Halloween Taboo Game: 25 Spooky Words to Guess

The first time I ever played this game, I was the clue-giver, my card said “vampire,” and I stood frozen while the timer ticked, because every word my brain reached for — blood, bite, fangs — was printed right there on the card as forbidden. I blurted out, “It’s the guy who doesn’t like garlic bread and naps in a box!” My team screamed the answer in four seconds, and the room fell over laughing. That is the entire game in one round: you know the word, you can’t say the word, and what comes out of your mouth instead is the entertainment.

Below is the full setup: what you need, the rules we actually play by, scoring that keeps it fair, and 25 original spooky word cards — each with its forbidden words, ready-to-use sample clues, and a play tip. Plus the versions we rotate through at our house: kids, teens, classroom, and the glow-in-the-dark round that stole the show last October.

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Quick Picks: Which Version Tonight?

How the Game Works

What you need. A deck of word cards (make them tonight — instructions below), a timer (your phone is perfect), a score sheet and pen, and something loud for the “buzz” — a cheap party buzzer, a bike bell, a wooden spoon on a pot, or just the other team shouting “BUZZ!” with feeling. Add a bowl of candy for the winning team and you are fully stocked.

Making your cards by hand. You do not need a printer for this game. Cut construction paper into playing-card-sized rectangles — thick paper is worth it, because thin paper lets the writing show through and ruins the surprise. Write the guess word big at the top and its 4–5 forbidden words underneath. Use one color for the word side if you want them to look official — orange on black is the classic. Kids old enough to write can help: my seven-year-old niece made our “Zombie” card and drew a tiny brain in the corner, which is now a house heirloom.

Crayola Construction Paper

The card deck for this game — thick enough that the writing doesn’t show through, and the orange-and-black color combo makes the draw feel festive.

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Draw the doodles with acrylic paint pens — they show up bold on dark paper where regular markers disappear, and the kids can decorate their own cards without the ink bleeding through.

Acrylic Paint Pens

For the card doodles — bold on dark paper, no bleed-through, and easy for kids to use on their own cards.

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The rules we play by. Split into two teams (three if the crowd is huge). A player from Team A draws the top card and has 60 seconds to get their team to guess as many words as possible — one card at a time, moving to the next the moment a word is guessed. The describer may not say the guess word, any forbidden word on the card, any form of them (saying “biting” when “bite” is forbidden counts as a slip), and may not rhyme with the word, spell it out, or act it out. Pure talking, nothing else. If a forbidden word slips out, the other team calls the buzz: the card is dead, no point, and it goes to the bottom of the pile. When the timer runs out, the next team sends up a describer and play continues. That’s the whole ruleset — it takes ninety seconds to teach and about one round before everyone gets loud.

Scoring. One point for every word guessed. Zero for a buzzed card — the other team doesn’t steal the point, they get the satisfaction. The team with the most points when the deck runs out wins. Two variations we swear by: the steal rule, where the other team may shout the answer during the three seconds after a buzz for half a point (keeps everyone listening); and the first-to-20 race, where the game ends the moment a team banks 20 guessed cards — great when attention spans are melting. Ties get settled by a sudden-death card drawn blind: one describer, thirty seconds, no buzzing, closest guess wins.

One Rule for the Grown-Ups

Nobody at this table is allowed to tease the describer. Seriously. The whole point of the game is that smart people sound ridiculous under a timer — that is the comedy, and it only works if the person holding the card feels safe being silly. Little kids get extra grace: let them use one forbidden word per card, give them the easy words, and clap for the clues that almost work. The game is better when the four-year-old’s “it’s the orange ball!” gets a standing ovation.

The 25 Spooky Words

Every card below follows: the guess word, 4–5 forbidden words to list on the card, sample clues you can steal verbatim tonight, and a play tip. They run from easy to tricky — play them in order with kids at the table.

1. Pumpkin

Forbidden: orange, carve, jack-o’-lantern, pie, seeds
Sample clues: “It’s the round thing on your porch in October.” / “You scoop its insides out and put a candle in it.” / “The flavor of every fall latte.”
Play tip: This is the warm-up card — give it to the shyest player first. Everyone will guess it fast and the table relaxes.

2. Candy Corn

Forbidden: yellow, triangle, sweet, Halloween, treat
Sample clues: “It’s the little three-colored thing people argue about.” / “It looks like a piece of corn but it’s all sugar.” / “White on top, then this color, then brown — wait, I can’t say the colors.”
Play tip: The “people argue about it” line lands instantly — half your table has strong candy corn opinions and they’ll shout the answer out of loyalty.

