Are you having some friends round to stay the night? Well, you’ll need a bunch of fun pranks to scare them!

But first – the Golden Rule! Never take a prank too far and don’t prank anyone who you think might get upset. Pranks are meant to be fun for everyone! Oh, and check with an adult before you start! Got it? Ok – now read on for some great ideas for scary pranks to do at sleepovers!

1. Set up a cool surprise!

First, find something scary – maybe a toy rat, a rubber snake, or even an onion with googly eyes on it. Now hide it next to something tasty in the fridge. Then ask your victim if they can get you a snack and wait for them to get the fright of their life! Well… fright of their life so far!

2. Jump out at someone (but better)

Ah, the classic jump scare. There are a million ways to surprise someone, but if you put in a bit of prep you can really get them good! The key to this is to find a good hiding place near your victim. Get in position and wait for them to enter the room, and then keep waiting. And keep waiting. The longer you wait, the less they’ll expect it! Boo!

3. Write a mischievous mirror message

Use a soapy finger to write a spooky message on the bathroom mirror, and then go over it with a bit of tissue so you can’t see it. When the bathroom steams up it will suddenly appear again and you’ll be able to read it! It’s quite a shock straight after a shower! 

4. Tarantula eggs!

For this one you’ll need a straight face and some dried beans, lentils or something a bit similar. Scatter them around the house (especially where your guests will be sleeping) and tell them that they’re eggs from your next door neighbour’s pet tarantula that escaped last week. Tell them they shouldn’t worry – they take a few weeks to hatch!

5. The scary movie prank

First, you have to convince everyone at the sleepover to watch a scary movie! Next, you need to get a little help from a family member – a little brother or sister, or even a grown up. About half an hour into the movie (when it’s getting good and scary) get your helper to tap on the window and run away.

They could also switch the lights on and off, or even make banging and grunting noises outside the door! Have a think how they could scare your guests – and remember, sometimes less is more!

6. The waker-upperer

For this one you need to make a scary mask out of cardboard before the sleepover starts. Wait until your guests fall asleep, and put the mask on a ball or something about the size of a human head. Place the spooky head-mask-thing next to one of your sleeping friends, so it’s the first thing they see when they wake up! Extra points if you get it really close!

7. The meat shower

Once the sleepover is over, you want your guests to remember the next morning! One way is to carefully unscrew the shower head and put a stock cube in it. Make sure you get permission from an adult for this, by the way! When they go for a nice relaxing shower, the hot water will turn the water to weak gravy – a deliciously meaty way to start the day! And don’t worry, you can just run the shower for a while and it’ll all get flushed out. Remember, vegetarian stock cube options are available!

8. Make some scary sleepover snacks

It’s not a sleepover without snacks – but make sure you hide a couple of prank ones in there too! One ultimate prank snack is coating something gross in chocolate! This one needs an adult, but carefully melt some chocolate in the microwave on low for a few seconds. Roll a Brussels sprout or pickled onion in it and then leave it out to dry! Mmm! Do-leee-shush!

9. Reset the clocks

A great gag is to set all the clocks in the house to a few hours later. Everyone will wake up super confused thinking it’s still 4am, or even better – you’ll all get a few more hours of sleepover fun before the grownups realise! Remember, only pull this prank when no-one has something important to get up for, like work or school!

10. The confetti trap

This is a classic prank, and if you can pull it off it’ll really make your sleepover! It is a bit messy though make sure you get permission from an adult first. Get a small cardboard box (not a heavy one) and fill it with as much confetti as you can find. You don’t need to buy confetti, just cut lots of bits of paper up really small. You can do this quickly by folding up newspaper and cutting out chunks. Then rest the box on top of a door, leaning against the wall. Call to your victim and watch them get a face full of confetti when they walk through the door!