Halloween can be an extremely overwhelming holiday for many kids, especially those with sensory differences.
Wearing a costume, spooky or scary decorations and music, and/or seeing others dressed up can be enough to cause sensory overload. Especially when you all of that pair that with eating lots of candy and sugar.
Then there are things like anxiety to consider, as well as changes in routines. You might have a different routine at school, a Halloween party, or something else that's different than usual. Those changes in routine can be stressful for some kids.
Thankfully, I've got you covered with lots of free Halloween social stories for kids. They'll help your kid understand what Halloween is, what trick or treating is all about, and so much more. That way they'll be better equipped to participate in Halloween traditions if they'd like to.
This collection of Halloween social stories was last updated on April 20, 2024. New video social stories were added.
Free Printable Halloween Social Stories for Kids
Have you been looking for a social story about Halloween, trick or treating, or wearing a costume? Then look no further than these free printable Halloween social stories. Some require you to have a Teachers Pay Teachers account (which is free!) before you can download them.
I've rounded up some options for you to explore. That way you can find the best Halloween social story for you and your child. Or you can simply use ideas from different stories below to write your own custom story (free social story templates here to help).
Please note that just because a social story is listed here does not mean I endorse its content. After all, many social stories tend to be poorly written and/or teach autistic masking. Besides, I haven't read all of these stories word for word myself. So please read through the stories carefully before using them with your child.
1. Carving a Pumpkin Social Story - A detailed account of how to carve jack-o-lanterns for Halloween that uses full color photos.
2. Trick-or-Treating Social Story - I collaborated with my friend Renae to make this extremely thorough social story for Halloween. We tried to cover as many safety and sensory issues that may arise while trick-or-treating. It uses full color photos.
3. Trick-or-Treating Social Scripts - While it isn't technically a social story, it's still important to include this resource here. It's a little book of scripts that kids can say while out and about trick or treating.
4. Halloween Social Stories from Happy Learners - Here are two text only social stories. One is a more general one about Halloween, while the other is focused on the topic of Halloween parties.
5. Trick or Treating Story from Autism Little Learners - This story uses short sentences and lots of colorful and diverse clipart.
6. Halloween Day Social Story from Social Stories: Power Tool for Autism - A simple social story that includes one picture.
7. What to Expect on Halloween: Handing Out Candy Social Story from Positively Autism - This social story is about handing out candy on Halloween. It features simple text and a mix of clipart and photos.
8. Halloween Trick or Treating at School Social Story from Autism Tank - If your kids will be trick or treating at school, then this one page social story might be helpful. It uses colorful icons to support the simple text.
9. Trick or Treating Social Story from Communication Station - This social story is visually busy, but it is quite detailed with lots of great information about going trick or treating. It just might not be a good fit if your child finds lots of text and images overwhelming.
10. Trick or Treating Social Story from Chit Chat and Small Talk - A simple two page social story with visuals for each step. A bit basic, but some may still find it helpful.
11. Halloween Trick or Treat Sequencing Cards & Social Story from Miss V's Speech World on TPT - It's more of a set of cards than it is a traditional social story, but you could use the cards to make a mini story. This printable uses colorful Boardmaker icons.
12. Halloween Social Stories Pack from Erin from Creating and Teaching on TPT - There are two social stories here. One is about trick or treating and one is about wearing a costume. Both stories are short one page stories that use colorful icons to support the text.
13. On Halloween Night Social Story from TLC Talk Shop on TPT - This social story talks about preparing for Halloween festivities and uses clipart.
14. Halloween Trick or Treat Social Story from Madame Jennifer on TPT - A super short one page social story that can be cut and assembled into a mini book. It uses clipart.
15. Trick or Treat Social Story from Miss McKnight's World on TPT - An 11 page social story that uses clipart to talk about trick or treating.
16. Trick or Treat Social Story from Transparent Me Blogging Resources on TPT - A 21 page social story that looks pretty thorough and uses black and white clipart.
17. Halloween Symbol Supported Social Story from Spedtacular Inclusion on TPT - Here is a story that uses symbols and covers various aspects of what Halloween is, wearing costumes, and more.
18. Interactive Halloween Trick or Treat Social Story from Where I AUT-a Be on TPT - This story appears to be interactive. It uses colorful clipart to talk about trick or treating.
19. Trick or Treating Social Story from Natalie's Nook on TPT - This story is available on Google Slides so hopefully you can edit or customize it to fit your needs.
20. Wearing a Halloween Costume Social Story from Behavioral Perspective Inc on TPT - A simple one page story with clipart that talks about wearing costumes.
21. Halloween Party Social Story from Kate Vincent on TPT - A one page social story that uses a mix of clipart and photos. It does come as a Word document so hopefully that means you can edit it too.
22. Trick or Treat Social Story from Breezy Special Ed on TPT - A simple one page social story that uses colorful icons to support the text. It also comes with free AAC communication bracelets to wear on Halloween while trick or treating.
23. Trick or Treat Social Story Adapted Book from The Alternative Way to Pre-K on TPT - This story is very interactive and uses colorful clipart.
24. Let's Go Trick-or-Treating Social Story for Gestalt Language Processors from Be Me Speech on TPT - This one is designed with gestalt language processors in mind. It uses lots of scripts for kids to imitate and colorful clipart.
25. Trick or Treat Social Story from Behavioral Perspective Inc on TPT - A simple one page story with clipart. It talks about trick or treating in particular.
26. Going Trick or Treating Social Story from Miss Evans' Emotional Toolbox on TPT - This story looks pretty detailed. It uses colorful clipart.
27. Trick-or-Treat Social Story from Learning for a Purpose on TPT - This story looks pretty text heavy and quite detailed. It also uses colorful clipart.
28. Interactive Trick or Treating Social Story from Itty Bitty Speech on TPT - This pack includes one interactive story and one non prep one page social story. It uses clipart and looks pretty simple.
29. Halloween Social Story from Mosswood Connections - This one page fill in the blank style social story makes it easy to customize the story for your child. It also includes a template for making a Halloween schedule for your kids, which could be quite handy as well! Please note that the image used in the story does include a puzzle piece symbol so I would cut that out of the story.
Video Social Stories About Halloween
Here are some video social stories teach kids about Halloween. You can use these in teletherapy sessions, at home, and/or classroom settings. Videos are always a great alternative to printing off a story.
Like the stories above, some of the wording in these videos aren't always great. But I wanted to make sure you had lots of different options for discussing and teaching kids about Halloween traditions.
Preparing a child for Halloween doesn't need to be too complicated or overwhelming. Hopefully these free Halloween social stories can help you get started.
