Scary and Creepy Riddles
Hi! I am Ollie. Welcome to Riddle Kingdom!
Every riddle here is also a level in the Kingdom. Solve them on the map, keep your lives, earn stars and raise a landmark with each one. Good luck, and have fun!
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Turn the lights down for this one. These creepy riddles and dark riddles sound sinister, but almost every answer is completely innocent, with a few dark humor riddles thrown in for the brave. Guess before you tap, if you dare.
Browse all the puzzles on this page ▾
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1. The person who makes me always sells me. The person who buys me never uses me. The person who uses me never knows it. What am I? Medium
Need a hint?
Think about who ends up inside.
Show answer
A coffin.
Misdirection: the maker sells it, the buyer buys it for another, and the one inside has passed away.
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2. What has a heart that doesn't beat? Easy
Need a hint?
The answer is on your dinner plate, not in a crypt.
Show answer
An artichoke.
An artichoke literally has a heart that never beats, so the food answer beats the spooky bait.
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3. I only appear when light is near, yet I make the dark feel darker. I copy your every move and never say a word. What am I? Easy
Show answer
Your shadow.
Appears with light, copies your moves, and stays silent, which describes your shadow exactly.
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4. Why was the witch's broom late for the midnight ride? Medium
Need a hint?
Think about what happens when your alarm never goes off.
Show answer
It overswept.
Pun on overslept turned into overswept, since a broom sweeps, meaning it woke up late.
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5. What is always coming for you but never actually arrives? Easy
Show answer
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow is always approaching but never here, since it becomes today the moment it arrives.
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6. Which room in the house do ghosts avoid at all costs? Easy
Show answer
The living room.
Wordplay on living room, the one room a ghost avoids since ghosts are not living.
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7. I was never alive, but I can still die. What am I? Easy
Show answer
A battery.
A battery was never alive yet still dies when its charge runs out, defeating the zombie bait.
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8. I walk on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening. What am I? Medium
Need a hint?
A baby crawls, an adult walks, and an old person uses a cane.
Show answer
A human.
The ancient Sphinx riddle: crawling baby, walking adult, cane-using elder across a lifetime's day.
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9. The poor have me. The rich need me. Eat me and you'll die. What am I? Medium
Show answer
Nothing.
Nothing fits all three: the poor have nothing, the rich need nothing, and eating nothing harms you.
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10. By day I rest under a white sheet like a ghost that never moves. By night you crawl beneath my covers without a second thought. What am I? Medium
Need a hint?
You visit it every night and leave it every morning.
Show answer
A bed.
A bed sits under a white sheet by day and you climb under its covers at night.
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11. What kind of room has stone walls and guests who never leave? Easy
Show answer
A tomb.
Stone walls plus guests who never leave describe a tomb holding the dead permanently.
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12. Why was the ghost the top student at midnight school? Medium
Show answer
He went through all his books.
Pun on went through his books, meaning both studied hard and passed through them as a ghost.
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13. I'm taken from a mine and locked in a wooden case. I'm never released, yet almost everyone has used me. What am I? Medium
Need a hint?
It sounds sinister. It sits in your pencil case.
Show answer
Pencil lead.
Pencil lead is mined graphite locked in wood, sounding grim but sitting in your pencil case.
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14. What is a vampire's least favorite meal? Easy
Show answer
A stake sandwich.
Pun on steak versus stake, the wooden stake being a vampire's worst possible sandwich.
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15. The living visit me to remember the dead. Stone by stone, I keep their names when everyone else forgets. What am I? Easy
Show answer
A gravestone.
The living visit stone markers bearing names of the dead, which points to a gravestone.
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16. A woman shoots her husband, holds him underwater for five minutes, then hangs him. Ten minutes later they go out for dinner together. How? Medium
Need a hint?
Think about an old-fashioned darkroom.
Show answer
She's a photographer. She shot his photo, developed it in liquid, and hung it up to dry.
Darkroom trick: shot means photographed, underwater is developer fluid, and hanging is drying the print.
