Free Halloween soundboard, and how to make your own

A soundboard with sounds made by code

You'll describe the soundboard to a free AI assistant, paste what it writes into a file, and open it in your browser. Every sound is made by code as it plays, so there are no sound files to find, download or licence.

• A soundboard that runs in any web browser, on a laptop, phone or tablet
• Big buttons for spooky sounds: wind, a creaking door, thunder, a ghost, a heartbeat and more
• Keyboard shortcuts, a Stop all button and a volume slider
• Background sounds that loop, so you can leave them on at a party
• Buttons for your own sound files, kept on your device
• A board you can change into any theme after Halloween

Good for: Halloween parties and trick-or-treat doorsteps, haunted house games, spooky story time, and anyone who wants a soundboard without adverts. The same board works for any theme: a party, a classroom, gaming or a D&D table.

What you need

Build it in six steps

1. Ask for the soundboard

   Copy this prompt into your AI assistant:

   Copy this promptCopy

   I don't know how to code. Please make me a Halloween soundboard that runs in a web browser.
   
   Requirements:
   - ONE single HTML file (HTML, CSS and JavaScript together), no external libraries, no sound files and no internet needed. I will save it and double-click it.
   - Make every sound with the Web Audio API, in code, so there is nothing to download.
   - A grid of 6 big buttons, each with an emoji and a name: Howling wind, Creaking door, Thunder, Ghostly wail, Heartbeat and Owl hoot.
   - Tapping a button plays its sound. Tapping again while it plays starts another one on top.
   - Start the audio on the first tap, so it works on phones and tablets.
   - A dark, spooky design with big buttons that are easy to tap on a phone.
   
   Please give me the complete file in one code block, then tell me in simple steps how to save and open it.

   Copy the code, paste it into your text editor, and save it as soundboard.html. Double-click it and tap Thunder.

2. Make the sounds spookier

   First tries often sound like beeps and hisses. This prompt tells the AI how real sound designers build each one.

   Copy this promptCopy

   Thanks, it works. Now please make the sounds more realistic and spookier:
   - Add a reverb (a ConvolverNode with an impulse response made in code) so everything sounds like it's in a big, empty house.
   - Wind: filtered noise with narrow, whistling filters that slowly move up and down, fading in and out.
   - Creaking door: lots of tiny clicks at a slowly changing speed, played through a few narrow band-pass filters, with a thud at the end.
   - Thunder: a sharp crack, then a long, low rumble that rolls and fades.
   - Ghost: a wavering "whooo" that slides up and down, with vibrato.
   - Add a compressor at the end so nothing gets too loud or crackles when sounds play together.
   
   Send me the complete updated file.

   Always ask for the complete file. Replace everything in soundboard.html, save, and refresh the tab (F5 or Cmd+R). If a sound is still wrong, say what you hear: "the thunder sounds like a hiss, make it deeper and longer".

3. Add more sounds and the controls

   Copy this promptCopy

   Please add six more sounds, all made in code: a scary low drone, rattling chains, a creepy music box tune that slowly winds down, a bubbling cauldron, slow footsteps getting closer, and a rising banshee scream.
   
   Then add:
   - Keyboard shortcuts: keys 1 to 9 for the first nine buttons, then Q, W and E. Show the key in a corner of each button.
   - A big "Stop all" button (and the Esc key) that quickly fades out every sound.
   - A volume slider for everything. Remember the volume in localStorage.
   - Make each button glow while its sound is playing.
   
   Send me the complete updated file.

4. Leave it running at a party

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   Please add a "Loop ambience" switch. When it's on, the wind, drone, heartbeat and cauldron keep playing until I tap them again or press Stop all. Crossfade each repeat smoothly so there's no gap or click. Show a small loop symbol on those buttons. The other sounds still play once, on top. Remember the switch in localStorage.
   
   Send me the complete updated file.

   Party trick: connect a phone to a Bluetooth speaker hidden by the front door, set the wind looping, and tap the scream when trick-or-treaters ring the bell.

5. Add your own sounds

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   Please add a "Your own sounds" section with an "Add sound files" button (an input type="file" that accepts audio). Each file I pick becomes a new button with the file's name, and uses the same volume slider and Stop all button. Play the files in the browser and never upload them anywhere. Save them in IndexedDB on this device so they're still there next time, with a small × to remove one. Give them keyboard shortcuts carrying on from R.
   
   Send me the complete updated file.

   Tip: record an evil laugh or a creepy "Who's there?" with your phone's voice recorder, then add it to the board.

6. Make it look the part

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   Please give the soundboard a proper Halloween look: a deep purple night sky with a big moon, pumpkin-orange buttons that glow while they play, and a bat that flutters across the screen now and then (drawn with CSS or SVG, no images). Add a "Full screen" button so I can stand a tablet up at the party. Keep the buttons big and easy to tap.
   
   Send me the complete updated file.

Quick fixes

When several sounds play at once, it crackles and distorts. Please lower each sound's volume a little and put a DynamicsCompressorNode between everything and the speakers, so it never clips. Send me the complete file.

Twist it into something else

Change the first prompt and the same soundboard becomes:

No adverts, no downloads, no licences

Soundboard apps are often packed with adverts, want an account, or keep the best sounds behind a paywall. Sound effect sites have licences to check. Yours makes every sound in code, so there's nothing to download or licence, it works offline, and you can change any sound just by asking. After Halloween, one new prompt turns it into a quiz buzzer, a classroom helper or a D&D table.

What to build next