Throw the Halloween Party People Will Talk About for Years

Halloween is my holiday. I like Christmas, I like Easter, but nothing comes close to Halloween, the one night of the year were you can become someone else, the one night of the year where everything normal gets thrown out the window, and is transformed into a gigantic bizarre event.
Some people take their kids out to go trick-or-treating, and just stop there, but I say, why stop at just the same boring tradition? Why not throw a huge costume party on this very night? Invite friends, family, neighbors and acquaintances.
Major Rule to throwing a party on Halloween night:
The only major rule is to make sure you throw it at an appropriate time. Everyone is brining their kids out on this night, so schedule yourself a party to occur at around 8:30pm or 9pm. You do not want to ruin a child's trick-or treating time by scheduling an early party. The kids will end up resenting you, and their attitudes could ruin the party.
Invitations:
This is the first necessity when it comes to throwing a party. First create your list of friends and family, and on each invitation be sure to allow them to bring a guest. If neighbors have friends over, allow them to join in on the party as well. You don't want to leave anyone out, even if you don't know them well.
Next you want to make sure you make your invitations appealing. Include different types of entertainment that will be available, from apple bobbing, to man hunts, graveyard dashes, etc. I always like to plan out a fun little fake 'ritual'. It sets a mood and can scare the heck out of people.
I always like to print out scary things on cards, and spruce them up with a haunted font. I have on occasions printed out large Ouija boards, and added on a dangling piece of paper in the shape of the Ouija letter reader. On this reader I will add in the time, place, events, and that it is to be a costume party, to come dressed to scare.
Decorations:
You can collect Halloween decorations even now, as I personally have seen them available in stores. However every year I always make sure I buy a hot ticket item after Halloween, that way it is on major sale. Hot ticket items include, wood coffins, 5 foot standing props such as mummy's, rats, zombies, and body parts. These hot ticket items can range anywhere from $50-$500. Honestly though you do not need to spend a fortune for a great Halloween party. If you are like me though, these hot ticket items most likely are already in the attic in a box marked Halloween.
Grave stones are a must. Decorate the back yard in grave stones. You can buy cheap ones at any local super store, or you can be very creative and make you own. If you have a power saw, you can trace shapes of stones onto thin wood, and cut them out. From there you can paint them, and put names on them if you'd like.
I usually will cut out my own, and add names of those attending my party. Every year I will then repaint them with different names of those attending. Honestly the extra time you put into it, will really impress your guests.
I will usually always add the names of children who I know are attending. I will then place the wood stones in the yard, with a pile of sand to make it look as if they were freshly buried. In this sand I will then add some body parts to look as if they are sticking out from the ground. I then bury Halloween goodie bags. We tell the children to grab their grave digging gear to go and dig up their goodie bags.
At parties like this, you want to make sure the kids have things to do, or they get bored fast.
I always leave glow in the dark Ouija boards around the house. That way you, or your guests can whip up a convo with a ghost. I will usually make a wooden sign and leave it on a main table that says 'speak to the dead'. Guest find this cute, and because of a simple gesture, you will see that many of them will try and make contact with spirits.
Spider webs are a must! Hang them everywhere! From the ceiling to the floor. I usually will only use green and white. Mostly white. You can add in plastic spider rings all over the webs to give it tat extra eerie touch.
Fog machine. These are not necessary, but they really add a special touch to the mix. You can also use incense for a foggy like atmosphere.
A strobe light in the bathroom, surrounded by green cobwebs also makes going to the bathroom a fun and creepy experience for guests. Also be sure to add a radio in the shower with haunting noises. You can buy these CDs at dollar stores. If you place the radio in the bath tub, it gives off an extra echo, just make sure you don't do it up too scary for the kids. You want to make sure they make it to the bathroom...
Aliens in lighted jars. These suckers always add a special touch to Halloween parties, they can be made, or bought on ebay. I personally buy them because I find making them on my own takes p too much time, especially when I am focusing on everything else.
Candy. You want to make sure you have candy around for the kids. You can either place them in bowls, or in a pinata. The choice is yours. I always do both. I will leave gummy fingers out in bowls, and other Halloween type candy.
Jello cups. You need a bunch of clear plastic cups to pour jello into. In the jello also pour gummy worms. It gives these cups that extra flair of goobly goblin!
