Haunted House Coloring Page

Somebody left the lights on. This haunted house coloring page shows a tall old house with a pointed tower, a crooked brick chimney and a bright front door. Warm light shines from the windows. A little ghost peeks out of the round attic window, and a second one waves from the tower. Bats fly past the moon, a bare tree stands in the yard, and a stone path leads up to the steps.

It has plenty of parts to color, so it works well for ages 5 to 12. Expect to spend 30 to 40 minutes, or split it over two sittings.

A page with lots to find

Kids who get bored with one big shape will like this one. There are seven windows, a gravestone that says BOO, two pumpkins, three bats, a small cat and a tiny spider on a thread. Before you start, ask your child to find both ghosts. Younger kids often miss the one in the tower, and they are thrilled when they spot it.

The window panes are small, so a five year old may need sharp colored pencils. Older kids can go further and draw bricks, cracks or loose boards on the plain walls. A few thin cobwebs in the corners of the tower take only a minute.

Haunted house coloring page color ideas

Glowing windows make this picture work. Fill them with yellow and orange, then keep the house itself dull and cool, such as grey or soft purple. The bright panes will seem to light up.

Use a dark shade on the roofs so the house feels heavy against the sky. A red or green door adds one bold spot in the middle. The tree can be a dusty brown, or black if you want more drama.

You could also flip the whole idea. A pink haunted house with a teal roof looks silly and sweet, and a little kid may like it far more than a dark one.

Tips for tiny windows

• Color the panes first with a light color, then go around them with the darker wall.
• Use a ruler edge to keep your strokes straight on the tower.
• Try two oranges in a window, so some rooms feel brighter than others.
• Follow the wavy shingle lines on the roofs with a darker shade.

A real house full of mystery

The tower on this drawing is a common part of old Victorian homes. That style is why so many stories set their spooky houses in tall, pointed buildings with lots of small windows.

One real house is famous for being strange. The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, was built by Sarah Winchester, and work on it went on for many years. It has around 160 rooms, doors that open onto walls, and stairs that end at the ceiling. Visitors still tour it today, and you can read about it on Wikipedia.

Old houses also make odd sounds, and there is a simple reason. Wood shrinks and swells as the air warms up and cools down, so floors creak at night with nobody on them.

Story ideas and classroom games

Ask who lives in this house. Maybe the ghost is shy. Maybe the bats run a tiny bakery. Children can write a short tale or just tell it out loud.

Teachers can use this page for shape practice. Young students can find a triangle, a rectangle and a circle in the drawing, then count how many of each they see. For older students, a map activity works well: draw what the inside of the house looks like, room by room.

You can also make it glow for real. Color the page, then rub a little cooking oil on the windows with a cotton ball. The paper turns see through, so light from a window shines right through those panes. Tape your haunted house coloring page to the glass after dark and see.

More spooky fun

All of our friendly frights are on the Halloween coloring pages hub. The jack o lantern page goes well beside this one, and teens may prefer our coloring pages for teens.

Questions