Eerie Elegance – How to Host a Haunt and Other Fabulous Frights is Britta’s Peterson’s first book after over a decade of self-publishing her website Britta Blvd, where she is known as the “Webmistress of the Dark.” Britta has been artistic and crafty since she was very young, and over the years she has turned holidays into opportunities for elaborate parties as performance art, transforming her home into an entirely new environment, especially for Halloween.

Many fans share Britta’s love of Halloween since she started her website in 1996. Her Halloween recipes and decorations are appreciated all over the world by the many Halloween enthusiasts who link to her website. Not only are her Halloween recipes within these pages, but for the first time, she reveals how she creates her decorations and displays with step-by-step instructions and full-color photos that show you how to transform your own home into a Halloween haunt.  Want to have creepy candlelight?  How about peeping portraits?  Or maybe you’ve always wanted to experiment with mad scientist potions!  The ideas in this book range from the simple and budget-conscious to elaborate environments and everything in between, so there is a project for everyone inside Eerie Elegance – How to Host a Haunt and Other Fabulous Frights!

Kids of all ages are looking forward to Halloween – it’s hard to say who has more fun with it – little kids or older ones (or the adults!). It’s the time when they can play tricks on other kids and  older people and they also get a chance to ask for candies and other treats from the different houses they visit while dressed up as their favorite character du jour.  DuringHalloween Season, you will often see lawns decorated with pumpkins and spooky props including monsters, vampires and coffins. Some people even use lighting and sound effects to help make their yards extra scary.

If you would like to put pumpkins on your lawn, you might be looking for designs for pumpkin painting.  Decorating pumpkins with paint is not that hard (I think it’s easier than carving!). When the Halloween season is near, you can start looking for excellent decorating ideas. You can decorate the pumpkins together with your family and closest friends.

First and foremost, you have to shop for a pumpkin that preferably has a relatively flat bottom surface. It doesn’t have to be really flat; even only a slightly flat surface on one side will do, depending on the decoration you want to paint on it. You will need to keep this in mind especially if you have smaller kids joining the painting session, but if everyone is a little bit older, usually most any pumpkin will do.

Once you’ve purchased the pumpkins, drop by your local discount or craft store. Acrylic paints are more suitable for pumpkin painting. You should get several different colors especially if you have kids helping out so that they can create their own crazy designs and color mixes.

Before you start the painting session, you first must determine the design. You can create scary designs or even funny designs. You can find a lot of designs on the Web even if you log on for just several minutes. You just have to type the words ‘pumpkin painting’ and many results will be displayed on the screen.

You can even paint silly or famous celebrity faces your pumpkins. While this is more difficult because you have to concentrate a little more on the details – give it a go and see what you come up with.  Sometimes, the goofier, the better!  Then you can put wigs and ties on that the pumpkins to accentuate the face.  (Hair is a great way to cover up any “boo boos”).  To make a good celebrity face design on the pumpkins, you simply have to put the distinguishing feature of the celebrity and exaggerate it a bit.

You can also make other designs besides faces – you can make monster designs, animal designs and many others. Pick something that you’re interested in so that it will be a lot easier to paint on the pumpkin (your creativity will come to you easier if it’s something you like).

Aside from the acrylic paints, you will need to have several different sizes of paint brushes and small containers where you can mix different colors. Sit someplace comfortable and be sure to spread lots of newspapers around. Put the paints, brushes, and other materials over the newspaper where everyone can reach them easily. Give each family member a pumpkin and then have some fun!

This can be an exciting activity for the whole family and friends for the upcoming Halloween. You can even put lights inside the pumpkin heads if you’ve carved them out, to make the design more visible at night. Do your pumpkin painting a day or two before Halloween. This way, you’ll have time to prepare for your costumes, treats, candies, and other things that you will use for this very special occasion. Enjoy pumpkin painting with your family and friends.  This year’s Halloween will surely be extra memorable – and don’t forget to take pictures of your creations!

On Halloween, one of the “darkest” of nights, proper lighting is crucial to the spook factor.  Lighting plays a huge role in setting a “dark” mood, and can help create the sinister shadows that are perfect for Halloween.

Add creepiness to your Halloween party with special lighting effects! There are lots of ways you can illuminate this delightfully dark holiday with spotlights, window lights, strobe lights, colored bulbs, and more.

