Halloween Words That Start With M
13 Halloween words start with the letter M: Mask, Moon, Magic, Mummy, Monster, Midnight, Moan, Mist, Mysterious, Marshmallow, Maze, Mirror and Makeup. Halloween falls on October 31, and these are the words a preschooler actually meets on the night. Each one below has a short meaning, how many syllables it has, how to say it and a sentence to use it in, plus two free printables.
All 13 Halloween words that start with M
Spooky M words
- Mask
- Moon
- Magic
- Mummy
- Monster
- Midnight
- Moan
- Mist
- Mysterious
Other M words you will hear at Halloween
These are not spooky words, but a child hears every one of them on Halloween night.
- Marshmallow
- Maze
- Mirror
- Makeup
| Word | What it means | Syllables | Say it like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mask | Something you wear over your face. | 1 | mask |
| Moon | The bright round shape in the night sky. | 1 | moon |
| Magic | Making impossible things happen in a story. | 2 | MAJ-ik |
| Mummy | A body wrapped in cloth from long ago. | 2 | MUM-ee |
| Monster | A large frightening creature from a story. | 2 | MON-ster |
| Midnight | Twelve o'clock at night. | 2 | MID-nyte |
| Moan | A low sad sound. | 1 | mohn |
| Mist | Thin cloud close to the ground. | 1 | mist |
| Mysterious | Strange and hard to explain. | 4 | mis-TEER-ee-us |
| Marshmallow | A soft white sweet. | 3 | MARSH-mel-oh |
| Maze | A set of paths that is hard to find the way out of. | 1 | mayz |
| Mirror | Glass you can see yourself in. | 2 | MEER-er |
| Makeup | Color put on the face. | 2 | MAYK-up |
What each word means
Mask
Worth trying on at home first, because a mask that blocks the eyes is hard to walk in at dusk. In a sentence: “He lifted his mask to eat a chocolate.”
Moon
Real and reliable, and the only thing on this page a child can go outside and check. In a sentence: “The moon was low and very bright.”
Magic
Two syllables that both start softly, which makes it easier to say than it looks. In a sentence: “She waved her wand and did some magic.”
Mummy
A real thing from ancient Egypt before it was ever a costume, which children find more interesting than the costume. In a sentence: “The mummy walked with its arms straight out.”
Monster
A catch-all word, which is useful: a child can call anything a monster without needing to name it. In a sentence: “A green monster stood at the end of the bed.”
Midnight
The hour when things change in stories, and long past bedtime for everyone reading this. In a sentence: “The clock struck midnight.”
Moan
The sound ghosts make in stories, and one a child can do quietly. In a sentence: “A moan came from behind the wall.”
Mist
Lighter than fog. You can see through mist and you cannot see through fog. In a sentence: “Mist hung over the field at dusk.”
Mysterious
The longest word on this page, and one worth clapping out before trying to say whole. In a sentence: “A mysterious light moved across the yard.”
Marshmallow
Two of them and a chocolate chip make a ghost, which is the easiest Halloween snack there is. In a sentence: “We made ghosts out of marshmallows.”
Maze
Corn mazes are an October outing, and less frightening in daylight than the word suggests. In a sentence: “We walked through the maze twice.”
Mirror
Let a child see their own costume in one. It is often the moment the costume becomes real to them. In a sentence: “She checked her face paint in the mirror.”
Makeup
Easier than a mask for a small child, because nothing covers the eyes. In a sentence: “His makeup took longer than his costume.”
Which M words are hardest for a preschooler to say?
Mask, Moon, Magic, Mummy, Monster, Midnight, Moan, Mist, Maze, Mirror and Makeup each start with a single /m/ sound, so a three year old can usually copy them straight back. If your child is at the copying-back stage, start with Mask.
Mysterious and Marshmallow are hard for a different reason. There is no blend to trip over: at four syllables they are simply a mouthful, and most children shorten them long before they say them in full.
How to use these M words with preschoolers
Say it, then find it
Say the word out loud and stretch the first sound: mask. Then ask your child to find something in the room that starts the same way. Hearing the sound and then finding it on something real ties the letter to something your child can already picture.
Sort the scary from the silly
Read the list together and let your child put each word in one of two piles: silly or spooky. There is no right answer, and the sorting is what makes them think about what the word actually means. It also gives you a gentle way to talk about being a little bit scared on purpose.
Trace it, then draw it
Use the tracing sheet below to write the nine spooky words, then ask your child to draw one of them on the back. Writing the word and picturing it at the same time is what makes it stick.
Free printables: the Halloween M word list and tracing sheet
Two pages, A4, free to print with no sign-up. The word list has all 13 words in large type with a tick box beside each one, so a child can mark off the words they can read. The tracing sheet has the nine spooky words, Mask, Moon, Magic, Mummy, Monster, Midnight, Moan, Mist and Mysterious, on handwriting rules to write over.
Word list
Tracing sheet
More on the letter M
This page is one letter of Halloween words A to Z. For letter formation and tracing practice, see letter M activities for preschoolers. For animal names beginning with the same letter, see animals that start with M, and for the winter equivalent see Christmas words that start with M.
Halloween words A to Z: A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z
← Halloween words that start with L | Halloween words that start with N →
Frequently asked questions
What Halloween words start with M?
Mask, Moon, Magic, Mummy, Monster, Midnight, Moan, Mist, Mysterious, Marshmallow, Maze, Mirror and Makeup. All 13 are listed above with a short meaning for each.
Which Halloween M word is easiest for a preschooler?
Mask. It is one syllable, the first sound is easy to stretch out, and most children have already seen one, which fixes the word far faster than a definition does.
How many syllables are in these M words?
They run from one to four. Mask, Moon, Moan, Mist and Maze are single syllables, which is where to start.
How do I teach Halloween words without frightening my child?
Start with the silly ones and leave the spooky ones until they ask. A costume, a pumpkin and a bucket of candy are Halloween to a four year old. If a word does worry them, let them draw it and give it a friendly face, which takes the fear out of it faster than telling them not to worry.
What age are these words for?
Three to six. Younger children will recognize the words when you say them long before they can read them, which is the point of tracing rather than copying.