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17. Why did the ghost go to the party? Easy
Show answer
For the boos.
Pun on boos, the noise a ghost makes, which sounds like drinks served at parties.
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18. What fills every corner of a room the instant the light dies? Easy
Show answer
Darkness.
When the light dies, darkness instantly fills every corner of the room.
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19. What do you call a skeleton who refuses to do any work? Easy
Show answer
Lazy bones.
Pun naming a lazy skeleton lazy bones, since bones are what a skeleton is made of.
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20. I am the beginning of the end and the end of time and space. I'm essential to creation and I surround every place. What am I? Hard
Need a hint?
Stop thinking about doom. Start spelling.
Show answer
The letter E.
Spelling trick: E begins end, ends time and space, and appears in creation and every place.
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21. I am so fragile that saying my name out loud breaks me. What am I? Easy
Show answer
Silence.
Silence is broken the instant you speak its name aloud, making it fragile.
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22. A man is found dead in a field. Next to him lies an unopened package. How did he die? Medium
Need a hint?
Look up, not around.
Show answer
His parachute failed to open.
The unopened package was his parachute, which never opened, so he fell from the sky.
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23. Why do mummies have so much trouble making friends? Easy
Show answer
They're too wrapped up in themselves.
Pun on wrapped up in themselves, since mummies are literally wrapped in bandages.
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24. I have two hands and a face, and at midnight I strike, though I never hit anyone. What am I? Easy
Show answer
A clock.
Two hands, a face, and striking at midnight describe a clock without any violence.
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25. Which monster is the best dancer at the graveyard party? Easy
Show answer
The boogie-man.
Pun on boogie meaning dance, making the boogie-man the graveyard's best dancer.
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26. I have a bed but never sleep, a mouth but never eat, and I run forever without legs. What am I? Easy
Show answer
A river.
A river has a bed, a mouth, and runs without legs, matching all three clues.
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27. A man leaves home, turns left three times, and comes home to find two masked men waiting for him. Who are they? Medium
He's playing baseball. Home is home plate, and the masked men are the catcher and umpire.
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28. A doctor hands you three pills and says to take one every half hour. How long do they last? Medium
You take one now, one at thirty minutes, and one at sixty. That's one hour.
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29. A man lives on the 20th floor. On rainy days he rides the elevator all the way up, but on sunny days he stops at the 10th and takes the stairs. Why? Medium
He can only reach the 10th floor button, unless he has his umbrella to poke the 20.
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30. At the monster costume contest, the judge announces that the winner is standing right behind the ghost. The crowd turns to look, but the spot seems empty. Who won? Medium
The invisible man was standing there the whole time. Nobody could see him, so the spot only looked empty.
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31. Where is the only place today comes before yesterday? Medium
Alphabetically, T comes before Y. Nowhere else pulls that trick.
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32. A cowboy rides into town on Friday, stays three days, and leaves on Friday. How? Medium
Friday is the horse. The cowboy can leave whenever he likes.
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33. A group of crows is called a murder. Easy
A murder of crows is the real collective noun, and it fits this page perfectly.
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34. Bats are completely blind. Easy
Bats can see just fine. They use echolocation on top of their eyesight, not instead of it.
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35. 🧙 + 🧹 Easy
Need a hint?
Her favorite way to travel on a dark night.
Show answer
A witch on her broomstick (witch + broom).
Mage plus broom emoji combine into a witch flying on her broomstick.
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36. 🎃 + 💡 Easy
Need a hint?
It grins from porches every October.
Show answer
A jack-o'-lantern (pumpkin + light inside).
Pumpkin plus light emoji spell a jack-o'-lantern glowing on the porch.
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37. 🐈⬛ + 🪜 Medium
Need a hint?
Two superstitions in one picture.
Show answer
Bad luck (a black cat plus walking under a ladder).
Black cat plus ladder emoji stack two superstitions to spell bad luck.
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38. I stand at the edge of the graveyard and groan every time someone pushes me. I never take a step, yet I let everyone pass. What am I? Medium
Show answer
A gate
A gate groans when pushed, stays put, yet lets everyone pass through it.