Light strings are a good starting point when thinking about Halloween lighting. They come in a variety of colors such as orange, black, green and purple as well as other colors and they are relatively inexpensive. They are also available in different Halloween shapes like skulls, pumpkins, goblins, ghosts and candy corn. They can be hung from trees and shrubs, strung along fences or attached to the eaves of the house.

Other popular choices for Halloween lighting are flickering candlelight or black lights.   Black lights produce a dark purple glow after the sun goes down and highlights costumes and makeup that are fluorescent. You can purchase black lights by themselves in most hardware stores and replace existing outdoor lights or buy them complete with a fixture.

Strobe lights create a  Halloween lighting effect  that teases the senses to a razor edge. The flashing itself is frighteningly disorienting. Add the apparent disjointed movement of a zombie or a monster, and your guests’ emotions will be piqued for any terrifying surprise you wish to spring on them.

Be sure to use some type of lighting on your walkways and paths to make sure that small Trick or Treaters or guests coming to your Halloween party can see their way clearly. Halloween luminaria, or candles places in paper bags filled with sand, are an excellent choice for people with uneven sidewalks or long driveways.  You can also buy Glow Sticks as party favors, so that guests and Trick or Treaters will have lights that they can carry with them to help them see their way and be safe while they’re out having scary fun.  Happy Halloween!

This hardcover book is just what you are looking for to plan the perfect Halloween party! Get howls of laughter and shrieks of delight with Frightfully Fun Halloween Recipes. It’s full of recipes for scary meals, silly snacks and devilish desserts perfect for goblins young and old! Don’t be afraid—it’s easy to scare up Halloween fun! Colorful photography is loaded with fantastic serving ideas.

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DISCLAIMER:  The following post is intended for entertainment purposes only.  ScaryHalloweenFun.com and the Ravenloonatic are not responsible and will not be held accountable in the event any of these “tips” are interpreted in any other manner other than for the intended purposes of humor and entertainment!  That said:

As we all prepare for the upcoming Halloween season, please take a few moments to read these simple reminders to keep things nice and scary.

• Don’t ever assume the telephone calls are coming from another house.

• When it appears that you have killed the monster, NEVER check to see if it’s really dead.

• Never read a book of demon-summoning aloud, even as a joke.

• Don’t go into the basement to check the power when the lights go out!

• If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language which they should not know, shoot them immediately. It will save you a lot of grief in the long run. However, it will probably take several rounds to kill them, so be prepared. This also applies to kids who speak with somebody else’s voice.

• When you have the benefit of numbers, NEVER split up and go it alone.

• Don’t make out during Halloween season. Especially if you’ve noticed a few of your friends are missing!

• As a general rule, don’t solve puzzles that open a portal to Hell.

• Never stand in, on, or above a grave, tomb, or crypt. This would apply to any other house of the dead as well.

• If you’re searching for something which caused a loud noise and find out that it’s just the cat, don’t stand there sighing with relief, it’s never the cat, get the hell OUT!

• If appliances start operating by themselves, don’t bother to check for short circuits; JUST GET OUT!

• Do not take ANYTHING from the dead.  They will come back for it.

• If you find a town which looks deserted, there’s probably a good reason for it. Don’t stop and look around.

• Don’t fool around with recombinant DNA technology unless you’re sure you know what you’re doing.

• If you’re running from the monster, expect to trip or fall down at least twice, more if you are of the female persuasion. Also note that, despite the fact that you are running and the monster is merely ambling along, it’s still moving fast enough to catch up with you.

• If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination for blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on, find new companions.  Immediately!

• Stay away from certain geographical locations, some of which are listed here: Amityville, Elm Street, Transylvania, Nilbog (you’re in trouble if you recognize this one), the Bermuda Triangle, or any small town in Maine.

• If your car runs out of gas at night on a lonely road, do not go to the nearby deserted-looking house to phone for help. If you think that this is strange because you could swear you had a full tank, jump off the nearest bridge instead. You are going to die anyway, and will most likely be eaten.

• Beware of strangers bearing unusual tools. For example:  chainsaws, staple guns, hedge trimmers, electric carving knives, combines (?!), lawnmowers, butane torches, soldering irons or band saws.  They probably are up to no good and you should stay far, far away.

• If you learn that your house is built upon a cemetery, now is the time to move. This also applies to houses that had previous inhabitants who went mad or committed suicide or died in some horrible fashion, or had occupants who performed satanic rituals in your house.

