For anyone that is a true fan of Halloween, spook fanatics know that it is surrounded by many creepy elements that go way deeper than a simple dollar store mask designed to freak people out. The scare factor can include a night filled with scary movies watched in a room with a Halloween theme to a smorgasbord of edible brains and eyeballs to witch fingers served with a dark cold drink with bug laden ice cubes floating in the murky concoction.
Lighting is a key factor for setting the mood to the optimum eerie realm of illusions that Halloween is famous for. Black lights are perfect for the occasion since they turn normal objects into glow in the dark figures, sending the imagination traveling straight into the extremely freaked out mode. Theatrical lighting such as black lights can be purchased at party stores or at Spencer’s in the mall for around $15.00. To purchase black lights and other Halloween accessories go to http://www.spirithalloween.com/decorations/.
Slimy strings are a must for any room that has been set with a Halloween theme, and they are easy to make. Black lighting is perfect for this particular scare factor. Just cut some string into four foot lengths and tape them to the ceiling. Just before your guests arrive hold a bowl of water up to the string and get it wet. People will walk straight into the wet, slimy string and it will brush across their faces for the ultimate Halloween trick designed to freak people out.
A cauldron filled with dry ice and a dark drink will also set the tone for your guests. Just add some plastic spiders to the drink and set back to watch the flurry of horror as people pull spiders out of their mouths. The added thrill of black lighting will heighten the scare factor, so make sure that your guests are not faint of heart. Don’t have a clue as to where to purchase dry ice? The dry ice directory will give you the closest locations in your area to purchase it. Just click on http://www.dryicedirectory.com/usa.htm and enter your area code.
Fright Flicks offers a variety of spooky tunes, complete with moaning and groaning sound affects, adding the perfect Halloween ambiance in the background. Song titles from Carrie and Psycho to the Funeral March by Alfred Hitchcock can be found at this site. You only need Windows Media or Real One player to listen to the spooky theme music and allow your inner child to become unleashed.
Any great Halloween party will offer a smorgasbord of delectable culinary delights, even if they are gross to look at. When it comes to gory food, you are only limited by your imagination. Fingers, brains, and eyeballs are popular Halloween party foods, and your guests will be intrigued by your sense of Halloween spirit that has been put into each tantalizing treat.
Once your gore fest has been prepared, serve your feast on a table decorated with a black tablecloth, orange & black candles setting in hallowed out mini pumpkins, cobwebs draping from the table to the walls, and plastic spiders strewn about. Don’t forget the black or Halloween themed tableware that can be purchased at any dollar store. Green cobwebs are an awesome contrast to black lighting, and they can be purchased at just about any store that sells Halloween decorations.
Gnarled Witch Fingers
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup whole almonds
1 tube of red or green decorator gel
In bowl beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla; beat in flour; baking powder and salt. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Work with ¼ of the dough at a time while the remaining dough is refrigerated; roll heaping teaspoons full of dough into finger shapes for each cookie. Press an almond firmly into one end for the fingernail. Squeeze the center of the finger to create a knuckle shape. Using a paring knife make slashes in several places to form knuckle. Place the fingers on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a preheated 325 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for three minutes. Lift up almond; squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place so gel oozes out from underneath. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool. Repeat with remaining dough.
Gory Halloween Punch
1 package unsweetened grape Kool-Aid
1 package unsweetened cherry Kool-Aid
2 cups sugar
12 cups of cold water
1 liter bottle of ginger ale
1 1/2 cups vodka
1 teaspoon black food paste
3 drops red food coloring
Plastic spiders
To make a frozen hand, wash a disposable glove, fill with water and food coloring, seal with a rubber band and freeze until hard. Stir together Kool-Aid, sugar and water until dissolved. Combine with chilled ginger ale, vodka, and black food paste just before serving. Stir the ingredients thoroughly. Dip the frozen hand briefly in warm water, and then peel off the glove. Float the frozen hand and spiders in the punch for a gory effect.
Creepy Eyeballs
12 hard boiled eggs
12 ounces cream cheese
½ cup chopped scallions
1 teaspoon paprika
24 green olives stuffed with pimentos
Red food coloring
Ketchup
Slice the eggs in half longways. Remove the yolks carefully. Mix the food coloring, cream cheese, scallions, and paprika until well blended. Fill the eggs with the mixture. Press an olive into each cream cheese eyeball, pimento up, for a creepy green iris and red pupil. Dip a toothpick into ketchup and draw broken blood vessels in the cream cheese.
A realistic body parts product line from Qwigglegel is available from YankeeHalloween.com or you can find the life like brain mold and recipe for $8.99 at stupid.com. The body parts by Qwigglegel are so realistic that they have actually been used in scientific demonstrations. Whether you want to fill a Mason jar with specimens or simply serve a human brain as part of your Halloween theme, they have a gelatin mold that will fit your needs.
Human Brains
Two 6 oz. boxes of watermelon Jell-O
1-3/4 cups boiling water
3/4 cup cold water
9 ounces “fat-free” evaporated milk.
Food coloring
Cooking spray
One brain-shaped mold
Lightly coat the brain mold with cooking spray. Put the Jell-O mix in a large bowl and add boiling water. Stir 2 minutes, and then stir in the cold water. Add the fat free evaporated milk and stir well. Add food coloring to desired color and stir some more. Pour the mix into the mold and refrigerate overnight. When the gelatin is firm, carefully flip your brain onto a large serving platter.
Bloody Popcorn: Add red food paste, found in cake stores, to melted butter. Pour over cooked popcorn.
Buggy Ice Cubes: Fake plastic bug laden ice cubes can be purchased at party stores or you can make your own by simply freezing plastic toy bugs in a filled ice cube tray. You can always add red or green food coloring for that extra element of the gore factor.
Tricks: Cut a hole large enough for your hand to slip through the bottom of a plastic bowl that will be used for handing out candy to trick or treaters. Paint your hand with green or gray make-up and paint your fingernails black so that it appears to be a dead hand. When kids reach in the bowl for a treat, instead they will receive a trick guaranteed to send them off screaming when their hand grazes yours.
Treats: A great Halloween movie can set the right tone for getting people into the scare-dy cat mood, and no Halloween would be complete without them. Having a line-up of freaky movies for your eerie night of festivities should include: Hellraiser, Wrong Turn, The Hills have Eyes, Jeepers Creepers, Rose Red, The Others, The Exorcist 3, Halloween -Director Rob Zombie, The Grudge, Bloody Mary, Hide & Seek, Candyman 3, and The Grudge, the original and part 2.