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39. I'm always hungry and must always be fed. The finger I touch will soon turn red. What am I? Medium
Show answer
Fire
Fire must be fed fuel and burns the finger that touches it red.
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40. At night I come without being fetched. By day I'm lost without being stolen. What am I? Medium
Show answer
The stars
Stars appear unfetched at night and vanish unstolen by day, hiding in the sunlight.
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41. I spin my trap without a wheel and hang in corners no one cleans. I catch my dinner in the dark and wrap it up behind the scenes. What am I? Easy
Show answer
A spider web.
Spinning a trap in dusty corners to catch dinner in the dark describes a spider web.
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42. I creep across the graveyard on a thousand silent feet, and swallow up the streetlamps until you cannot see the street. What am I? Easy
Show answer
Fog.
Creeping on silent feet and swallowing streetlamps until you cannot see describes fog.
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43. The longer that I do my job, the shorter I will grow, and one cold breath will end my life and leave a trail of smoke to show. What am I? Easy
Show answer
A candle.
It shrinks the longer it burns and a breath ends it with smoke, so it is a candle.
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44. I hang by my toes in the belfry all day, then flap through the night for the bugs I will slay. What am I? Easy
Show answer
A bat.
Hanging by its toes in the belfry and flying at night for bugs points to a bat.
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45. I stand in the field with straw for a brain and a painted grin that never will change. The crows are afraid though I never was living. What am I? Easy
Show answer
A scarecrow.
Straw brain, painted grin, and scaring crows without being alive describe a scarecrow.
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46. You lie awake and hear me climb the stairs when no one is there. I am just the old house settling down, but still I raise your hair. What am I? Medium
Show answer
A creak.
A creak is the old house settling that sounds like footsteps on the stairs.
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47. I spin my head near all the way and hunt the mice without a sound. Who could be watching from the branch when midnight comes around? Easy
Show answer
An owl.
A near-full head turn and silent mouse hunting from a branch describe an owl.
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48. Once every month I climb the sky and turn a gentle man to beast, with fur and fangs and one long howl before he hunts his midnight feast. What am I? Easy
Show answer
A full moon.
A full moon rises monthly and turns a man into a howling werewolf.
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49. I sit on the fire and bubble and hiss while the witch drops in newt and stirs up her brew. What am I? Easy
Show answer
A cauldron.
Bubbling on the fire while a witch drops in newt and stirs points to a cauldron.
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50. I drift through your walls though there is not a door, and I moan in a sheet as I float off the floor. What am I? Easy
Show answer
A ghost.
Drifting through walls and moaning in a sheet off the floor describes a ghost.
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51. The harder you fight me, the faster you fall, and I pull you down slowly with no sound at all. What am I? Easy
Show answer
Quicksand.
Fighting it makes you sink faster while it pulls you down silently, so it is quicksand.
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52. I growl in the clouds after lightning has flashed, and children dive under their blankets so fast. What am I? Easy
Show answer
Thunder.
A growl in the clouds after lightning flashes and scares children is thunder.
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53. When a cold breath of fear crawls up your spine, I rise on your arm as a tiny round sign. What am I? Easy
Show answer
A goosebump.
A cold rush of fear raising tiny round bumps on your arm describes a goosebump.
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54. I am hiding inside you this very night, two hundred bones and more, all dry and white. You will never see me while you are still alive. What am I? Easy
Show answer
A skeleton.
Over two hundred dry white bones hidden inside you unseen while alive describe a skeleton.
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55. I rattle the shutters and moan through the trees, then slam the front door with nobody's hands. What am I? Easy
Show answer
The wind.
Rattling shutters, moaning through trees, and slamming a door with no hands is the wind.
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56. Why would a skeleton never head out trick or treating with a group? Medium
Show answer
He had no body to go with.
A skeleton is all bones and no body, so no body means he has nobody to join.
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57. What do you call a spooky spell caster who sets up her cauldron right on the beach? Medium
Show answer
A sand-witch.