Happy Halloween!!

Food for thought:  use this adult size brain mold to make realistic looking, yummy edible “brains” with your favorite dessert gelatin!  The mold comes with directions and a recipe for a flesh tone brain, but you can make your jello brains in any color and flavor you want to suit your scary Halloween theme!

Order your Brain Jello Mold here

Dracula’s Delight

Serve this drink in a nice wine goblet – Dracula wouldn’t be caught dead using a mug!

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce Bourbon
• 1/2 ounce Lime Juice
• 1 teaspoon (hah!) Tequila

Directions:

Pour over ice in a goblet and top off with Tomato Juice.  Stir, sip and enjoy!

Pina Ghouladas

A delightfuly Ghoulish drink!

• Garnish your glass or goblet with Vampire Blood.

To make Vampire Blood, color clear Corn Syrup with red food coloring.  Paste food coloring works best because it won’t add any liquid to the syrup.  But regular food coloring works, too.

Pour the Vampire Blood onto a saucer or shallow container and spin the rim of your glass or goblet in the blood.  When you turn the glass upright again, the “blood” will ooze down the sides.

Pina Ghoulada Recipe

Ingredients

• 20 ounces pineapple juice, more if needed
• 1 can cream of coconut (15 oz size)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup orange juice
• 10 ounces good-quality rum (optional)
• Ice

Directions:

Whisk together pineapple juice, cream of coconut, heavy cream, orange juice and rum, if using. Place 2 1/2 cups ice in a blender, and add 1 cup drink mixture. Blend until smooth; add more pineapple juice if mixture is too thick. Repeat with remaining ice and mixture. Carefully pour into prepared glasses; serve.

Frankentini

Ingredients:

2 parts vodka
1 part white creme de cacao
1 splash of creme de menthe
ice

Directions:

Mix ingredients together; shake with ice; pour into chilled goblets

Witches’ Brew

Ingredients:

36 ounces Unsweetened apple juice concent — thaw, undiluted
5 cups Water
4 cups Vodka
1/2 cup Lime juice
1/2 gallon Lime sherbet — softened
8 cups Club soda — chilled

Directions:

Combine apple juice, water, vodka, and lime juice in a large bowl. Cover and chill. Just before serving, spoon sherbet into a large punch bowl; slowly pour apple juice mixture and club soda over sherbet, stirring gently.

Amazon.com Review:
Cocoa Cobweb Cupcakes, Black Cat Cookies, and Stained-Glass Spooks are just a few of the spirited tastes you’ll encounter in Donata Maggipinto’s delightful Halloween Treats.

But it’s not just recipes–you and your favorite little goblin will love creating spooky craft projects such as Candy Cauldrons, Leaf Lanterns, and Paper Bag Pumpkins together in anticipation of All Hallows’ Eve.

Maggipinto includes craft ideas for “Pixies” (children 4-8 years old) as well as older children, and nearly every recipe includes a safe task for younger helpers. (For example, while mom or dad should heat the milk for hot cocoa, kids can roll and stamp out marshmallow ghosts as accompaniment.)

A few of the craft ideas  (Click Here For More…)

Popcorn is a popular treat handed out on Halloween, and is always a favorite at parties! If you’re looking for more than just plain popcorn, perhaps you should visit  Popcornopolis. Popcornopolis is a premium gourmet popcorn retailer specializing in the best-tasting flavored popcorns, caramel apples, candied nuts and confections. They’ve even designed high-tech “cones” to hold their product which will guarantee their legendary “just-popped” taste.

Their best-selling items include Gourmet Zebra Popcorn, Best of Popcornopolis Gift Basket, 3-Way Popcorn Chocolate Lovers Tin, and Gourmet Caramel Popcorn. Plus, all of their “Create-Your-Own” items are wildly popular.

Visit Popcornopolis as you plan your treat giving this year.  Click the ad at the top this post to receive 20% off your order!

So you’ve gone out and hand-selected the perfect pumpkin but you’re still undecided about how you’re going to decorate it?  A visit to ExtremePumpkins.com may give you some insight to some of the funniest, strangest and even goriest pumpkin carvings ever.   The artist behind these creations is not only very talented (he also writes books – see below), but apparently is a bit twisted too.    Visit ExtremePumpkins.com for some awesome ideas on what to do with your “perfect” pumpkin!  Have Fun!