Halloween is arguably the most exciting event of the entire Animal Crossing calendar year, and it returns to Animal Crossing: New Horizons on October 31, 2026. Hosted by Jack, the reigning Czar of Halloween, this spooky night transforms your island into a candy trading, costume wearing, trick or treat playground. From 5 PM until midnight, villagers roam the streets in adorable costumes, Jack waits near Resident Services with exclusive rewards, and the entire town takes on a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere. Whether you are a returning fan or logging in for your very first Halloween, there is a full lineup of DIYs, costume pieces, reactions, and furniture to collect this year.

Before you rush into the plaza with a pocket full of candy, take a moment to review the schedule, then follow the timeline for the whole evening, and finish off with the complete list of Halloween items, costumes, and reactions you can grab.

ACNH Halloween 2026 Schedule (Dates)

Halloween Night with Jack takes place on Saturday, October 31, 2026, running from 5:00 PM to 12:00 AM (midnight) in your local time. The date is identical for both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Pre Halloween Window (October 1 to 30)

The lead up to Halloween starts on October 1, when Jack sends every player a letter with his portrait attached. Throughout the month, Nook's Cranny stocks candy at 120 Bells per piece (one per day), and the Able Sisters begins selling Halloween costumes such as the raggedy outfit. Villagers may also gift you Spooky Series DIY recipes when you catch them crafting at home.

The Costume Preview (October 28 to 30)

Starting October 28, two spooky towers appear outside Resident Services, and special characters begin wearing Halloween outfits:

• Tom Nook: Impish horns

• Isabelle: Mage's striped hat

• Timmy: Flashy pointy ear animal hat

• Tommy: Flashy round ear animal hat

• Mabel: Impish horns

• Orville: Mage's striped hat

Halloween Night (October 31, 5 PM to Midnight)

When the clock hits 5 PM, three things happen at once. Jack appears near Resident Services, villagers either move outside in costumes seeking candy or head into their homes to hand candy out, and the sky darkens as spooky Halloween music takes over the audio.

With the schedule sorted, let's walk through the entire event step by step so you know exactly what to do from prep to final reward.

How To Go Through the Whole Halloween Event

Here is the full timeline from October preparation all the way to collecting every reward on Halloween night.

Step 1: Stockpile Candy Through October (October 1 to 30)

Visit Nook's Cranny every single day of October and purchase one piece of candy for 120 Bells. If you buy candy from October 1 through October 30, you will have thirty pieces waiting for you on Halloween night, which is more than enough for the whole event. Also visit the Able Sisters to grab Halloween costume pieces to wear on the big night.

Step 2: Watch Villagers For Spooky DIYs (October, All Month)

Enter villager homes when you see them at their crafting benches. Many will offer you Spooky Series DIY recipes for free. If you talk to a villager crafting a recipe you already have, there is a 70% chance you will get five orange pumpkins and a 30% chance of getting one candy instead.

Step 3: Find Jack At 5 PM Sharp (October 31, 5:00 PM)

The moment 5 PM hits, head straight to the Resident Services plaza. Jack the Pumpkin Czar will be waiting there and introduce himself with a dramatic monologue. Listen through his dialogue, and he will task you with fetching him candy.

Step 4: Give Jack Two Pieces Of Candy For His Costume

Hand Jack a piece of candy to receive Jack's Robe as your first reward, then give him a second piece to receive Jack's Face. Do not keep giving him regular candy after this, because further pieces only produce random pumpkin sets, which are not worth the trade.

You will also learn the Haunt Reaction from Jack during this interaction.

Step 5: Trick Or Treat With Outdoor Villagers (5:00 PM to 12:00 AM)

Now roam the island looking for costumed villagers wandering outside. Talk to them, and they will demand candy in classic trick or treat fashion. Hand over a piece and you will receive one of the following: a spooky furniture item, a spooky DIY recipe, or the coveted lollipop. The first villager you speak to will teach you the Scare Reaction.

Villagers give items in this order:

1. Spooky garland OR spooky table setting

2. Spooky rug

3. Spooky flooring OR spooky wall

4. Spooky garland DIY recipe (if not learned)

5. Spooky table setting DIY recipe (if not learned)

6. Any unlearned Spooky Series DIY recipe

Step 6: Hunt For Lollipops

Each piece of candy you give a villager increases your chances of receiving a lollipop as the return gift. This is tracked through a hidden counter that resets after each lollipop drop.

