Hi, everyone!
I think it’s safe to say that 2020 has been quite a weird year. And, since Hallowe’en is coming up, and it might not be safe or legal to go door-to-door shaking down the neighbours for sweets, I’ve been trying to think of a fun alternative to trick-or-treating – especially since we have our four year old niece on the big night. Here’s what I’ve come up with; I’m sharing it in the hope that it might be helpful to others who might be stuck for activities (apple bobbing is probably out this year, too).
The idea here is a treasure hunt that’s also a spooky (but not scary) story. The locations should exist in most homes, but you might want to adjust it to suit you – and some are a little open to interpretation! You can run this as a traditional treasure hunt, with the player(s) using each clue to find the next verse until they reach a prize at the end, or you can make it a bit more like an Easter Egg hunt by keeping hold of the clues and hiding a small treat in each location. Either way, I’d say you should have at least one treat (of whatever nature you prefer) waiting with you at the end of verse 7. And if you’re feeling especially spooky, you can turn the lights out and have the players hunt by torchlight!
If your players are older kids, you might want to write the clues down and let them read them, or you might like to read them out. You can also choose to read the whole thing out, or stop before the final word [in brackets] and let them guess the rhyme. Depending which of these you’re doing, one of the verses is slightly different, but it’s clearly labeled. So, here we go!
A Spooky-themed (but not actually scary) Story
1. Once there was a monster
With a broken claw,
Who thought he heard a friend
Knock-knocking on his [DOOR]
2. He opened it and looked,
But nobody was there!
He frowned and scratched his head
And went back to his [CHAIR]
3. “That’s funny,” said the monster,
“I think I’ll have a drink”
And went to fill his glass
With water from the [SINK]
4. But when he turned the tap on
Out came a ghost instead
The monster was quite frightened
And hid under his [BED]
5. “I’ve brought you treats,” the ghost said,
“I’ve brought you treats galore”
The monster thought about it
Then crept out on the [FLOOR]
6. “I know you’re trying to trick me,”
Said the monster, scared of shocks
“But if you’ll go away right now
I’ll give you all my [SOCKS]!”
7a. If you’re reading clues out in full, or the player(s) are reading independently:
The ghost said to the monster
“I understand, I do
But this is not a trick
These treats are all for YOU!”
7b. If the player (singular) is guessing rhymes:
The ghost said to the monster
“I understand, I see
But this is not a trick
These treats are all for…” [ME!]
7c. If the players (plural) are guessing rhymes:
The ghost said to the monster
“I understand the fuss
But this is not a trick
These treats are all for…” [US!]
8. The monster quickly realised
The ghost could be a friend
And so our spooky story
Has come now to the [END].
All right – it’s possible that upon receipt of goodies in verse 7, your players might not be interested in hearing verse 8! But hopefully they’ll have had some fun. If you do give this a try, I’d love to hear how it goes!
Talk to you soon!
Eleanor Musgrove 