A witch on the sand becomes a sand-witch, which sounds just like sandwich.
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58. What style of music does a mummy crank up inside the pyramid? Medium
Show answer
Wrap music.
A mummy is covered in wrappings, so its favorite music is wrap, a pun on rap.
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59. Why did the vampire sign up for a subscription to the town newspaper? Medium
Show answer
He heard it had great circulation.
Circulation means both newspaper readership and blood flow, which a vampire loves.
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60. Which kind of street does a ghost enjoy haunting the most? Medium
Show answer
A dead end.
A dead end is the street a ghost prefers, since the word dead fits a ghost perfectly.
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61. Where do little ghosts get looked after while their parents haunt all day? Medium
Show answer
Day-scare.
Baby ghosts go to day-scare, a spooky pun on day care.
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62. I lurk in a ghost and a witch and the night, but you will never find me in a moon, a grave, or a ghoul. Which single letter am I? Hard
Show answer
The letter T.
T hides in ghost, witch, and night yet is absent from moon, grave, and ghoul.
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63. I show cities with no people, mountains with no stone, and I even mark the graveyards where nobody lies. What am I? Hard
Show answer
A map.
A map displays cities, mountains, and marked graveyards without any of the real things.
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64. Snakes hiss where my hair should be, and one look at my face will freeze a hero to solid stone. Who am I? Hard
Show answer
Medusa.
Medusa has snakes for hair and turns anyone who meets her gaze to stone.
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65. For a single coin I row the newly departed across the black river into the underworld. Who am I? Hard
Show answer
Charon the ferryman.
In Greek myth Charon ferries the dead across the river Styx for the price of a coin.
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66. Three snarling heads on one body, I guard the gate of the underworld so the dead stay in and the living stay out. What am I? Hard
Show answer
Cerberus.
Cerberus is the three-headed hound that guards the entrance to the Greek underworld.
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67. I have no mouth, yet I answer you back from the empty canyon, so shout in the dark and I mock every word you say. What am I? Hard
Show answer
An echo.
An echo repeats your shout back from the canyon without any mouth of its own.
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68. The gravedigger makes me bigger every time he takes something away, and the more he removes the larger I grow. What am I? Hard
Show answer
A hole.
Removing dirt only makes a hole grow larger, so taking away makes it bigger.
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69. Read me forward and I weigh as much as a stone coffin lid, but spell me backward and I mean nothing at all. What word am I? Hard
Show answer
Ton.
Ton is a heavy weight forward, but reversed it spells not, which means nothing.
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70. I have a spine but no bones and I am full of ghost stories, yet I sit dead silent on the shelf until you open me. What am I? Hard
Show answer
A book.
A book has a spine and holds stories but stays silent until it is opened.
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71. I have a tongue but never taste, I am laced up tight, and I follow you step for step across the graveyard at night. What am I? Hard
Show answer
A shoe.
A shoe has a tongue and laces and follows your every step, though it tastes nothing.
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72. In old Irish tales my wailing cry drifting past your window warns that sorrow is coming to the house. What am I? Hard
Show answer
A banshee.
A banshee is the wailing spirit of Irish legend whose cry foretells grief for a family.
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73. Cloaked in black I carry a curved blade and an hourglass, and I come for everyone exactly once when their sand runs out. Who am I? Hard
Show answer
The Grim Reaper.
The Grim Reaper is the cloaked figure with a scythe and hourglass who comes for everyone in the end.
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74. Stitched together from spare parts and jolted awake by a bolt of lightning, I only wanted a friend, but the villagers fled with torches. Who am I? Hard
Show answer
Frankenstein's monster.
Frankenstein's monster was assembled from parts and brought to life by lightning, then feared by the villagers.
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75. In the haunted cellar sit two sacks: a pound of raven feathers and a pound of coffin lead. Which one weighs more? Hard
Show answer
Neither, they weigh exactly the same.
A pound is a pound, so a pound of feathers and a pound of lead have equal weight.
