Halloween Humour: Jokes, Puns and Riddles

We all need a break from time to time. Sometimes we’re up to our eyeballs in projects at work, and we just need a moment to relax a little. Learning English can be an adventurous journey, so what better way to lighten the mood than with laughter? The world of English language humour is exactly the right distraction you need. How can puns, riddles and jokes in English help us to continue learning, but with a smile on our face? Let’s find out!

By the end of this blog, you’ll learn how humour can help you learn English. In addition, you’ll understand the importance of puns in English humour. Moreover, you’ll learn some English jokes to use this Halloween! Ready? Let’s go!

Using comedy to learn English

Okay, it’s time for a confession … I was one of those students who got told off in class for telling jokes – I’m sorry! But, they always say that laughter is the best medicine, and some of the food in the school canteen did make us feel a little sick at times! Ha, ha, ha! So, how can jokes and comedy help us to improve our English?

Firstly, a lot of students love learning English because they love communicating. Do you ever feel nervous when you’re in a group of people who you don’t know? Jokes are a great way to break the ice. In other words, making people laugh is a great way to feel relaxed. Just don’t forget the punchline!

Secondly, we can use comedy to improve our pronunciation and our listening skills. Stand-up comedy is an especially good way to observe how native speakers use intonation. It can show you how to leave pauses between sentences and how to emphasise specific words. This is called ‘delivery’.

Stand-up comedy can introduce you to an enormous range of accents and dialects. In addition, it can show you how humour differs in each part of the world. Is humour a global concept? Do we all find the same things funny? Check out Mojo’s 20 Best Stand-Up Comedy Specials of All Time. Who did you enjoy the most?

Using puns to learn English

What is a pun? According to the Cambridge Dictionary:

In other words, a pun is a play on words. We use puns a lot in humour, and in the world of language learning, we can’t get enough of them! Why? Well, first of all, they can help us remember vocabulary. Puns are very visual and are often quite silly, and both of these things are very memorable. Check out these fantastic visual puns on Digital Synopsis. How many did you get?

How do puns work? Well, they’re usually either examples of two or more words joined together, or they include homophones.

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Here are some of our favourites:

The police were called to a local nursery where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.

(A rest sounds like arrest!)

When she saw her first grey hairs, she thought she would dye.

(Dye sounds like die!)

Halloween humour

Halloween is an extremely popular tradition in many English-speaking countries, and is now gaining popularity in many non-English speaking countries too. For example, in recent years, more and more children are enjoying the tradition of dressing up in costumes. Some are even embracing the ‘Trick or treat’ part of Halloween! But what is all of this and why?!

‘Trick or treat’ is a Halloween tradition in which children go from door to door, wearing costumes, saying the phrase ‘Trick or treat’ as a way to receive sweets. It’s a fun way to celebrate and share smiles in the local community. The custom can be traced to the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. People believed that on 1st November, the souls of the dead returned to their homes. So, the local people dressed up in costumes in order to ward off spirits. Wow!

Nowadays, even adults love joining in with the traditions. Especially playing scary pranks on their friends and family members. Who doesn’t love watching their loved ones jump out of their skin?!

Using riddles to learn English

What is a riddle?

Riddles are an excellent way to practise lateral thinking. They push you to think outside of the box and to be creative with your answers. Riddles are great little tricks that children sometimes use during ‘Trick or treat’. Here are a couple of Halloween riddles:

Answers at the bottom of the page!

Riddles can be a bit more complicated too. Here are some great riddles to help you remember vocabulary:

Answers at the bottom of the page! If you’re not sure, ask your teacher to explain!

So, what have we learnt?

✔ Humour is a great way to lighten conversations in English.

✔ Stand-up comedy is a great way to practise authentic intonation.

✔ Puns can be both funny and clever, although some people will groan!

✔ Halloween doesn’t need to only be scary – it can be funny too!

✔ Riddles are a fantastic way to practise lateral thinking.

Don’t stop yet! Check out these blogs for more useful tips:

The 5 best Halloween movies to improve your English

English Tongue Twisters to Improve your Pronunciation (2023)

9 Tips For Communicating With Locals In English-Speaking Countries

5 Interesting Christmas traditions from around the world

And remember, learning is always more enjoyable with other people! Find the class to suit your needs!

Glossary for Language Learners

Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.

Be up to your eyeballs in something (exp): very busy with something.

Tell off (pv): speak angrily at someone because they’ve done something wrong.

Break the ice (exp): make people who have not met before feel more relaxed.

Punchline (n): the last part of a joke, the funny part!

Differ (v): be different to something.

Get (v): in this context, to ‘get’ a joke, means to understand a joke.

Nursery (n): the place where very young children go when their parents are at work.

Dye (v): change the colour of something, usually hair.

Costume (n): a set of clothes which you wear to look like something or someone.

Trace (v): find the origin of something.

Ward off (pv): prevent someone or something from harming you.

Jump out of your skin (exp): react in a very scared way.

Think outside of the box (exp): think in a very creative way.

Groan (v): make a sound because a joke is bad.

Key

exp = expression

pv = phrasal verb

n = noun

v = verb

Answers to the riddles

When is it bad luck to see a black cat?

When you’re a mouse!

How do you spell candy with two letters?

C and Y!

I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old, and every Halloween you can find me inside a pumpkin. What am I?

A candle!

What word begins with an E and ends with an E but only has one letter?

An envelope!

What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs?

A clock!