3. Ghost

Forbidden: boo, white, spooky, sheet, haunt
Sample clues: “It’s what your kid’s costume looks like when you cut eye holes in bedding.” / “It says one famous word when it scares you.” / “Casper, but I can’t say the movie.”
Play tip: “Boo” is the first word everyone reaches for, which makes this card the classic buzz trap. Watch the describer’s face when they catch themselves.

4. Witch

Forbidden: broom, hat, spell, cauldron, magic
Sample clues: “She flies on something you sweep with.” / “Pointy headwear, green face in the movies.” / “She stirs a big pot of something bubbling.”
Play tip: The forbidden list kills every obvious noun, so describers have to go functional — “she rides the thing you clean the floor with” is comedy gold.

5. Black Cat

Forbidden: bad luck, meow, witch, pet, tail
Sample clues: “It’s the animal that crosses the road on Friday the 13th.” / “It says a sound I can’t make.” / “It sits on the witch’s porch in every cartoon.”
Play tip: The Friday-the-13th angle is the money line — it dodges all five forbidden words and lands the guess in seconds.

6. Bat

Forbidden: wings, fly, night, cave, vampire
Sample clues: “It sleeps upside down.” / “It uses sound to find its way in the dark.” / “Bruce Wayne’s whole thing.”
Play tip: “Sleeps upside down” is so distinctive it often ends the round in one clue. Save this card for when your team is behind and needs a fast point.

7. Mummy

Forbidden: wrap, bandages, Egypt, tomb, toilet paper
Sample clues: “It’s a dead king from the desert country I can’t name.” / “He’s covered in the stuff you put on a cut.” / “He walks like this — no wait, I can’t show you.”
Play tip: The no-acting rule hurts most on this card, because every describer wants to do the stiff-armed mummy walk. The struggle is the fun.

8. Skeleton

Forbidden: bones, skull, scary, body, dance
Sample clues: “It’s what’s left after everything else is gone.” / “Your Halloween decoration that’s just the white frame.” / “It rattles when it walks in cartoons.”
Play tip: “Bones” is the first word everyone wants, so the describer has to talk around it — “the hard white pieces inside you” usually does the job.

9. Vampire

Forbidden: blood, bite, Dracula, fangs, neck
Sample clues: “It’s the guy who doesn’t like garlic bread and naps in a box.” / “He sleeps all day and he’s allergic to sunshine.” / “Two sharp teeth — no, two sharp pointy things in his mouth.”
Play tip: This was my card, my downfall, my legend. The garlic-bread line works every time and has never once been buzzed.

10. Haunted House

Forbidden: scary, ghost, spooky, abandoned, creaky
Sample clues: “It’s the building on the hill nobody will go in.” / “It has cobwebs, cold spots, and a door that opens by itself.” / “You pay money to walk through a fake one in October.”
Play tip: Two-word answers are harder because the team has to guess both words — give this card to your strongest talker and let them earn it.

11. Zombie

Forbidden: brain, dead, walk, undead, groan
Sample clues: “It wants to eat the thing inside your skull.” / “It moves really slowly with its arms out — the arms thing is the giveaway, use it.” / “It started as a person and now it’s not, but it keeps moving.”
Play tip: One of the hardest cards in the deck. “The thing inside your skull” without saying the forbidden word is a genuine puzzle — save it for late in the game, when the table is warmed up.

12. Spider

Forbidden: web, legs, eight, creepy, crawl
Sample clues: “It builds a trap out of silk in the corner of your room.” / “It has so many knees you would need four pairs of shoes.” / “It eats flies and never pays rent.”
Play tip: The silk-trap line is the cleanest opener, and it dodges every forbidden word. Save the knees line for the laugh, because it always gets one.

13. Trick-or-Treat

Forbidden: candy, knock, door, costume, say
Sample clues: “You ring the bell and hold out your bucket.” / “Two magic words and a held-out bucket get you something sweet.” / “The whole reason October 31 exists.”
Play tip: The bell line is the giveaway, so save this card for the younger players. Older kids will guess it before the describer finishes the first clue.

14. Scarecrow

Forbidden: field, corn, straw, birds, stuffing
Sample clues: “He stands in the garden all day and never moves.” / “He wears a hat and his job is to look scary.” / “He never moves, never blinks, and never eats lunch.”
Play tip: The never-moves angle is the money line, because it sounds like a riddle. Describers who start with the hat usually get buzzed on the forbidden list.

15. Cauldron

Forbidden: pot, boil, witch, brew, stew
Sample clues: “It sits over the fire, big and black, with something green and steamy inside.” / “You stir it with a long wooden spoon.” / “A certain pointy-hatted lady keeps one in her kitchen.”
Play tip: The spoon line is the safe opener. The pointy-hatted lady line is the closer, and it lands every time because the table has to connect the dots.

