Halloween Left Right Game – Not-Too-Scary Stories

Short: The Last Costume in the Box

The party at Aunt Bea's started at seven. At six, Cousin Max still had no costume.

There was a box in the hall closet in Elm Hollow, marked Dress Up, and Cousin Max tipped it out on the floor.

There was a cape. It was a good cape, black on one side and red on the other. There was a pirate hat with a hole RIGHT through the top. There was one glove, the LEFT one, green, with claws. There was a tail, of no particular animal. And that was all.

Cousin Max put on the cape. A vampire, then. But there were no teeth in the box, and a vampire with no teeth is only a person who looks cold.

Cousin Max added the hat. A pirate vampire.

Then the glove. Then the tail, which pinned on at the back and hung a little to the LEFT.

Cousin Max looked in the mirror. The mirror had nothing to say.

At seven the door opened at Aunt Bea's. The room went quiet, and somebody asked the question.

"What are you?"

Cousin Max had not thought of that. There were about two seconds LEFT in which to answer.

"Guess," said Cousin Max.

They guessed for an hour. A dragon who sails. A bat on vacation. A lizard at the opera. Every guess was better than the one before, and Cousin Max said "close" to all of them.

It won the prize for best costume. The prize was a small gold pumpkin. Cousin Max held it up in the RIGHT hand, the one without claws, and has still not said what the costume was.

Happy Halloween. Whatever you are LEFT holding is yours to keep.

All 5 stories

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Short: The Last Costume in the Box Short, about 2 minutes. LEFT 4, RIGHT 2. An hour to the party and a dress-up box with four things in it. Gifts end two seats left of where they started. Asks for 3 words: 2 × name, 1 × town.
Long: The House With the Hedge Long, about 3 minutes. LEFT 4, RIGHT 3. Trick-or-treating by a plan, and the one door nobody tries. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 3 words: 2 × name, 1 × town.
The Pumpkin With One Window Standard, about 3 minutes. LEFT 4, RIGHT 2. Two eyes to carve, each a little bigger to match the other. Gifts end two seats left of where they started. Asks for 3 words: 2 × name, 1 × town.
Treat Bags: The Candy Trade For passing treat bags, about 2 minutes. LEFT 4, RIGHT 2. The sorting, the bargaining and one box of raisins. Bags end two seats left of where they started. Asks for 4 words: 2 × name, 1 × town, 1 × candy.
Rhymed: Only the Cat Rhymed, 14 couplets, about 2 minutes. LEFT 4, RIGHT 3. Every bump in the house, and what it turns out to be. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 3 words: 2 × name, 1 × town.

The kinds of words the game asks for

Name a first name; a made-up one is fine. More examples: Sir Reginald, Professor Plum, Doctor Noodle.

How these stories were written: All five stories were written for this site in October 2026, and none is adapted from a left right story in circulation. The host, the guest and the town are the names you type, or samples; no real person appears. Pass counts are counted from the final text. Licence: own work

How it works

In a Halloween left right game every guest holds a treat bag or a small gift and passes it one seat at each LEFT or RIGHT. Press Start: give me 3 words to put your names in The Last Costume in the Box.

Read the full guide

How to play

Fill one treat bag a guest, or ask each to bring a small wrapped gift, and sit three or more in a circle. Read slowly, and pause at each LEFT or RIGHT in capitals while every bag moves one seat that way. Guests keep the bag they hold at the end.

Pick a story

The Last Costume in the Box is the short one. The House With the Hedge is the long one: trick-or-treaters try the one door nobody knocks on. The Pumpkin With One Window is a carving that gets out of hand. The Candy Trade is for treat bags. Only the Cat is 14 rhymed couplets.

Type caramels, not the caramels: The Candy Trade adds the.
Another Halloween story, The Ghost Who Got Lost, is on the left right party game page in a short and a long cut.

Questions and answers

How long does the Halloween left right game take?

About 2 to 3 minutes each. The Last Costume in the Box, The Candy Trade and the rhyme take about 2, with 6, 6 and 7 passes. The House With the Hedge and The Pumpkin With One Window take about 3, with 7 and 6.

Are these Halloween left right stories scary?

No. The house nobody visits belongs to a kind neighbor with a full bowl, and every bump in the rhyme turns out to be the cat, a coat, the fridge or a guest in a cape.

What do you pass in a Halloween left right game?

One treat bag a guest, all filled alike, or small wrapped gifts. With three or more players nobody ends with the bag they started with: The House With the Hedge and the rhyme end one seat to the left, the other three end two.