Try this FUN Halloween Mystery Box game for kids and adults – also called the ‘touch and feel game’ – with these FREE printables & list of ideas!
I wanted to create something easy but fun for the holiday with a little spooky but not to scary. These Halloween-themed touch & feel boxes are just the ticket! It’s one of our EASY Halloween games – 5 games you can set up and play in less than 5 minutes!
We’ve included a list of ideas for what to put in each box and I bet you have what you need right in your house. Just add the free printable labels we have for you below and you’re ready to play 😉
Halloween Mystery Box Game Ideas
This is so simple to do and such a fun activity for classroom or home parties, trick or treaters or even as a Halloween science experiment. The mystery bags are similar to our Smell of Christmas Mystery Boxes (perfect for holiday parties!) only with those, you use your nose instead of your hand.
The idea of this game is to reach in each box (with a bare hand) and use your sense of touch to guess what’s inside each box or bag!
And to also to test the braveness of each person putting their hands in 😉
If you’re looking for more FUN games and activities for Halloween, check out our *NEWEST* Fabulous Fall & Halloween Games list too!
What to Put in a Touch & Feel Mystery Box?
I wanted to use items that wouldn’t be too messy because if you’re using them at a party, you don’t have to worry about all the kids having messy hands or getting stuff on their costumes (which could end in tears and who wants that, right?!)
To make these Halloween-themed, I decided to go with the names of traditional Halloween figures and match them with ‘body parts’ that seemed appropriate 🙂
Think Frankenstein, Mummy, Ghosts and more! So we’ve included items for “Ghost Poop”, “Mummy Skin”, “Witch’s Warts” and other things that sound creepy.
But I promise, they are not so creepy (even though you could easily make it spookier if you’d like). It’s always the anticipation that gets kids as they slooowwwly put their hand in the bag wondering what it will feel like.
Items for a Halloween Mystery Box Game
There are a few items you’ll need for this activity.
I tired really hard to include things you would probably have on hand. If you don’t have one or two of them, ask a neighbor and I’ll bet you can quickly pull these together. I’m also including affiliate links for items we used in addition to the free printable labels you can download below!
- 6 boxes or black paper bags – you could easily wrap empty tissue boxes with orange and black paper too!
- Tape or mini clothespins to attach the tags to your bags/boxes
- The items you see in the display tray photo of supplies below!
And if you are hosting, be sure to check out these other Halloween party supplies and items too!
What to Put in a Halloween Mystery Box or Bag
So here’s where the fun comes in — I’ll tell you the secret items but DO NOT tell the kids! or adults! or anyone who’s doing to play the game 😉
It’s no fun if they see you putting things in the bags 🙂
Seeds = Pumpkin Guts
Cotton balls = Ghost Poop
Golf Tees = Dracula’s Teeth
Nuts & bolts = Frankenstein Pieces
Raisins or dried cranberries = Witch’s Warts (my favorite!)
Gauze or cotton bandages = Mummy Skin
You could also use candy items for these boxes too (candy corn for teeth, melted peeps for ghost poop etc). A great idea on how to use that extra Halloween candy if you have too much 😉
If you’re using this an a true “guess what’s in the box” game, you’ll want to have paper and pencil on hand so each person can fill out their guesses when they reach their hand in the box.
Creepy Ideas for Halloween Touch and Feel Game
If you want to make the bags a little creepier, here are a few ideas to gross out players:
- Use real pumpkin inerds and not just seeds for the Pumpkin Guts
- Put some ketchup on Dracula’s teeth! Things like that go over well for teens and adults – when each player pulls out their hand, they’ll think it’s blood!
- Add some water to the Ghost Poop so make it smooshy
- Pull an item out of the Witch’s Warts bag and eat it in front of the kids (tasty!)
- Add in parts of a green balloon (kind of rubbery) for Frankenstein Pieces
Or add real vampire fangs in the Dracula’s Teeth box if you want something each kid can take home as a fun souvenir too!
See how brave they are and how much they laugh when they really see what’s inside the box. I’m telling you, even teens and adults will get a little freaked out at some of the items because like I said, they’re building it up in their head to be waaayyy worse that it will be 🙂
How to Set Up a Guess What’s in the Box Game
These are SO easy to get all set up! Just cut out your FREE labels (grab those below!) and tape or clothespin them to your boxes or bags.
Be sure the bags are tall enough (and in a dark area) so that snooping kid-lings can’t see inside them. Believe me, if you’re playing this game with tweens, teens, or adults — they’re gonna try to peek 😉
You can set this up with these FREE printable Halloween Word games! Then players will be entertained while they wait their turn.
Or get Amazon Prime (now FREE for 30 days!!) and have players watch their favorite Halloween shows or movies until they get to tempt their fate at the mystery bags (insert creepy laugh here 😉
You can also pair this with some of these other FUN Halloween games for kids that can be set up in minutes!!
Some of the items (like Ghost Poop) I put directly in the bag. Other items (the seeds & raisins) I put in a small dish first.
Once they are full, just line up all your bags, turn on some scary Halloween music and creep out your kids (lol!)
If you want to turn this into a science experiment, give each child a piece of paper and ask them to record what they think they feel inside the box or bag. And it’s such an easy Halloween Game! It can also quickly be turned into a minute to win it game or a party game too. Just set a timer and give each player one minute to write down their guesses!
Be sure to check out the Halloween Printable Activities & Countdown with TONS of fun ideas for families that you can do the whole month of October — or use it as a fun way to count down the hours until trick or treat on Halloween night!
This is also a great activity to do with a Halloween-themed story too! We’d recommend the following books which also have a little anticipation but are not too scary:
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
Here’s the free printable Halloween Mystery Touch & Feel labels for you to use too!
Enjoy Halloween!
Happy Halloween!
~ Jacquie
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Free Printable Halloween Scavenger Hunt