For safety reasons, a lot of schools have put restrictions on what kinds of Halloween costumes kids can wear to class. Although different districts may have different rules, the main points are usually no blood, no gore, no masks and possibly no makeup, props, or hats.
But these rules don’t have to rule out our spooky-loving kids embracing their scary sides this holiday. These 18 Halloween costumes honor spooky shows, movies, and themes while still being school appropriate.
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Wednesday Addams
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Jenna Ortega’s portrayal of Wednesday Addams made her Netflix series an instant hit, so this costume will be a hit with kids as well. This is the school dance version of the character that went viral on TikTok. Wednesday wore this outfit to her school, and our kids can wear this costume to theirs.
Beetlejuice
Thanks to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the 2024 sequel to the beloved 1988 movie, this character is back in the pop culture zeitgeist. For school, kids can probably skip the makeup and the wig, but the striped suit will still always evoke the legendary spooky character.
Wicked Witch
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Wicked doesn’t come out until November, so kids who pick this costume will be ahead of the trend. Wicked is a prequel of sorts to The Wizard of Oz, showing how Elphaba became the Wicked Witch. And the good thing about this costume is it doesn’t even need green face paint or the hat to get the point across. The green dress accents (like the flying monkeys) tell the story perfectly.
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Eleven From 'Stranger Things'
Stranger Things is due to release its fifth (and final) season in 2025, so kids will want to take advantage of the time they still have to portray the season four version of the characters. This totally ’80s costume captures a similar dress that Millie Bobby Brown’s character Eleven wore on the show.
Lucas From 'Stranger Things'
In season four of Stranger Things, Lucas joined the Hawkins basketball team and spent a lot of episodes in his team uniform. Luckily for us, that uniform makes for a totally school appropriate Halloween costume. It’s probably a pretty comfy one, too.
Coraline
Coraline is a 2009 stop-motion movie where a little girl discovers an alternate world where everybody has buttons for eyes. Creepy concept, and the button eyes wouldn’t fly for school, but Coraline’s cute rain jacket ensemble would. This outfit doesn’t include a blue wig, so parents can pick that up separately on Amazon.
Skeleton
A skeleton is a classic Halloween costume choice (even the Kardashians have done it). This one does zip all the way closed to form a skull mask, but for school, the child can wear it unzipped and with the hood down. It’s spooky, but not too scary for students.
Mavis From 'Hotel Transylvania'
For a modern twist on a traditional vampire Halloween costume, kids will love this Mavis outfit. In the Hotel Transylvania movies, Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez) is Dracula’s totally cool daughter. This costume comes with the dress and leggings, but not the wig. Pick up a black wig on Amazon to complete the outfit.
Pennywise
Many people find clowns creepy, which makes them the perfect Halloween costume. Of course, one of the most famous creepy clowns is Pennywise, from the Stephen King novel (and movie) It. If a child skips the Pennywise makeup and wig, then the silvery clown costume should work for the school day.
Dani From 'Hocus Pocus'
Hocus Pocus remains a beloved Halloween film, even 30 years after it originally came out. (Yes, that movie is three decades old now.) And thanks to this all-in-one Amazon costume, it’s easy to dress up as little sister Dani, who loves Halloween. What’s not to love?
Witches From 'Hocus Pocus'
For children who want to dress as one of the villains of Hocus Pocus instead, Amazon offers costumes of the three witchy Sanderson sisters. Pictured here is the Winifred outfit, and it works just as well even without the wig. There’s also a Sarah costume and a Mary costume available for kids.
Ghostbuster
This outfit makes for a super subtle Halloween costume for school. It’s just a zip-up sweatshirt with the Ghostbusters jumpsuit and backpack design printed on it. For schools that don’t allow traditional costumes, this is hoodie is a great way for a kid to still kind of dress up.
Sally From 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'
We’d probably skip applying Sally’s stitches and makeup for the school day, but this cute dress is still a great way to dress up as the beloved Nightmare Before Christmas character. Pick up Sally’s red wig on Amazon to complete the look.
Jack Skellington
Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas is also recognizable enough that kids don’t need to wear the makeup or gloves to school to get the idea across. The pinstriped suit and bat bow tie make this costume a dead giveaway (pun intended).
Freddy Krueger
Young kids probably shouldn’t actually watch A Nightmare on Elm Street, but Freddy Krueger is a horror film legend even for people who haven’t necessarily seen it. For the school day, kids can just wear the sweater and hat (if the school allows hats). Then for the actual holiday, don the razor glove for added effect.
'Scooby-Doo' Characters
Any of the Scooby-Doo characters make for perfect school costumes, because they’re all just wearing regular clothes — albeit sort of vintage clothes now. Pictured here is a Shaggy costume, and Amazon also has costumes for Daphne, Velma, and Fred.
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Chucky
This striped shirt will help make a perfectly creepy Chucky costume. The outfit also comes with the “Good Guys” stick-on overalls patch as seen in the film. Use a pair of overalls already in the child’s closet or buy a pair on Amazon.
M3GAN
But one creepy doll is never enough for spooky season. Instead of a Chucky costume, kids can dress as the newest terrifying movie doll — M3GAN, who uses artificial intelligence to wreak havoc. The PG-13 movie itself may not be super kid-friendly, but the costume works for school.
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