Halloween Craft: The Five Ancient Ghosts

Step 1 – Choose Your Five Ghost Rocks

Find five smooth rocks that are small enough to fit through the opening of your jar.

Try to choose slightly different shapes and sizes. Irregular rocks are perfect because they give each ghost its own personality.

Wash the rocks to remove any dirt and allow them to dry completely before decorating.

Step 2 – Paint the Rocks White

If your rocks are dark or highly patterned, paint them with one or two coats of white acrylic paint.

Allow each coat to dry before adding another.

You can also leave pale natural stones unpainted if you prefer a more rustic, ancient-looking collection.

Step 3 – Give Every Ghost a Face

Use a black permanent marker or paint pen to draw a different ghost face on each rock.

Try making:

• A smiling ghost
• A frightened ghost
• A grumpy ghost
• A surprised ghost
• A silly ghost

Simple oval eyes and mouths work perfectly.

The faces do not need to match. In fact, the more individual they are, the better your little ghost collection will look.

Step 4 – Invent the Ancient Ghosts

Now comes the storytelling part.

Give each ghost a spooky or silly name. You might create characters such as:

Whispering Wilfred
Only appears when someone whispers after midnight.

The Moonlight Ghost
Afraid of bright lights.

Old Rattling Bones
Kept away by ringing bells.

The Pumpkin Patch Ghost
Terrified of black cats.

The Sleepy Cellar Ghost
Disappears when someone sings.

Kids can make up completely new stories for their own ghosts.

Write each ghost’s name and what protects you from it on a small piece of paper.

Step 5 – Prepare the Jar

Place a layer of fibre stuffing, cotton wool or shredded paper in the bottom of the jar.

Do not fill the entire jar yet.

You want enough filling to cushion the rocks while still leaving plenty of room to arrange all five ghosts where their faces can be seen.

For a darker Halloween look, you could use black shredded paper instead of white fibre filling.

Step 6 – Add the Ghost Rocks

Carefully place the five decorated rocks inside the jar.

Turn each rock so its ghost face points outward through the glass.

You can arrange them in layers, using small pieces of fibre stuffing between the rocks to hold them in place.

Try not to completely cover the faces.

Step 7 – Add the Remaining Stuffing

Tuck small amounts of stuffing around and above the rocks.

This gives the jar a misty graveyard appearance and helps prevent the stones from moving around too much.

Keep adjusting the rocks until all five ghost faces are visible.

Step 8 – Add Their Names and Stories

Place the ghost names and their protective clues inside the jar, or tie them to the outside as little tags.

Another fun option is to create one larger label that reads:

The Five Ancient Ghosts

Underneath, list the names of all five ghosts and the mysterious ways to keep them away.

Step 9 – Finish the Jar

Replace the lid and decorate the jar with ribbon, baker’s twine or a Halloween tag.

You could even distress the label with brown ink or crumple the paper slightly to make it look like an old document.

Display your finished ghost jar on a Halloween shelf, mantel, classroom table or party display.

Make It Into a Halloween Story Game

This project becomes even more fun when every child invents a story for one of the ghosts.

Ask questions such as:

• How old is your ghost?
• Where did it come from?
• What makes it appear?
• What is it afraid of?
• How can you make it disappear?
• Does it help people or scare them?

Once everyone has created a ghost, place all five inside the jar and tell the story of The Five Ancient Ghosts together.

It’s an easy way to combine Halloween crafting, painted rocks and creative writing in one activity.

Safety Note

If younger children are making this craft, consider using a clear plastic jar rather than glass. The rocks can make a glass jar quite heavy, so place the finished decoration somewhere secure where it cannot easily be knocked over.