from your desk. Dot it right in the center of the eyes. It is an incredibly simple trick that the kids absolutely love doing.