The commands are perfect for terrifying house guests or a chilling ambiance
It’s Halloween week right now, with trick or treaters left, right and centre. The good news for smart home aficionados is that you’re likely well-equipped to take the lead in the spooking stakes.
Whether it’s smart lighting setups, or scary sounds, you’ve got a range of options to contend with, and Amazon has joined the pack by announcing a few new easter eggs for Alexa to help use you out.
We’ve got the down-low on all the commands you need, and the first is a doozy. Say, “Alexa, start Halloween” and you’ll be greeted by a cavalcade of creepy sounds, lighting effects and even a game of Trick or Treat.
Another useful one is,“Alexa, open Ghost Detector”, which’ll start a little ghost-catching routine that should thrill any young ones.
Read more: Our haunted house guide
If you’re a bit more an intellectual household than one of thrill-seekers, though, there’s also a Halloween riddles game you can ask Alexa for to get some kooky questions to answer. Simply say, “Alexa, What’s your Halloween costume?” to get started on that.
There are a whole range of commands you can throw Alexa’s way on your Echo smart speaker this Halloween. Check out the list below:
Alexa, cast a spell
Alexa, give me a magic potion
Alexa, happy Halloween
Alexa, give me a spooky rap
Alexa, find pumpkin patches nearby
Alexa, find corn mazes nearby
Alexa, open Halloween Countdown
Alexa, start Ghost Stories
Alexa, play the playlist, Kids Halloween on Amazon Music
Alexa, give me Halloween essentials
Alexa, when did Halloween begin?
Alexa, tell me a Halloween joke
Alexa, tell me a joke about monsters
Alexa, tell me a joke about pumpkins
Alexa, tell me a joke about witches
Alexa, tell me a spooky story
Alexa, trick or treat
Alexa, trick or treat smell my feet
Alexa, what are you wearing for Halloween
Alexa, why do we carve pumpkins at Halloween?
The new Alexa Halloween Theme
For 2022 there’s also a new Halloween Theme skill which adds some spooky action to your regular Alexa experiences.
When enabled, the new skill will mean more Halloween fun for mundane commands and controls such as the weather, timers and alarms
Simply ask, “Alexa, enable the Halloween theme” to get started. (To turn it off just say “Alexa, turn off the Halloween theme.”)
Fire TV Halloween treats
As well as those smart speaker commands for Alexa there is also plenty of Halloween fun to be had on your Fire TV and its curated list of scary movies.
Here’s a breakdown of the categories you’ll find.
- Original Boogeyman (classic horror movies)
- Horror Cult Classics (… exactly what that sounds like)
- Modern Horror (post-90’s horror)
- Scare-tastic TV Shows (horror TV shows)
- Supernatural (monsters and paranormal)
- Goosebumps Guaranteed (thrillers)
- Spooky & Kooky (family-friendly flicks)
