Most everyone has been to a Halloween party and surely knows the difference between the usual humdrum fare and a great, terrifying, spine-tingling party that will leave you and others talking about for months or even years. After all, if you’re going to toss a Halloween party, why not make it an absolute kick ass one—that’s the whole idea! Fortunately, there are many creative ideas to help make your party sensational.
Participants
Make sure your guest list includes lively, imaginative people who enjoy a good time. It would be great if you could find participants who would be willing to play the parts of witches, ghouls, and goblins. Have people dress up in frightening costumes and place them in strategic locations throughout the house. For added effect, they could take feather dusters to brush the ankles of unsuspecting guests. For those of you who have been to theme park Halloween parties, you know that it is the sudden, unpredictable moves by the park employees/actors that create the thrills and chills. No party-poopers are allowed at your party!
Location
The party does not even have to be in a house. It could be located at a haunted forest or field, basement, garage, or barn. Make an indoor location as murky as possible by covering the windows and walls with a dark fabric, which can also be used to form rooms within a larger space. Add a few dim lights where they will be the most effective.
Layout
Try confusing your guests by creating a maze of rooms in which the guests lose their sense of direction and get turned around.
Food
Come up with some creative food offerings such as witch finger pretzels and meatball mummies. Have a punch bowl with either a gross green, bloody red, or putrid purple color. For added effect, throw in some steaming dry ice.
Props
You can save money on good Halloween props by planning well in advance and finding good deals on scary supplies and costumes at specialty stores. Don’t hesitate to ask friends and family if you can borrow some good Halloween decorations. Consider dimly lit jack o’lanterns, cobwebs, and fog machines to make the atmosphere as terrifying as possible. Don’t forget a spooky soundtrack!
In an article “How to Make the Scariest Halloween Party Ever” by Beth Asaff, the author has come up with some fantastic additional ideas to really increase the terror.
If the party is held outside, you could position one spook or wraith at one end of a path with a chainsaw. Each time a group of guests approaches, he or even she could crank the chainsaw and chase them. Now that should get your invitees in the mood in a hurry!
With your friends who are dressed up as spooks, have them wander in and out of the party stopping occasionally to stare at guests but never speaking. That should get the female guests clinging more tightly to their dates.
· You can also have these friends crawl around the floor grabbing legs.
· Have your party guests take turns telling ghost stories but make sure you have a dim light or a flashlight for maximum effect.
· Have a fortune teller hold court in one room telling fortunes and again, lower the lights.
· Make a “zombie room” by setting aside one room and cover it with yellow caution tape, locks, and/or chains. Situate some friends to stand on the other side and rattle the door pretending they are coming out. Later on in the party, have the door burst open with the creepy zombies invading the main spaces.
· In another shadowy room, wet some strings and hang them from the ceiling. As the guests meander around, they will be brushed in the face with slimy cobwebs—more reactions from the ladies with this one!
· At a pre-planned point in time, have somebody pull the main breaker on the electricity. Act confused and frightened like you don’t know what’s going on. Note that the neighbor’s lights are still lit.
· Throw some body parts like toes, eyeballs, and fingers into the snack dishes but conceal them so they aren’t easily seen until they get tossed onto a plate.
Are you scared yet?? These ideas should get you well on your way toward delivering a memorable Halloween party. After all, when you give a Halloween party, you never want to go halfway!
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