Haunted House for Sale: A Spooky ESL Halloween Writing Project That Builds Language Skills
October in the classroom can feel a little crazy, can’t it? The kids are buzzing with Halloween excitement, you’re juggling costumes, candy, and class parties — and somehow, you’re still expected to teach meaningful academic content.
Disclaimer: In this blog, the terms ESL students (English as a Second Language), ELLs (English Language Learners), and ML (Multilingual Learners) are used interchangeably. While “Multilingual Learners” is becoming the more widely accepted term, “ESL students” and “English Language Learners” are still commonly used in various contexts. My aim is to be inclusive and clear to all readers, regardless of the terminology they are familiar with.
That’s exactly why I created Haunted House for Sale: Sensory & Persuasive Writing Project and Craft - a short, high-impact Halloween mini writing unit that keeps all that excitement focused on real learning.
If you’re looking for a fun Halloween craft and mini writing project that builds language acquisition and academic vocabulary at the same time, this is it!
This resource transforms your classroom into a spooky real estate office this Halloween season! In this creative, scaffolded writing project, your students become haunted house real estate agents and work to persuade buyers (that’s you!) to purchase their eerie, one-of-a-kind haunted homes.
It’s the perfect balance of fun and language-rich learning, helping students:
- Build sensory vocabulary using the five senses and onomatopoeia
- Practice vivid Halloween adjectives
- Strengthen grammar with comparative and superlative adjectives
- Develop descriptive and persuasive writing skills — all while crafting their own spooky haunted house
Let me show you how this mini unit turns Halloween energy into meaningful writing practice!
Building Background Knowledge for ESL Students with a PWIM Halloween Activity
If you teach English learners, you know that many of them might not be familiar with American Halloween traditions — let alone the concept of a haunted house!
That’s why this project begins by activating background knowledge and building vocabulary before writing. Students need the language first in order to describe what makes a haunted house haunted!
I start with a Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM) activity — an engaging, visual approach where students look closely at an image, label what they see, and use those words to build sentences.
In this resource, I’ve included two PWIM options:
- One with fun, not-too-scary images perfect for younger students (Grades 1–3)
- One with creepier, more atmospheric pictures ideal for middle and high school ESL learners
This step helps students:
- Build oral language and background knowledge
- Expand Halloween and descriptive vocabulary
- Color code parts of speech
ESL Halloween Writing: Building Descriptive Vocabulary with Adjectives & Sounds
Now that students know what a haunted house is, they’ll describe their own haunted house - how big it is and how many rooms it has.
Using the Haunted House Adjectives Poster, students learn to make their writing come alive. It’s amazing how quickly students start experimenting with descriptive language when they have the scaffolds they need.
Sensory Writing for ESL Students: Using the 5 Senses in a Halloween Setting
After students describe how big their haunted house is, how many rooms it has, and use adjectives to make it come alive, it’s time to take their writing to the next level — and sell their haunted house!
Now that they’ve explained how big their houses are and described their spooky features, they’ll turn into haunted house real estate agents. Their goal? To make their haunted homes sound so interesting (even if they’re a little scary!) that buyers can’t resist.
To do this, students will add sensory details to their descriptions to help potential buyers imagine just how cool and spooky their houses are. I'll use introduce special sound words called onomatopoeia to describe what we hear inside — words like creak, howl, and whisper.
Students will also use their senses of sight, touch, and smell to bring their haunted house to life.
Using the Haunted House Four Senses Poster and Five Senses Visual Cards, students describe what they see, hear, smell, and touch in their haunted house — turning simple descriptions into vivid, sensory writing that will make their spooky homes unforgettable!
Even reluctant writers find their creativity sparked when they can feel their story come alive through the senses.
Persuasive ESL Writing with a Spooky Twist
Now that they’ve described their haunted homes, it’s time to sell them! Students transform into haunted house realtors who must make their spooky listings sound irresistible — even if they’re terrifying. Using the Persuasive Language Poster and Sentence Stems, students learn to write with purpose.
The students use the Haunted House Persuasive Language Poster to make their buyers fall in love with their spooky houses. This writing scaffold provides them with:
- Persuasive sentence starters (e.g., “You’ll love…,” “Don’t miss this…,” “This is the perfect house for…”).
- Comparative adjectives (bigger, scarier, older).
- Positive spooky adjectives (thrilling, exciting, mysterious).
There’s also a small-group handout that focuses on comparative and superlative adjectives and the formulas used to form them. This reinforces key grammar structures and helps students make their writing more convincing and fun.
Creative Halloween Craft for ELL Students: Haunted Business Cards
To complete the experience, students create their own Haunted Business Cards to accompany their writing. They choose a spooky realtor name — like Witch Realtor or Zombie Agent — and a slogan such as:
- “Guaranteed 100% Haunted!”
- “No Humans Allowed!”
- “Great Bones — Literally!”
Then they assemble their Haunted House Craft, decorate their covers, and display their work in a “Haunted Realty” showcase. Your classroom will look like the most frightfully fun real estate office in town!
Why This ESL Halloween Writing Project Works
This project is more than just a fun Halloween craft — it’s a language-rich, scaffolded writing unit that ensures success for English learners at any level.
- Builds academic and sensory vocabulary for ELLs
- Integrates descriptive, sensory, and persuasive writing
- Differentiated for multiple grade levels (Grades 1–8)
- Encourages creativity while supporting real writing standards
By the end of the week, your students won’t just be excited about Halloween — they’ll have mastered vocabulary, grammar, and persuasive techniques without even realizing how much they’ve learned!
Need more Halloween themed lesson ideas, click here.
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