Cauldrons! You need them! You can buy cheap witches pots in any local store at Halloween time. Do make sure though that the bottom of the cauldron has no holes. You will need a few of them. One will be filled with punch. I will also throw in gummy worms, and I sprinkle them around the side of the cauldron, so it looks like they are trying to escape. In smaller cauldrons I will add chips, and dip.
Food. You can get creative with food. I like to serve pasta under extremely dull lighting. It gives an extra eerie effect, while guest enjoy a dinner. Also serve drinks in large chalice cups. These can be purchased at cheap party stores, or you can go all out and buy nice expensive metal ones.
Living rooms can be transformed into murder scenes. You can take a bunch of white sheets, and throw red paint on them. Be sure to add hand prints, and foot prints with the red paint, to give it that murdered scene look. Next take these sheets and place them over your regular carpet when they are dry. I usually need about 4 sheets to cover the entire floor. I will then use duct tape on the bottom to hold them in place without damaging the carpet.
I will also use another sheet with splattered blood, to place on the couch. You can even use yellow warning or caution tape to place around a bloody painted body. I usually put this yellow plastic tape all around the entire TV unit. It keeps kids eyes off of the unit, and steers them away from wanting to sit down to play video games.This yellow tape should also be used around trees in your yard. In the area you have sectioned off, you can use white spray paint to draw a body. It will look like a police crime scene, and kids really like staring at this easy to make prop. Tell them someone was killed by a werewolf, or vampire, and the police are still investigating. Get their imaginations running.
Electronic toys. In stores you will see a lot of wind up or batter operated rats, bats, and other rodents. Buy a few of them. I prefer battery operated ones, because you can leave them on throughout the night. I like leaving a small batter operated rat in the bathroom. I take out light bulbs, so lights do not work. I only use candle lighting, or replace regular bulbs with red ones. That way when the little rat runs by them, they get a good scare.
Honestly the more time you put into decorating, the better things will look. Any Halloween fanatic knows that a little bit of props can go a long way, but a lot of props really makes things exciting. I have been saving up props since I was a teen, so these things easily fall in place for me. But for those of you just beginning, I must honestly say that in order for your prop free party to go as planned you want to make sure you have a slew of events for guests, and children alike.
1. I already discussed one event in which we do every year. We gather round the table and try to make contact with spirits through the Ouija. This is fun, and can be very scary at the same time. Adding this event into a Halloween party will just make it that much better, and memorable.
2. Apple Bobbing. Not everyone is going to like this event, especially those with makeup costume decorations. But children adore this game. I will pour a bag of apples into a keg holder. In the water I will usually add apples, however I will also split open some cherry's so they look like chunks of flesh. These cherries will also dye the water a bloody color red.
3. Grave yard dashing occurs late at night, and makes for a fun event for adults and teens. You don't even need it to be Halloween to play this game. You wait until it is late at night, and you simply drive up to a local grave yard. You each get out of the car one at a time. In order to win, you have to run from the beginning to the end of the graveyard alone. A lot of players chicken out before they even get half way in. Surprisingly this lame sounding game is actually a lot of fun.
4. Haunted Chairs. This game is for children, and is played in the same fashion as musical chairs. Make sure you decorate the chairs in cobwebs, and fake spiders to really give it that scary vibe. Play haunted sounds instead of regular music.
5. Mary Worth man!!! Everyone loves the story of Mary Worth, or Bloody Mary. Have everyone one by one go into the bathroom holding just a candle, and have them say 'I believe in Mary Worth 100...I believe in Mary Worth 99... all the way down to 0. Tell them once they hit zero, Mary Worth will show herself to them. You would be surprised at how many people actually claim to have seen her. Whether it be pure imagination, distorted lighting or whatever... I have had many people running out of the bathroom screaming. Pretty gnarly game, adults only.
There are many events in which you can play; events for children and adults. The more effort you put into things though the better the outcome. Even if you have to jump out of your usual character, and talk in a cackling witches voice for the rest of the night, go for it. It really adds in that extra Halloween charm, and believe it or not people will appreciate it, and kids will love it.
Now you do not have to stop with what I have written, if you dig deeply into our imagination station you too can create really excellent ideas to create the best Halloween party out there. Turning your regular everyday home into a horror house is a lot of fun, and take a few weeks to completely finish. So if you want to throw the best Haunting party in town, start the first week in October decorating. Take it slow, get creative, and don't forget to invite people as you are in the middle of transforming your home into a haunted hang out.
Happy Haunt