How to get a Halloween cursor on Windows 11

1. Free and built in: an orange (or purple) pointer

1. Open Settings > Accessibility > Mouse pointer and touch.
2. Under Mouse pointer style, choose Custom.
3. Pick one of the recommended colors, or select Choose another color to set your own, such as pumpkin orange or a deep purple.
4. Drag the Size slider if you want it bigger.

This changes the pointer's color only, not its shape, so there are no pumpkins or bats. To undo it, choose the White style again.

2. Free: set up a downloaded Halloween cursor pack

Cursor packs are sets of .cur (still) and .ani (animated) cursor files. If you download one, only use a site you trust, and scan the files before you open them.

1. Unzip the pack into a folder you'll keep, such as Documents\Cursors\Halloween. If you move or delete the folder later, the cursors break.
2. Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mouse, and under Related settings select Additional mouse settings.
3. In the Mouse Properties window, select the Pointers tab.
4. Under Customize, select a pointer (the normal arrow, the busy cursor and so on), select Browse, pick the matching file from your folder and select Open. Repeat for each pointer you want to change.
5. Select OK.

To go back to normal: on the same Pointers tab, open the Scheme drop-down list, pick the Windows default scheme and select OK.

3. One click: the Spooky pack in our Solace Cursors

Free 14-day trial, then $2.75 once. Every feature works for 14 days, then the app asks you to buy. No subscription and no automatic renewal.

Disclosure: we (SolaceSoftware) make and sell Solace Cursors.

If you'd rather not hunt for files or set each cursor by hand, our Solace Cursors changes the whole set at once.

• Spooky pack, with a wobbling jack-o'-lantern busy cursor and bats.
• Five more packs for after Halloween: Solace Glow, Neon Arcade, Pixel Pop, Kawaii Paw and Midnight.
• All 17 Windows cursors change at once, with an animated busy cursor in every pack.
• Size slider from 32 to 128 px, handy on big or high-resolution screens.
• Optional click sparkles and a cursor trail that pause during full-screen games and video.
• Your own cursors are saved first. Restore, or uninstalling, brings them back in one click whenever Halloween is over.

Limits: some games draw their own cursor, and those aren't changed. You need Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, with Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime (built into Windows 11 and current Windows 10). It's a per-user install, a download of about 5.3 MB, with no administrator rights needed. The app isn't code-signed yet, so on first launch Windows may show "Windows protected your PC". Click More info, then Run anyway.

Try our Solace Cursors free for 14 days, then $2.75 once

Our Solace Cursors is also in the Solace Gamer Pack: 7 apps for games and streams for $29.00 once ($54.21 separately).

Want more than cursors?

Our Solace Cursors is one of 25 Windows apps in Solace Complete, $45.00 once (the page lists $705.43 if bought separately). 13 of the apps, Cursors included, have a free 14-day trial, so you can try them before you decide.

See what's in Solace Complete

Questions before you buy: solacesoftware@smilingface.cloud

Quick answer

• Fastest free option: Settings > Accessibility > Mouse pointer and touch > Custom, then choose an orange color.
• Free full set: point each cursor at a trusted .cur/.ani file in Mouse Properties > Pointers > Browse.
• One click, animated, easy to undo: the Spooky pack in our Solace Cursors, free for 14 days, then $2.75 once.