16. Full Moon

Forbidden: night, round, sky, werewolf, glow
Sample clues: “It is the big bright circle that comes out after dark.” / “It makes the whole yard look silver.” / “A certain furry creature howls at it.”
Play tip: The silver-yard line is the poetic one, and it usually takes the team two clues. The furry-creature line ends the round fast, so save it for when your team is behind.

17. Costume

Forbidden: dress-up, wear, pretend, outfit, Halloween
Sample clues: “It turns you into someone else for a night.” / “It comes with a mask or a hat or a cape.” / “Your mom takes a hundred photos of you in it.”
Play tip: The hundred-photos line is the one every kid at the table recognizes instantly. It is also the funniest clue in the deck, because it is true.

18. Owl

Forbidden: hoot, bird, night, tree, wise
Sample clues: “It says its own name in the dark.” / “It turns its head all the way around.” / “It sleeps all day and hunts at bedtime.”
Play tip: The head-turn line is the giveaway, because nothing else does that. Give this card to a shy describer, since the answer comes fast and the table relaxes.

19. Grim Reaper

Forbidden: death, hood, scythe, skeleton, dark
Sample clues: “He carries a long curved farm tool and wears a long robe.” / “He shows up in cartoons when a character’s time is up.” / “He is the least friendly trick-or-treater on the block.”
Play tip: The farm-tool line is the trick, because the table has to name the tool without naming him. This is a hard card, so save it for the second half of the night.

20. Broomstick

Forbidden: witch, fly, sweep, bristles, ride
Sample clues: “You park it by the front door after a long night.” / “It cleans the floor and it also soars through the air.” / “It has a long wooden handle and a straw end.”
Play tip: The park-it-by-the-door line is the clever one, because it sounds like a car. Describers who start with cleaning usually get buzzed, so warn them first.

21. Candy Apple

Forbidden: red, stick, caramel, apple, sweet
Sample clues: “It is the shiny fruit on a wooden handle at the fall fair.” / “It crunches when you bite it and glues itself to your teeth.” / “It is the fanciest thing at the bake sale table.”
Play tip: The teeth line is the laugh, and it lands the guess in seconds. This is a great mid-game card when the table needs a win.

22. Cobweb

Forbidden: spider, sticky, web, dusty, corner
Sample clues: “It is the silky decoration in the attic nobody cleans.” / “It stretches from the ceiling to the wall.” / “It is the first thing you walk through in a haunted house.”
Play tip: The attic line is the slow burn, because the team has to picture the room. The haunted-house line ends it, so save that one for the second clue.

23. Werewolf

Forbidden: moon, howl, hairy, transform, bite
Sample clues: “He is a regular guy until the sky gets bright and round.” / “He makes a sound at the sky that dogs copy.” / “He is the reason you stay inside on a certain night each month.”
Play tip: The dogs-copy line is the money line, because the whole table pictures it at once. This is one of the hardest cards, so give it to your strongest talker.

24. Frankenstein

Forbidden: monster, green, bolts, lightning, stitches
Sample clues: “He was built in a lab by a doctor with big ideas.” / “He has metal pieces on the sides of his neck.” / “He walks slowly and says very little, but he is gentle.”
Play tip: The lab line is the giveaway for anyone who knows the story, and the gentle line is the twist that makes the table smile. A strong mid-deck card.

25. Headless Horseman

Forbidden: horse, pumpkin, head, sleepy hollow, ride
Sample clues: “He gallops through the night carrying a glowing vegetable.” / “He lost something important and he is still looking for it.” / “He is the scariest character in the oldest Halloween story.”
Play tip: The hardest card in the deck and the best finale. The glowing-vegetable line is a genuine puzzle, and the table has to work for it, so save this one for the championship round.

Bonus Deck: Stretch It to a Full Night

Twenty-five cards is a full deck. When the table wants more, grab the cards you already made and add these — forbidden words only, clues are all yours:

• Fog — forbidden: mist, spooky, night, gray, creep
• Potion — forbidden: brew, witch, drink, magic, cauldron
• Graveyard — forbidden: tombstone, dead, bury, ghost, spooky
• Skull — forbidden: bones, head, skeleton, white, scary
• Tombstone — forbidden: grave, RIP, stone, dead, cemetery
• Spellbook — forbidden: spells, witch, magic, pages, read
• Haunted Hayride — forbidden: hay, tractor, spooky, ride, farm
• Monster Mash — forbidden: dance, song, monster, party, graveyard

Thirty-three cards is a full party night. Thirty-five covers the neighbor kids who “just stopped by.”

