Up the Fright Night Fear Factor

Whether you’re planning a Halloween party or just getting your house ready for trick-or-treaters, you can try some of these scary Halloween ideas to ramp up the fear factor! Creating the ultimate fright night experience for your visitors is a fun way to express your creativity.

Get inspired by these frightful Halloween ideas:

• Set the Stage: Think about a theme that you might want to use for your Halloween celebration. Some scary Halloween party ideas include a graveyard setting, a haunted house, or a witch’s lair. Start with the front yard and weave your theme throughout the entire house to create a gruesome sight that will delight all of your visitors!

• The Element of Surprise: You can use this trick to your advantage on fright night. Guests will expect decorations outside of your house and in your living room so add special touches in surprising places. Hang a skeleton in the coat closet, put a talking head in the refrigerator so it pops out when people go to grab a drink, or place a few ghastly skulls next to the bathroom sink to catch your guests off guard. Glowing jack-o-lanterns and tall dripping candles can also create a spooky aura.

• Witch’s Brew: Serving scary Halloween food adds another dimension to your party. You can fill non-latex plastic gloves with water to freeze ice hands that will float in the punch bowl and keep drinks cold. Gelatin molds shaped like various body parts will also look great on your Halloween food table. Whip up recipes for candy or caramel apples, roasted pumpkin seeds, popcorn balls, and “bloody peanuts,” (peanuts covered in BBQ sauce and baked)! Finish off your guests with a dark chocolate cake in the shape of a coffin.

• Entertain in a Wicked Way: Delight (and horrify) your guests by playing scary Halloween videos throughout the night. Choose a classic horror film or record your own! Make sure that your homemade film tells a story (touring a dark haunted forest or exploring a graveyard) and add special effects such as sound and interesting visuals. Add stormy weather, creepy characters, and a touch of the surreal to complete your homemade Halloween movie. The amateur, hand-held camera technique may actually add to its effectiveness à la The Blair Witch Project!

Use all five senses to create your frightful party and be creative. When it comes to Halloween ideas, the more fanciful and supernatural, the better! Your guests are sure to love the spooktacular celebration!