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Scary Interactive Games

Whether you have a Halloween party or a sleepover with friends coming up, planning scary nighttime games can keep everyone frightened and loving it. The scariest games take advantage of the dark, as well as the vulnerability of being alone while searching for something. All scary games also work best when the players suspend their disbelief and allow themselves to be frightened.

Zap
- Pick two players out of the group to play the zappers and wait inside while the rest of the group heads outside to find a hiding space. After the two zappers count down from 100, give each of them a flashlight before they split up and go outside to search for the other players. To "zap" someone, the zapper has to flash her light on a player. Once this happens, the player who was caught takes over as the zapper and has to wait 20 seconds before he starts so the previous zapper can hide. Keep playing for as long as you like.
Cellphone Hide and Seek
- Select one player out of the group to hide somewhere inside the house with a cellphone in his possession. All other players count down from 100 while he hides. They begin their search after they turn off all the lights. Every two minutes, the hider has to call the house phone and give the players a clue as to where he is, with as creepy as voice as he can muster. Once the group finds the hider, a new player gets a turn to hide.
Scary Stories
- Before the game, write down several typical scary story openings like "It was a dark and stormy night" on separate pieces of paper. Place all of the folded papers in a bowl. Sit everyone down in a circle outside, preferably by a bonfire, and pass the bowl around. Everyone picks out a slip of paper and reads it. One by one, players take turns coming up with scary stories using the openings they selected. After everyone tells their stories, have everyone vote on the scariest story.
Dead Man's Goods
- If you have a large, wooded area nearby where you can go with your friends, try this game. Write out a list of items you can place in the area, including scary things like a fake hand or a bloody knife. Divide the group into pairs and have them spread out to find the things. Meanwhile, one player selected plays the "dead man" and has to try and scare the players and steal their found items, then hide them somewhere else. After the players have found all the items, the pair with the most items from the list wins the game.

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