Free Halloween coloring pages to print

Halloween is just about here and you might want to print some of these free coloring pages for the kids.

There are plenty of great sites where you can find fun and creative coloring pictures and pages perfect for all ages.

DLTK's Halloween coloring pages for kids includes a variety of black cats, spooky grim reaper (death) pictures, monsters such as Frankenstein, zombies and werewolves, and a spooky skull that is very Tim Burton-ish. There are skeleton pictures, witches, and jack o'lanterns too.

Crayola also has a nice selection of Halloween coloring pages and pictures to print. There is a great picture of a pumpkin or jack-o-lantern with the words "Happy Halloween." You could print this out on regular computer paper for

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the kids to color, or even print it on card stock and make an instant decoration. In addition to pictures such as gargoyles, witches and trick or treating scenes, Crayola has several printable Halloween bingo games. These are perfect for those looking for a fun and easy game for the kids to play.


The site Coloring-Book has more than 150 coloring pages and pictures perfect for easy printing. Pictures range from Halloween ghouls and goblins to pumpkins and bats. Some of these pictures are more cute than spooky and are great for those who want to print off a number of coloring pictures in a theme. You can easily create your own Halloween coloring book for free with these sheets. There are enough coloring pictures here to keep children busy for hours.

Hello Kids has their coloring pages organized by category and you'll find a few options that aren't frequently included on other sites. The kids' costumes section includes cute and fun as well as scary costume ideas. One very popular category found at Hello Kids is their section of Monster High coloring pages. They have 58 coloring pictures that include pictures of Chewlian and Venus Mc Flytrap, Cleo de Nile, Clawdeen Wolf, Frankie Stein, Draculara and Lagoona Blue. Any girl who is a Monster High fan will appreciate these pictures that are perfect for the Halloween holiday.

Raising our Kids has a great selection of free Halloween pictures to print, including those specifically geared towards preschool age. There are categories of ghosts, bats, pumpkins, costumes, witches and more to choose. The Kids Halloween section features cute pictures of witches, costumes and more. This is a great site to visit for those interested in pictures for young kids that aren't necessarily scary, but rather cute.

Free Fun Halloween (Oriental Trading Company) has free Christian Halloween pictures that include a Jesus Shine in Me pumpkin and a Shine with His Light free printable page. Both pictures feature crosses. These pictures are perfect for Sunday school teachers who incorporate or celebrate Halloween in their Christian faith. While Catholics celebrate Halloween as All Hallow's Eve, some Christians avoid the celebration entirely, while others promote Christianized versions such as Hallelujah night instead of Halloween. Those interested in cute, fun, and non scary Halloween pictures will find some great choices here.

While not as many coloring pages as some of the other sites listed here, PBS Arthur has a few Halloween coloring pictures that fans of the show will enjoy. There are pictures of Arthur, D.W. and the entire gang.

Hello Kitty fans will find four pictures of the little girl (yes, we recently learned that Hello Kitty is a girl and not a cat) celebrating the Halloween festivities.

Disney Clips offers a selection of Disney characters in Halloween settings. Additionally, they feature Disney Halloween clipart, memory games and more.

Disney Princess Coloring Pages has Halloween pictures featuring Cinderella, Snow White and Belle to color.

I hope you and the kids enjoy these coloring pages. They are quick and easy to print and provide plenty of fun.

Happy Halloween!

The Celtic and Pagan History of Halloween (videos)

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While Halloween is known in the United States as a generally harmless holiday that focuses on fun and scary costumes and getting plenty of candy, the origins of
Halloween are not exactly kid-friendly.

Halloween is celebrated in the U.S. on October 31, and is known as All Saints Day in the Catholic church. Though known as a Christian holiday, Halloween's origins are Celtic, pagan and druid and date back to nearly 3,000 years ago. The celebrations and traditions associated with the Celtic practices of Halloween vary greatly from the holiday celebrated today.

To understand the origins and history of Halloween, one must examine the original Celtic practices and traditions. To begin, Halloween was originally referred to as Samhain. The Celtic people lived in what is now Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. Samhain was a pre-Christian holiday or festival that celebrated the day of the dead, the beginning of winter, and the dawn of darkness. It was believed that ghosts or spirits would walk freely during this time, as summer was over and winter would bring darker, colder days. Samhain was also a time to mark or celebrate the harvest and end of summer. Samhain was held from sundown October 31 until the end of November 1.

As the pagans believed the souls of the dead would roam the earth during Samhain, they would perform many rituals to protect themselves and their families from them. The Celtic religion was known as Druidism and there were a variety of gods, goddesses or deities the Druids worshiped. Some practices used to keep evil spirits away included human and animal sacrifice, burning the bodies of enemies in bonfires (also known as bone fires), offering food and drink to the dead spirits to appease them, and wearing costumes and masks so that the ghosts wouldn't know a person's identity.

It's important to note that Samhain was a festival and not a god. While the Druids did have many gods and goddesses, and Samhain was a man who lived, Samhain is a festival and not a god. Learn more about Samhain and Halloween's Celtic roots here.

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 As the Roman empire and Catholicism grew and spread, the Pope would adapt local customs and traditions to make them compatible with Christian theology. The Samhain festival was adapted to fit Catholicism by adjusting the practices of All Hallows Eve. As All Hallows Eve was a time to honor the dead saints in Christ, it was fitting that newly pagan converts could ease from Samhain festivals to celebrating All Hallows Eve. Later, the Roman church called All Hallows Eve Halloween. Learn about All Saints' Day here.