How to Win (Team Tactics)

Order your deck easy to hard. Put Pumpkin and Candy Corn on top and Headless Horseman at the bottom. Early wins build the describer’s confidence; the timer feels shorter when you’re already smiling.

Pair a talker with a guesser. Every team has one person who describes like an auctioneer and one who guesses like a detective. Put them on the same team and let the talker go first — the guesser will carry the hard cards later.

Let kids be the guessers, not the describers. Little kids are brilliant guessers (their brains make wild connections) and stressed describers (the forbidden words are traps). Flip the roles and everyone has more fun.

Use the pass — once. House rule: each describer may skip one card per game with no penalty. It stops the death spiral where someone burns 40 seconds on a word they can’t crack. Veterans use it on Haunted House; rookies use it on Zombie.

Six Ways to Play

The Kids’ Version (ages 5–8). Use the first six cards only. Skip the timer or give them two minutes — the pressure is the part that melts little ones. Let each kid use one forbidden word per card without a buzz, and give every player a piece of candy after their turn whether they won or not. My four-year-old’s official role is “assistant guesser,” and she takes it extremely seriously.

Tournament Play (teens). Thirty-second rounds, steal rule on, strict buzzing — teens love the cruelty of a well-timed “BUZZ!” Keep a visible scoreboard and offer a real prize: the winner picks the Halloween movie, no arguments.

Glow-in-the-Dark Round. Turn off the overheads, hand everyone glow sticks — bracelets for one team, necklaces for the other — and play by flashlight. Reading a card by flashlight while your whole team glows green is the single best atmosphere upgrade in this guide. Crack the sticks right before the round starts so they’re at full brightness.

Glow Sticks — 100 Pack

The glow-in-the-dark round — one color per team, cracked fresh right before the lights go out.

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The Costume Round. Everyone gives clues in character. The witch cackles between clues, the vampire does the accent, the zombie… describes like a zombie, which is somehow the hardest mode of all. This one never fails at adult parties.

The Trick-or-Treat Penalty. When a describer says a forbidden word, instead of just losing the card, they also perform a “trick” chosen by the other team: their best zombie groan, a spooky face, or the Monster Mash dance for ten seconds. The penalty is the point — the table will start rooting for buzzes.

The Classroom Version. Split the class into teams of four or five and tape the scoreboard on the whiteboard. The teacher reads the forbidden words aloud before each round so everyone can police the describer — kids are ruthless and fair about it. Bonus: it doubles as vocabulary work, because describing “vampire” without saying “blood” is genuinely hard thinking. Works beautifully for grades 3 and up, homeschool co-ops, and scout troops.

Set the Mood

You don’t need much: dim the overhead lights, scatter a few flameless LED tea lights around the card table (real candles and a table full of paper cards are a combination I will not be recommending), and put on a spooky playlist in the background — “Monster Mash” first, obviously. A bowl of candy corn within arm’s reach of the scorekeeper is traditional. The tea lights give you the flickering-haunted-house glow with zero flame near anything flammable, which matters when the game gets physical.

Flameless LED Tea Light Candles

Haunted-house flicker for the card table with zero flame anywhere near the paper cards.

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Everything mentioned in this guide, in one place:

Frequently Asked Questions

How many cards do we need?
Twenty-five to thirty-five for a full party night. The 25 cards above are a complete deck, and the 8-word bonus deck takes you to 33.

What ages can play?
The kids’ version works from about age 5 — short words, relaxed rules, candy for everyone. The full game with strict buzzing fits ages 8 and up. Under-5s make excellent assistant guessers and terrible describers; plan accordingly.

What happens when someone says a forbidden word?
The other team calls the buzz, the card is dead, no point is scored, and the card goes to the bottom of the pile. In the trick-or-treat penalty version, the describer also performs a silly “trick” for the table.

Can you play with just two players?
Yes — hot-seat style. One person describes, the other guesses, and you keep a running score across rounds: how many words can you clear in five one-minute rounds? Beat your own record next October.

Do we need to print anything?
No. Handwritten cards on construction paper take about twenty minutes for the full deck, and the homemade look is half the charm. A printer adds nothing to this game.

How long does a full game take?
About 25–35 minutes for a 25-card deck with two teams, including the arguing about whether “biting” counts as “bite” (it does). The glow-in-the-dark round adds ten minutes because nobody wants to stop.

Keep the Cards

Twenty-five words, one timer, and a table full of people who can’t say “blood.” That’s the whole game, and it’s the one our street asks for by name every October now. Make the deck once — the cards fit in an envelope, they survive the junk drawer, and next year you’ll just add a few new words and play again.

Happy haunting, mama.