Super Spooky Halloween Words in Italian

When I first moved to Italy back in 2008, one of the biggest culture shocks I experienced was the general apathy towards Halloween. I originally come from Canada, a country that like the USA enjoys celebrating Halloween as much as Christmas and Easter, so it was a surprise to see October 31st come and go as if Halloween didn’t exist!

I later learned that Halloween is more of a North American celebration than a European one – though in recent years, it has become increasingly popular even in Italy.

italian halloween words

What do Italians call Halloween?

Italians use the very same word – Halloween! That being said, they tend to pronounce it without the word-initial h because this sound doesn’t exist in Italian.

Halloween


Happy family preparing for Halloween. Grandmother and granddaughter carving pumpkins at home.

Do Italians “Trick or Treat”?

Yes, they do! Trick-or-treat in Italian translates to dolcetto o scherzetto which literally means little treat or little trick. These days, kids love to dress up and collect candy from their neighbours. In fact, when I used to work in a nursery school in Italy, we’d take the kids out after lunch and walk from shop to shop asking for treats.

Dolcetto o scherzetto


Little children trick or treating on Halloween

Trivia: Children in Italy usually dress up as evil characters such as witches, devils, monsters and vampires at Halloween. This is because there is already another important (and very traditional) Italian festival in February where dressing up plays a huge role: Carnevale! At this time, kids dress up in a variety of costumes, from their favourite superheroes to knights, princesses and fairies. It would be considered strange to dress up as a good character on Halloween!


Italian Halloween Vocabulary

Below are some of the most important Halloween words you will need to learn to talk about this skin-crawling time of year in Italian!

Il trentuno di ottobre

Translation: October 31st


Little kids at a Halloween party

Autunno

Translation: autumn / fall


attractive young woman walking in autumn park with coffee wearing checkered coat, sunglasses, happy mood, fashion style trend, long brown hair

Zucca

Translation: pumpkin


Autumn pumpkins on a wooden desk

Strega

Translation: witch


attractive witch casts a spell

Scopa

Translation: broom


witch on a broom

Pipistrello

Translation: bat


Close up of funny Halloween bats flying up on orange background

Vampiro

Translation: vampire


Man dressed up in dracula costume for halloween hiding behing his cape. Evil man in dracula costume. Spooky vampire.

Fantasma

Translation: ghost


Kid Dressed Up As Ghost

Ragno

Translation: spider


Big hairy and scary patagonian spider moving through pampa, Argentina

Mostro

Translation: monster


Casa infestata

Translation: haunted house


Old wooden house.Light from window of an old cabin. Spooky misty foggy forest. Halloween holiday celebration background

Caramella

Translation: candy


Close up of candy skewers in a candy shop

Spaventoso

Translation: scary


hands on glass
blurry scary silhouettes of human hands touching frosted glass

Diavolo

Translation: devil


Devil from hell.

Costume

Translation: costume


Halloween kids walking down road and asking for a treat

Buio

Translation: dark


cat in a dark room

Notte

Translation: night

lake in mountains at night in moon light

Zombie

Translation: zombie

Man running away from zombie army, deadly chase. Horror in city, creepy crawlies attack, doomsday

Mummia

Translation: mummy

Portrait of cute boy in mummy costume standing with knife and cookie as symbol of trick-or-treating tradition for Halloween

Italian Halloween Phrases

little boy drawing on pumpkin

Ho paura!

Translation: I’m scared!


Mi fa paura!

Translation: It scares me!


Bù!

Translation: Boo!


Posso mangiare una caramella?

Translation: Can I eat a candy?


Mi sono travestito/travestita da X.

Translation: I’m dressed up as X.


Ci vogliamo mascherare da X.

Translation: We want to dress up as X.


italian halloween vocabulary
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