Animal Crossing New Horizon’s Halloween event is back this October 2021.

Players may remember the event from years and titles past. Halloween Night is when Jack the Pumpkin Czar—a villager with a carved Jack-O-Lantern for a head, comes to town and hands out candy. Island residents roam around in costume, enjoying the festivities, and trading for “spooky items.”

Here’s how it all goes down.

[Lottie]
Hello! Lottie again, and today I wanted to introduce a few of the fine folks at Paradise Planning. Please say hello to Niko, our primate in prime real estate! And my manatee friend here is Wardell—he doesn't say much, but he can do it all. I hope you'll join the team!

— Isabelle (@animalcrossing) October 30, 2021

Animal Crossing New Horizons Halloween Event Explained

Halloween Night officially begins at 5 p.m. on the player’s island. This is when Jack will show up and when villagers will put on their costumes to start handing out candy. Be sure to speak with Jack in order to kick the whole thing off.

The name of the game is to collect candy and trade it for themed items. Players can get candy by:

  • Speaking with Villagers roaming the outdoors.
  • Visiting Villagers’ homes.

From there, collected candy can be given back to the Villagers to get either a themed item or a Lollipop. Villagers will give out the following items from the Spooky Set:

  • Spooky Garland DIY
  • Spooky Table Settings DIY
  • Spooky Flooring
  • Spooky Rug
  • Spooky Wall

Lollipops, themselves, are meant to be given directly to Jack in order to receive the Spooky Carriage and its DIY recipe, as well as the Spooky Wand. Players can also give Jack candy in exchange for his head and/or robe.

There are also two reactions players can learn during this event: Haunt and Scare. Haunt is also a potential reward from Jack for turning in candy while Scare can be learned from Villagers.

The event will end at midnight—so get your scares in as soon as you can.