10+ Funny, Scary Pranks to Pull on Your Loved Ones This Halloween

The spooookiest time of year is getting closer, which means it’s time to start thinking about your Halloween plans. But there’s more to the holiday than finding or making the perfect costume: There are plenty of creepy crafts to make, ghoulish sweets to bake, scary facts to learn, and coming up with the ideal trick-or-treating strategy. It’s also the best time of the year to test your loved ones’ startle reflex with some scary pranks.

When it comes to the time-honored tradition of trick-or-treating, the focus tends to be on the treats — which is entirely understandable. After all, Halloween is the only day of the year when it’s socially acceptable to go door-to-door demanding candy. But what about the trick part? Given that most people have candy (or some kind of treat) at the ready on the evening of Oct. 31 (or whenever their neighborhood has designated trick-or-treating time), there’s not necessarily a need for tricks. But that doesn’t mean you can play some scary pranks on your friends and family!

Even if you aren’t into scary pranks, there are always verbal pranks or pranks for kids that aren’t too scary. And for fans of prank videos, here are some funny, scary pranks you might want to try out yourself.

Scary Pranks to Try This Halloween (or Anytime)

The Doll in the Hall

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSvJBO8r93f/

If your kids spend the year looking forward to their annual (extended) visit from the Elf on the Shelf, this may be the year to introduce them to the Doll in the Hall.

A Cold-Hearted Prank

Casually mention to members of your household that you’ve been hearing strange noises coming from the kitchen — a peculiar kind of scurrying sound at night. Then, a day or two later, plant a surprise for them to find in the refrigerator, like these little mice peeking out of an egg carton.

A Flood of Fake Blood

When in doubt, a container of fake blood can go a long way in terms of funny, scary pranks — think leaving “bloody” bandages throughout the house or a trail of “blood” stains in your bathroom and then down your hallway. Just be sure to come clean before too long, so someone doesn’t end up calling 9-1-1.

Break Out the Makeup

Even if you’re not into traditional makeup tutorial videos, you may want to look into a few this Halloween season. Specifically, creepy stage makeup tutorials like this one that you can use for multiple scary pranks.

The Shower of Doom

If leaving fake-blood-soaked items around the house doesn’t go far enough, you may want to try putting red Kool-Aid inside the showerhead. That way, when the next person turns on the faucet to take a nice, relaxing shower, it’ll shower them in what appears to be blood.

Pranks From Above

If you own a drone, you’re already halfway to a scary Halloween prank. Either buy or make some sort of witch, ghoul, or goblin, attach it to the drone, and fly it around your yard or neighborhood, giving everyone in its path quite the fright.

Chocolate-Covered Surprise

This prank is funnier than it is scary (well, depending on how you feel about vegetables). All you need are some vegetables and some plain chocolate that’s easy to melt. Brussels sprouts work well because of their shape (it could be a truffle!) and small size.

Not a fan of chocolate? Allow us to introduce you to the candy onion:

The Dog-Turned-Spider

If you have a dog (or even a cat) that allows you to dress them up, make this year’s costume really count by having it double as a funny, scary prank. Transform your pet into a giant spider, and have them come to the door when someone knocks.

Human Mannequin

And, of course, there’s the ever-popular mannequin (or statue, or wax figure) that comes to life.

Scary Child

If you have a little one, put them in a Chucky costume or an equally terrifying getup. The smaller and more energetic the child is, the better. Have them play in the backyard while your neighbors look on in horror. The only thing your kiddo has to do is be their best adorable selves while scaring the absolute stuffing out of passersby or your Halloween party guests.

I Ate All Your Halloween Candy

This prank is perfect to play on your kids the day after Halloween. This is arguably the scariest prank on the list, especially for your little ones. Nov. 1, tell your child you ate all their candy in the middle of the night. This could end in a major meltdown, or your child could have a response that goes viral on social media. So be sure to record them just in case.