While we may not be able to celebrate Halloween in our traditional methods with large gatherings/parties and visiting others this year, it’s still possible to have a great Halloween virtually, with family, or even on your own! Check out some of these activity books for Halloween inspiration!

Extreme Pumpkin Carving

Providing a new twist on a holiday tradition, Extreme Pumpkin Carving, 2nd Edition Revised and Expanded illustrates how to carve three-dimensional faces and scenes in solid pumpkins (no hollowing necessary) using tools ranging from kitchen knives to carving gouges and chisels. Complete information is provided for getting started, including an overview of tools and tips for finding the best pumpkin to work with. Step-by-step instructions are detailed for using handy household tools to carve dramatic Halloween figures, and using professional tools for creating more elaborate and intricate details. Twenty fun pumpkin carving patterns are provided, along with full-color photographs of each finished carving. This is a great book for Halloween enthusiasts who are striving to create the best jack-o’-lantern on the block.

Fright Favorites: 31 Movies to Haunt Your Halloween and Beyond

Halloween Favorites spotlights 31 essential Halloween-time films, their associated sequels, and remakes, and recommendations to expand your seasonal repertoire based on your favorites. Featured titles:

• Nosferatu (1922)
• Phantom of the Opera (1925)
• Dracula (1931)
• Frankenstein (1931)
• Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1931)
• The Mummy (1933)
• Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
• The Wolf Man (1941)
• Cat People (1942)
• Them (1953)
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
• Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
• Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
• Horror of Dracula (1958)
• House on Haunted Hill (1959)
• The Birds (1963)
• Black Sunday (1960)
• Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
• The Haunting (1963)
• Night of the Living Dead (1968)
• Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
• The Exorcist (1972)
• Young Frankenstein (1976)
• Halloween (1978)
• The Shining (1980)
• The Thing (1982)
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
• Beetlejuice (1988)
• Hocus Pocus (1993)
• Scream (1996)
• Get Out (2017)

Matthew Mead’s Halloween Spooktacular

Frightfully simple ideas for creepy decorations, terrifying sweets and unique costumes will thrill trick-or-treaters of all ages. Holiday style pro Matthew Mead offers endlessly inventive haunted home makeovers, quick-and-easy ways to reinvent store-bought cookies and candy, awesome themed parties, and more to make, eat, and enjoy in the weeks before, and throughout all hallows’ eve.

Monster Parties and Games: Fifteen Film-Based Activities

The first of its kind, this book brings together a collection of 15 do-it-yourself parties and games designed to allow monster movie fanatics to step inside some of their favorite horror, science fiction, and dark comedy films. Each game is themed after a specific monster film from the classics to those of modern-day. With card games, murder mysteries, haunted house games, and detective quests included, there is enough variety to suit any monstrous mood. Each game can be played by all ages with supplies ranging from simple index cards to fake blood and body parts. The book includes full instructions for making each game, along with rule pages, gameplay guides, spell books, lab books, and more.

Spooky Food: Fun Halloween Recipes for Ghosts, Ghouls, Vampires, Jack-O-Lanterns, Witches, Zombies, and More

80 sweet and savory recipes for any Halloween lover to bake if you dare! Whether you’re looking for cute and classic or ghoulish and gory, this book spans the spooky spectrum and has you covered for the entire season.

From the very first crisp day of fall, our attention eagerly turns to one of the most beloved times of the year—sweater weather, leaf-peeping, and yes, pumpkin spice! But autumn baking takes the cake. 

Here esteemed author Cayla, known for turning everyday recipes into colorful, eye-catching treats, features tons of different techniques, allowing both beginners and baking experts to hone their skills this holiday season. Invite some friends over to enjoy some Caramel Apple Cake Pops, decorate a Candy Corn Cake, snack on some Pumpkin Pull-Apart Bread, and whip up a batch of Glow-in-the-Dark Witch’s Brew!

Complete with all the classic flavors of fall, recipes include:

• Chocolate pumpkin cupcakes
• Poison apple cake
• Marshmallow cobweb cake
• Voodoo doll brownies
• Jack-o-lantern stuffed peppers
• Butcher’s knife mug topper cookie
• Skull calzones
• Bleeding heart panna cotta 
• Cauldron hot chocolate
• Glowing ghost cake
• So many more!