Animal Crossing New Horizons Halloween
Image: Nintendo

Halloween is one of the best events in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and it sees the annual return of one of our favourite NPCs: Jack, the Czar of Halloween.

Read on to find out how you can celebrate this spooky season all throughout the month of October and make the most of that haunted night on October 31st. We've also updated this guide with details on the new craftable items added in 2021!

Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Complete Guide to Jack's Halloween Event

Who is Jack?

Jack is the Czar of Halloween. Few of us know what this actually entails... but he's definitely a fan of both tricks and treats.

Donning a carved pumpkin and purple robe, Jack will show up in your town on Halloween night, and can be found roaming around the area by Residential Services specifically from 5:00pm to midnight on this festive evening.

Jack on Halloween

What is the Halloween event?

For anyone who's been living under a rock, the Halloween event is hosted by Jack himself on October 31st, during which time you'll be able to "trick or treat" with other islanders, exchange candy for lollipops and Spooky DIY pumpkin crafting recipes.

Where do you get candy and lollipops?

Starting on October 1st, candy will be sold in the cupboard at Nook's Cranny for 120 Bells per piece. Unfortunately, your player may only purchase one piece per day — however, if you happen to have multiple save files on your island, each player can obtain their own daily ration of sweets, as well.

Candy is going to be the main key to obtaining the majority of Spooky pumpkin-themed items on Halloween night, so be sure to gather as much as you possibly can throughout the month.

Purchasing candy from Nook's Cranny

There is one other way to obtain candy, and for free: simply dress up in a costume on Halloween night, speak to your fellow islanders when they're inside their homes between 5pm to midnight, and receive one piece of free candy per neighbor. If you wait a bit, you'll eventually be able to get more from other islanders, making this a viable (if lengthy) solution should you run out of candy.

Besides dressing up in costume and speaking to your neighbors, you also have the option to scare them into giving you more candy. However, you'll first need to obtain the Jack's Face and Jack's Robe items from Jack himself, and wear them when speaking to other islanders.

Another bonus to these interactions is the ability to unlock brand-new Reactions, including "Haunt" and "Scare"!

New reactions - including "Scare"!

What do you do with the candy? What are the Halloween event items and prizes?

To net yourself Jack's costume items — or any of the other exclusive Halloween-themed items and recipes — you'll need to hand over some of your hard-earned candy and lollipops.

DIY recipes for the majority of Spooky items — which are crafted using pumpkins — can be obtained by giving your fellow islanders pieces of candy on Halloween night. A select few of these items can also be purchased throughout the month of October from Nook's Cranny. For a complete list of all of the pumpkin crafting recipes you can unlock, check out our Spooky pumpkin item crafting guide.

Spooky island decorations

Along with obtaining recipes, there are also the highly-lucrative lollipops — which can be given to you randomly when gifting your neighbors with candy on Halloween. Again, this is a great reason to stock up on candy throughout October, as those lollipops can be tricky to track down.

There are also a few Halloween-themed items you can only receive from Jack after giving him candies and lollipops, as listed below (in the order they can be obtained):

Item How to Obtain
Jack's Face item
Jack's Face Give Jack 1st Piece of Candy
Jack's Robe item
Jack's Robe Give Jack 2nd Piece of Candy
Spooky Carriage
Spooky Carriage Give Jack 1st Lollipop
Spooky Carriage Recipe
Spooky Carriage Recipe Give Jack 2nd Lollipop
Spooky Wand
Spooky Wand Recipe Give Jack 3rd Lollipop

This article is part of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons walkthrough, which includes a Complete Fish List, Complete Bug List and Complete Sea Creatures List. If you're looking for specific fish or bug, we can tell you how to catch the elusive Coelacanth, Mahi-Mahi, Giant Trevally, Stringfish, Golden Trout and all the Sharks and Beetles, along with a full list of Critters leaving at the end of the month. We've also compiled a Complete Villager List and a Complete List of K.K. Slider Songs, as well as the Best Custom Design Codes and Islands we've found so far, and the best islands to visit using Dream Address Codes.

We can also help with How to Spot Redd's Fake Paintings and Statues, How to Make Bells Fast, How to Breed Flowers, How to Get more DIY Recipes, How to Upgrade Nook's Cranny, where and when to find special characters like Gulliver, Sable, Label, Wisp, Celeste, Pirate Gulliver and Jack, plus tips on using the Star Wand, Tool Ring, Rock Trick, Cutting Down and Moving Trees, using amiibo on Harv's Island, How to Back Up Your Island Data, How to Time Travel, How to Get a 5-Star Island Rating and a whole lot more.

And finally Where to Buy Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch if for some reason you haven't yet picked up the game.