DECORATIONS FOR HALLOWEEN PARTIES
                                   
House Decorations: Inside and Out
COBWEBS: 
Put lots of fake cobwebs around - the more you stretch these
out, the more realistic they look. If you have any fibre stuffing around the
house you can save yourself a couple of bucks and stretch this stuff out.
GIANT SPIDER: 
Made with newspaper stuffed garbage bags - very
effective outdoor decoration. We make a giant spider web from orange or pink
surveyor's tape.
FRONT DOOR:
Cardboard sign painted to look like old wood saying
"Beware!" or "Danger!" or "Go away!". You can also put cardboard tombstones
in the front yard.
BLACK LIGHT AND GLOW-IN-THE-DARK STUFF: 
Some brands work better than others. If you are going to light a room you'll 
need more blacklights than regular lights. You can buy glow in the dark paint
and pens to decorate, draw signs, write pithy sayings...
Creepy Music
My kids were scared by a commerical creepy music tape. It's more fun
to record your own sound effects to be played at the party, while handing
out treats at the door and in the haunted house. Plus it neutralizes the
fear when kids are in charge of making the tape.
Record a series of slightly overlapping sounds, and at one point on
the tape follow a few seconds of complete silence with a high pitched, hair
raising,piercing scream. You know a good screamer don't you?
Some sounds to record: minor chords on a keyboard, or random low
notes; that creaking kitchen cabinet door; rattling chains; shaking aluminum
foil sounds like a storm; heartbeat played on a drum; various moans, groans
and ghost noises; heavy frightened breathing with a few "no..no"s thrown in;
indecipherable whispers; and for the most fun - try out everything in sight
to see what kind of noise it will produce. You'll be surprised at the
creative ideas that come up once you get started.
The Haunted House
The traditional haunted house is a dark or black lit room. Someone
leads the guests through, asking them to touch various "dead body parts".
Some people have a poem to recite, but we prefer to ad lib using scary
voices. Be sure to tell the "victim" what they will be touching.
All the "body parts" should be cold and oiled. It adds to the mood to
have the guest walk through "cobwebs".
EYEBALLS:
     Some people use peeled grapes, but really, who's got time to peel
     grapes? Olives work just as well.
GUTS:
     Cold, oiled spaghetti.
LIVER:
     A canned peach half.
BRAINS:
     Freeze and thaw a big hunk of tofu and round the edges off.
HAIR:
     Corn silk or a wig.
SKIN:
     A soft, oiled flour tortilla
FINGERS:
     Tofu hot dogs
TEETH:
     Unpopped popcorn
HAND:
     Fill a surgical glove with water, drape it over a bowl and freeze it.
     Stick it in a container of dirt so the guest has to feel around in the
     dirt for the buried hand.
The grand finale of all this is the hand in the bucket. Cut a hole in
the bottom of the bucket and stick a rubber glove through the hole. The
"victim" will be expecting to feel a fake hand, but there is someone hiding
under a table with their hand in the glove. As they start to feel the hand
it suddenly grabs them and pulls downward through the hole. Prepare yourself
for screams. This is a really good gag.
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