How to Host a Tween Bookish Halloween Trivia Night

by Sydney Stevic

Three tweens laugh at a Halloween-themed party table with snacks, syringes, and spooky decorations.

Halloween is nearing, and you may be wondering what to do with your tweens this year. Tweens often find themselves caught up in the thrill of dressing up, but may not be ready for scary movies or late-night haunted houses

This is where hosting a Tween Bookish Halloween Trivia Night steps in! It’s the perfect solution as a trivia night combines the excitement of Halloween and party games with our number one favorite hobby, reading. It is a wonderful way for tweens to connect with stories and characters while having a whole lot of fun with their friends.

Hosting a trivia night may sound daunting, but it’s a lot easier than you think. All you need are a few simple supplies, a lot of creativity, and some hauntingly great questions to keep the evening full of laughs and surprises! Add some prizes, snacks, and decorations, and you’ll have tweens cheering for every answer.

A child dressed as a ghost holds a carved pumpkin and waves against a turquoise background.

Step 1: Choose your theme

Trivia night is more fun when the setting feels special. It’s all about setting the mood, and a theme is the perfect way to bring it all together. Get your tweens involved; perhaps you’re aiming for a haunted castle, or a scene from one of their favorite scary stories. You can easily transform a space into a Halloween-ready one with string lights, paper bats, and pumpkins!

We definitely recommend asking everyone to come dressed up in their book-inspired costumes to add to the atmosphere! An inviting and slightly eerie vibe sets the mood before the questions even begin.

Mini pumpkins, ghosts, and tombstone props sit under spider webs on a Halloween-decorated wooden surface.

Step 2: Gather Your Supplies

You don’t need much to set up trivia night, which makes it every host’s dream. A stack of index cards or printed sheets for questions, pens or small whiteboards for answers, and a bowl or pumpkin bucket for tie-breaker challenges will do the trick.

Decorations like pumpkins, paper bats, and LED twinkling lights are guaranteed to set the mood. Pinterest has some fabulous ideas for DIY crafts!

For prizes, think simple and bookish: stickers, bookmarks, or our Cozy Mystery Mini Notebook make perfect rewards. The supplies don’t have to be elaborate; the real magic comes from the questions and the laughter.

“Categories and Questions” in orange text surrounded by pumpkins, bats, and spiders on a white Halloween-themed background.

Step 3: Create Your Trivia Categories & Questions

To keep the game organized plus a whole lot of fun, it helps to split your trivia into categories. Since we’re celebrating Halloween with a bookish twist, think along the lines of Haunted Houses or Characters, Magical Creatures and Monsters, and Cursed Towns & Scary Legends.

With tween books, the options are endless, but here are a few of our favorites paired with sample questions to get you started. Make sure you keep your questions specific and don’t be too vague!

Haunted Characters

City o f Ghosts by VE Schwab

What unusual ability does Cassidy Blake have that her ghost-hunting parents do not? (Answer: She can actually see ghosts.)
Who is Cassidy’s best friend, who also happens to be a ghost? (Answer: Jacob)

Goosebumps: Night of the Living Dummy by R.L. Stine

What does Lindy find and learn to make a move and talk? (Answer: A ventriloquist’s dummy)
What did Mr Wood first do to Slappy? (Answer: He strangled him)

Magical Creatures and Monsters

The Witches by Roald Dahl

How do real witches disguise themselves in everyday life? (Answer: They look like ordinary women, not pointy-hat witches.)
What do witches in Dahl’s story dislike the most? (Answer: Children)

Alliana, Girl of Dragons by Julie Abe

What magical creature does Alliana rescue near the abyss? (Answer: A nightdragon)
Alliana’s story is inspired by which classic fairy tale? (Answer: Cinderella)

Cursed Towns and Scary Legends

Gloom Town by Ronald L Smith

What is Lord Foxglove secretly trying to steal from the townspeople? (Answer: Their shadows)
Who teams up with Rory to uncover Foxglove’s dark plan? (Answer: His friend Isabella)

The Monster Hypothesis by Romily Bernard

What is unusual about the town of Bohring, besides its 2,000 alligators? (Answer: It’s said to be under a hundred-year monster curse.)
What special skill does Kick Winter pretend to have in order to get popular at her new school? (Answer: She pretends to be psychic)

The Wandkeepers: A Sky Full of Dragons by Tiffany McDaniel

What unusual object swallows Aunt Cauldroneyes and forces Spella to go on a rescue mission? (Answer: A growling hat)
What magical school does Spella get invited to attend? (Answer: Dragon’s Knob)

Two kids hide their faces behind painted jack-o'-lantern pumpkins, dressed in devil and witch costumes.

Step 4: Keep it Fun and Engaging

As you know, the best trivia nights are more than just question-and-answer sessions; they’re full of fun and most importantly, interactive (just like our book boxes!) Make sure to mix up your format, including multiple-choice, true-or-false, and even open-ended questions. Another fun activity is to add a picture round by showing book covers with the titles covered, or play “finish the quote” with famous lines from their favorite books.

We have found that when you have a large group, it is best to split everyone into teams with fun names, such as “The Haunted Chapters” or “The Ghostly Page-Turners.” We’re sure your tweens will come up with some great names!

Keep the energy up with quick lightning rounds where speed matters more than detail. Tweens thrive on variety, and switching things up keeps things feeling fresh and exciting from start to finish.

Step 5: End with a Reading Tie-In

Although trivia is the main event, you can add short activities to keep things balanced. If you’re looking for inspiration, why not check out our blog on Halloween Bookish Crafts for Tweens, which is packed with ideas.

Ending the night with a reading tie-in is bound to make your party extra special. After all, the whole point of a bookish trivia night is to celebrate stories. Why not add a short read-aloud session from a Halloween-themed passage from a popular tween book—dim the lights, gather everyone in close, and let the words set the scene. Or you can even encourage tweens to share their favorite scary stories and explain why they love them.

Another fun idea is to hand out journals or notebooks where kids can jot down new titles they heard during the game to add to their TBR lists. Our Tween Book Boxes can also make a fantastic tie-in, letting tweens leave the night with a new story and interactive gifts to keep the excitement going long after the trivia ends. We have some great ready-to-ship options just waiting to be discovered!

Four kids in angel, devil, and bat costumes celebrate Halloween as red confetti falls around them.

From Trivia to Tradition: Making Halloween Memorable

A tween bookish Halloween trivia night is bound to be more than just a party; you’re creating memories, and who knows, it may be the start of an annual tradition. There will be moments of laughter when someone shouts out an answer a little too loudly, moments of pride when getting a tricky question right, and, above all, a whole lot of clean fun in doing something different with friends or classmates.

And when the trivia fun is over, don’t forget that our Tween Book Box is the perfect way to keep the love of stories alive all year. After all, nothing makes Halloween (or any season) more special than books that inspire imagination and give just the right amount of thrills. Happy Halloween from all of us at OUABC. We would love to hear all about your trivia nights, so make sure to tag us!