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76. The cemetery night guard rushed in to warn that he dreamed the front gate would collapse by dawn. The gate stood fine, yet he was fired anyway. Why? Hard
Show answer
He admitted he was dreaming, which means he was asleep on the job.
To have a dream he must have been sleeping, so his warning proved he slept on duty.
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77. A pale woman in a long gown stands at the cemetery gate every single night, and the old caretaker swears she has not moved or aged in a hundred years. What is she? Hard
Show answer
A statue.
Something that never moves or ages at the gate for a century is a stone statue, not a ghost.
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78. At the midnight Sabbath every witch shook hands with every other witch exactly once, and there were twenty one handshakes in all. How many witches came? Hard
Show answer
Seven witches.
Seven witches give seven times six divided by two, which equals twenty one handshakes.
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79. The haunted clock takes eleven seconds to strike twelve at midnight, with equal pauses between each strike. How long does it take to strike six? Hard
Show answer
Five seconds.
Twelve strikes have eleven gaps of one second each, so six strikes have five gaps and take five seconds.
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80. You step into a pitch black abandoned cabin holding a single match, and you spot an oil lamp, a candle, and a wood stove. What must you light first? Hard
Show answer
The match.
Nothing else can be lit until you first strike the single match in your hand.
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81. In the drafty old manor, what can go up the chimney down but cannot come down the chimney up? Hard
Show answer
An umbrella.
An umbrella fits up a chimney while closed, which is down, but not down it while open, which is up.
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82. I hide thirteen hearts and not one of them beats, and I am shuffled in a gambler's hands under a flickering candle. What am I? Hard
Show answer
A deck of cards.
A deck of cards holds thirteen hearts in the suit, none of which beat.
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83. You have two ropes that each burn for exactly one hour, though not evenly, and you must measure forty five minutes in a dark tomb. How? Hard
Show answer
Burn the first rope from both ends and the second from one end at once, and when the first is gone at 30 minutes light the second rope's other end so it finishes at 45.
Both ends of a one hour rope burn out in thirty minutes, and lighting the second rope's far end then halves its remaining time to fifteen.
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84. A spooky boy grins and says, 'The day before yesterday I was twelve, but next year I will turn fifteen.' On what day is he speaking? Hard
Show answer
January 1, because his birthday is December 31.
Speaking on January 1 with a December 31 birthday, he was twelve on December 30 and will turn fifteen in the next calendar year.
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85. The old crone offers a shiny red gift, and a single bite drops the fair maiden into a sleep as deep as death. What is the deadly treat? Hard
Show answer
A poisoned apple.
In the fairy tale the witch's poisoned apple sends the maiden into a death like sleep after one bite.
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86. The haunted grandfather clock whispers a riddle: I come once in a minute, twice in a moment, but not once in a thousand years. What am I? Hard
Show answer
The letter M.
The letter M appears once in minute, twice in moment, and never in thousand years.
Creepy riddles with innocent answers
Coffins, shadows and things that follow you home. The setup sounds grim, then the answer turns out to be something harmless sitting in your house.
Dark riddles and dark humor
A handful of cards lean into spooky jokes and graveyard wit. Creepy in tone, clean in content, nothing graphic.
Scary riddles with answers you reveal yourself
Multiple choice cards, emoji puzzles, type the answer challenges and two true or false questions break up the classic riddles.
Your score
FAQ about Scary and Creepy Riddles
Are these scary riddles okay for kids?
Most are fine for kids around 10 and up who enjoy spooky stories. The scariness lives in the wording, and the answers are innocent things like shadows and candles. There is no gore and nothing explicit.
Do the riddles include answers?
Yes, every card hides its answer until you tap. Guess out loud first, especially with a group, because the misdirection is the fun part. The score bar counts your hits.
Are these good for a Halloween party?
Perfect for one. Dim the lights, read the creepiest riddles aloud and let guests guess before the reveal. The dark humor cards work well as icebreakers between rounds.
If these gave you a good chill, keep the spooky streak going with our Halloween riddles for a frightfully fun challenge, then put your detective skills to the test with our lateral thinking puzzles full of eerie mysteries to crack.