Roughly one in four candy trades produces a lollipop, so keep at it.

Step 7: Return To Jack With Lollipops

Once you have a lollipop in your inventory, sprint back to Jack near Resident Services. Hand him a lollipop and he will award the exclusive items below in order.

Three lollipops is all you need to grab every exclusive Jack reward.

Step 8: Refill Candy When You Run Low

If your candy runs out, put on Jack's Robe and Jack's Face together and enter any villager's home. Talk to them and they will hand over candy, tricked into thinking you are Jack. The refill timer resets roughly every five minutes per villager, so you can loop endlessly by hopping between houses.

You can also get three free pieces of candy the first time you speak with a costumed outdoor villager while your inventory has zero candy.

Step 9: Watch Out For Tricks

If you refuse to give candy, the villager will trick you by applying Halloween face paint, body paint, and colored eye contacts. There are four possible looks: Zombie, Mummy, Jester, and Scarecrow. They also hand you a mirror so you can wash it off later, so a trick is not a real punishment.

Step 10: Craft Your Spooky Wand Before Midnight

Once you have the Spooky Wand DIY recipe from Jack, head to a workbench and craft the wand using one spooky lantern and three star fragments. Finish before midnight and you will officially have every Halloween exclusive item in the game.

With the timeline clear, here is the complete list of items, recipes, costumes, and reactions available across the whole Halloween event.

ACNH Halloween Spooky Items & DIY Recipes (Full List)

The Halloween event gives you access to fourteen exclusive rewards that cannot be obtained outside of October 31 night. The overview below covers every furniture piece, DIY recipe, costume item, and reaction.

Exclusive Halloween Items From Jack (via Candy):

• Jack's Robe

• Jack's Face

• Haunt Reaction

Exclusive Halloween Items From Jack (via Lollipops):

• Spooky Carriage

• Spooky Carriage DIY Recipe

• Spooky Wand DIY Recipe

Exclusive Halloween Items From Villagers (via Candy):

• Spooky Garland

• Spooky Garland DIY Recipe

• Spooky Table Setting

• Spooky Table Setting DIY Recipe

• Spooky Flooring

• Spooky Rug

• Spooky Wall

• Scare Reaction

The rest of the Spooky Series (spooky chair, spooky table, spooky standing lamp, spooky lantern, spooky arch, spooky tower, spooky scarecrow, spooky candy set) is obtainable throughout October from balloons, villager crafting sessions, and Nook's Cranny stock rotations.

Let's take a closer look at the furniture items first.

Halloween Furniture Items & DIY Recipes

The Spooky Series is one of the most beloved furniture sets in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Some pieces drop throughout October, while others only appear on Halloween night.

Halloween Night Exclusive Furniture

These items can only be obtained on October 31 during the event.

Spooky Carriage

• Source: Give Jack your first lollipop

• Recipe Materials: 30 orange pumpkins, 10 iron nuggets, 10 hardwood

• Recipe Source: Give Jack your second lollipop

Spooky Wand

• Source: Craftable only

• Recipe Materials: 3 star fragments, 1 spooky lantern

• Recipe Source: Give Jack your third lollipop

Spooky Garland

• Source: Give candy to costumed villagers outside

• Recipe Materials: 2 orange pumpkins

• Recipe Source: Give candy to costumed villagers outside

Spooky Table Setting

• Source: Give candy to costumed villagers outside

• Recipe Materials: 3 orange pumpkins

• Recipe Source: Give candy to costumed villagers outside

Spooky Flooring

• Source: Give candy to costumed villagers outside (no recipe, only the finished flooring drops)

Spooky Rug

• Source: Give candy to costumed villagers outside (no recipe, only the finished rug drops)

Spooky Wall

• Source: Give candy to costumed villagers outside (no recipe, only the finished wall drops)

October Furniture (Non Exclusive)

These recipes can be gathered any time in October from balloons or villagers crafting at home:

• Spooky Lantern (1 orange pumpkin)

• Spooky Arch (3 orange pumpkins, 3 yellow pumpkins)

