Halloween Apps

We’re in the final countdown now! Soon the candy corn will be replaced by candy canes in the grocery aisle. To help get you in a spooktacular mood this week here are some Halloween apps that have passed through my inbox this month.

Halloweenville - Looking for a last minute pumpkin patch or a haunted corn maze? Halloweenville lets you look up October attractions in your state. Price: Free

Angry Birds Halloween - This week I glanced at my husband’s phone to find him playing Angry Birds. Nothing unusual there but the app looked different. I asked him if there was an update I’d missed and he confessed he’d bought the Angry Birds Halloween edition. What?? How’d I miss that one? Angry Birds is probably the most addictive, maddening and entertaining iPhone app I’ve tried. You won’t go wrong with the purchase but don’t be surprised if you find yourself staying up late and losing hours of time to the darn game. Price: $.99

Bonedance - the scary music player – This app is creepy and completely fascinating at the same time. It features a blood covered skeleton that will dance to the music on your iPod. Bones has several heads that you can swap on and off, depending on how ghoulish your mood of the moment. You can also use heads from photos on your camera roll. I opened up the app to discover my son had found it first. There he was, his face on the dancing skeleton. Bones will dance to your personal music or you can choose from several different Halloween themed music channels. There were a couple fun ones but most were too heavy metally for my taste. You can also use your iPhone’s mic to make Bones dance. In the settings you can adjust the type of dance he’s doing, along with his sensitivity to the music. It’s a silly app that’s just good for mindless entertainment but it’s very well put together and I liked the variety of options. I’d suggest this one for older, non-squeamish children. Bones isn’t a cute skeleton you’d want to hug. I found his blood covered bones pretty gruesome.

Hazy Dell - My review of this app can be found here. Hazy Dell is a storybook app about some spooky friends who leave the woods to take a walk into town. Price: $.99 for iPhone and $1.99 for iPad

123 Glow - Coloring book app that lets you color on black screens so the colors will appear to glow. It comes with plenty of Halloween coloring pages and has a great educational base to it when you use the color by number and color by letter pages. This one will soon be updated for Christmas so you’ll be able to continue using it once Halloween has passed by. Read my 123 Glow review here. Price: – $.99

Spooky Playtime - I also reviewed this app earlier in the month. It’s a fun preschool app featuring Halloween themed learning activities. The spooky friends are quite adorable and the sound effects and music will have your kids bopping. Price: $2.99 or Free for lite version

The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin - This app comes from Oceanhouse Media (Dr. Seuss, Berenstein Bear apps). I haven’t tried it myself and I’ve never actually read the picture book either but Oceanhouse produces quality apps and iTunes says it’s narrated by Bobby “Boris” Picket, the singer of “Monster Mash”. Price – $.99

Treat Street - Treat Street was one of my favorite Halloween apps last year and it’s a repeat hit again this year. My most recent review can be read here. You get to dress up a character and then take them trick-or-treating to knock on doors and collect goodies. Simple fun that’s executed very well and the graphics are terrific. My son loves this one. Price: $.99

Boy Dumplings – This story from PicPocket Books tells of a smart little boy who outwits a ghost. At the conclusion of the story the app explains the tradition of the Chinese Ghost Festival. Traditions involving this festival are explained and a recipe for boy-free dumplings is provided. Price – $1.99

Adapted Book – 5 Little Pumpkins - A simple version of the classic Halloween song. The app comes with sign language video interpretations of the song. My thoughts here. Price: $.99