Miss Party thinks a themed Halloween party, doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to run out and buy out half the party store. It may mean you’ll edit out some decor that doesn’t make sense or you’ll change the way you put it all together. Many times, real objects with a little spanish moss or cobwebs look so much better than cheap props (and you’re not left trying to store all that stuff either). You may even have party decor from previous parties you can add in. Support your theme by choosing costumes for your family that coordinate or ‘make sense’. For example, if you do a ‘Transylvania’ party, you need at least one vampire!
As much as possible, Miss Party is going for authenticity in her scary scenes or ambience of the party space. She is trying to create a suspended belief in the ‘realness’ of being transported to a general time period or setting by using real objects as props when possible. Another key to successful, scary party scenes or ‘fun’ scaring, in general, is to suggest ‘something’ is still lurking in the vicinity, it’s the ‘not knowing if something will happen’ part or ‘what you can’t see in the dark’ part, that is scary.
Seeing a static gory scene, in and of itself, isn’t really that scary because it’s too random or the person hasn’t ‘bought in’ to any possibility of it being real or a threat to themselves, it’s probably just gross to look at. Miss Party encourages everyone to stay away from the gory side of Halloween decor. Gory isn’t very scary. The real challenge is to actually give your guests a fright or the creeps in a fun (and safe) manner, not to gross them out!
This is a continuation of scary, spooky “Halloween Themes, Part 1 – Wicked fun!”. Haven’t found the perfect Halloween party theme yet? Check “Halloween Themes, Part 3 – Even MORE wicked fun!”. If frightfully spooky Halloween parties aren’t what you’re looking for, move on to “Halloween Themes, Part 4 – Not-so-scary fun!”.
SCARY, SPOOKY HALLOWEEEN THEMES:
DR. JEKYLL’S/MAD SCIENTIST’S LABORATORY – Transport guests to a creepy, old laboratory of the infamous Dr. Jekyll, or any other demented Scientist you know! (Old-school, gothic lab; make lots of creepy body and animal parts in jars by getting creative with vegetables, colored water, dry cooking ingredients and creative labels; animals, insects or bird specimens in cages or jars; scientific tools. Use an old, white sheet to cover food/operation table. In a separate room, create a blacklit, glow-in-the-dark, mad lab as a fun side visit for guests.)
ONCE UPON A NIGHTMARE/TWISTED FAIRY TALES/THE BROTHERS GRIMM – These ‘happily ever after’ medieval tales are twisted! There’s nary a happy ending in sight! (Choose several famous fairy tales, or just one particular fairy tale.) (Spooky, dark, German, medieval decor. Walk guests through the scary ‘Black Forest’, a la ‘Little Dead Riding Hood’, or invite them into your creepy castle perfect for one very, evil queen and ‘Creeping Beauty’. Be sure to serve Snow White’s ‘poisoned apples’ – blood red candy apples using non-poisonous, natural sticks.) For an invitation idea see “A Grimm Evening”.
WICKED GYPSIES – A (wicked) gypsy caravan has camped out on your property without your permission. They dance around the fire late each night and several reports of mischievous vandalism have been reported in the area! (Decor is gypsy-inspired, but darkly twisted with a lot of black and grey. See “Wicked Gypsies” post for more ideas.)
SLEEPY HOLLOW TAVERN – Invite cold and jittery guests to warm up by a bonfire, with a mug of warm, mulled cider at the haunted, 1800s Sleepy Hollow Tavern! Unlike poor, ill-fated Icabod Crane, they’ll probably live to recount their night of terror! A visit from the Headless Horseman…priceless! (Decor is rustic, creepy, Colonial tavern-style, held indoors or outside after dark. Help wanted: one cranky bartender and one ‘wench’ barmaid. A bonfire or fire in the fireplace adds greatly to the rustic ambience.) See “Sleepy Hollow Tavern Halloween Theme” post for an expanded description and lots of awesome, spooky pictures!
THE LIVING DEAD – Ghosts, ghouls, evil spirits and zombies have appeared overnight for their annual meeting and made themselves comfortable! Then a crew of mischievous skeletons appeared out of nowhere to join them! (Need lots of ghosts and posable skeletons throughout the party space. A foggy, spooky graveyard with a freshly dug grave and shovel and/or coffin, for guests to walk through as they enter, sets the perfect mood. Have several ‘living dead’ costumed characters.)
BLACKBEARD’S SKELETON CREW – Blackbeard’s skeleton crew of pirates have captured your family, overtaken your home and forced everyone to turn pirate! Aye! (Watch any or all of the recent ‘Pirates of the Carribbean‘ movies for decor ideas, create a tavern for refreshments and encourage lots of pirates to attend. For outside decor, do a graveyard with a ‘freshly dug grave’ and/or a hangman’s noose hanging in a spotlit tree, with pirate props and treasure chest underneath.)