• Spooky Tower (12 orange pumpkins)

• Spooky Scarecrow (2 orange pumpkins, 2 wood, 1 old newspaper)

• Spooky Chair (2 orange pumpkins)

• Spooky Table (4 orange pumpkins)

• Spooky Standing Lamp (2 orange pumpkins)

• Spooky Candy Set (3 orange pumpkins)

• Spooky Fence (2 orange pumpkins per 10 fence pieces)

How To Grow Pumpkins For Crafting

To craft the entire Spooky Series, you need lots of pumpkins in orange, yellow, white, and green. Buy pumpkin starts from Leif or Nook's Cranny for 280 Bells each, plant them in tilled soil, water them daily, and harvest around three pumpkins per plant after about four days. Water with a golden watering can to produce color variants like glowing pumpkin arrangements.

With the furniture list settled, let's move over to the costume side of the event.

Halloween Costumes & How To Get

Dressing up is half the fun of Halloween night in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and there are plenty of ways to build a spooky outfit.

Jack's Costume Pieces (Event Exclusive)

Jack's Face

• Obtained by giving Jack one piece of candy.

• Wearing this together with Jack's Robe tricks villagers into thinking you are Jack, letting you collect extra candy from each villager one more time.

Jack's Robe

• Obtained by giving Jack a second piece of candy.

• Pair with Jack's Face for the full Pumpkin Czar look.

Duplicates of both pieces can be earned by giving Jack additional lollipops after receiving the Spooky Carriage, Spooky Carriage DIY, and Spooky Wand DIY.

Able Sisters October Costumes

Throughout October, the Able Sisters stocks a rotating selection of Halloween costumes, including:

• Raggedy outfit (top, bottom, and hat variants)

• Witch's hat and witch's robe

• Impish horns and impish costume

• Animal costume set

• Mage's outfit and mage's striped hat

• Skeleton hood and skeleton costume

Visit the shop daily throughout October to catch new spooky outfits as they cycle through.

Halloween Face Paint (From Trick Refusals)

Refusing to hand candy to a costumed villager triggers a trick, applying one of four face paint designs:

• Zombie: Green skin tone with dark eye shadow

• Mummy: White bandage wraps across your face

• Jester: Colorful painted diamonds and stripes

• Scarecrow: Stitched mouth and painted patches

Face paint automatically clears when you use a mirror, which the villager helpfully hands you after the trick.

Nook Miles Body Paint & Eye Contacts

Redeem 2,400 Nook Miles each for Halloween themed body paint and colored eye contacts throughout October at the Nook Stop terminal. These pair perfectly with the Jack costume and any spooky outfit from the Able Sisters.

With the wardrobe sorted, the final piece of the Halloween puzzle is the two new reactions available only on this special night.

Halloween Reactions & How To Get

There are two new reactions added to your emote wheel during Halloween Night, and both stay with you permanently after unlocking. The catch is you can only earn them on October 31 itself, so if you miss the event, you have to wait until next year.

Scare Reaction

The Scare Reaction is a jump scare animation where your character lunges forward with wide eyes and a shocked expression to startle another player or villager. To learn it, give a piece of candy to any costumed villager wandering outside on Halloween night. The very first villager you trade with typically teaches it, though some players report needing to give candy to a second villager if the first is running toward you.

Haunt Reaction

The Haunt Reaction is a spookier animation where your character raises both hands like a ghost, wobbling ominously to intimidate whoever you are facing. Jack teaches this one directly. Simply hand him a piece of candy near Resident Services and he will walk you through the reaction himself.

Both reactions become permanent additions to your emote wheel, meaning you can pull them out any time of year, at parties, on Harv's Island, or when visiting dream addresses. They are especially fun to use during future Halloween events, or when scaring friends during nighttime multiplayer sessions.

Halloween Night 2026 is packed with limited time content that will not return until October 31, 2027. Between the fourteen exclusive rewards, four face paint designs, two permanent reactions, and full Jack costume, there is enough to keep you busy the entire evening. Stockpile that candy through October, wear something scary when the clock hits 5 PM, and hunt those lollipops down until Jack hands over the Spooky Wand recipe. Happy Halloween, and enjoy every spooky minute of it.

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