Eerie Elegance – How to Host a Haunt and Other Fabulous Frights

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!

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Whatever you decide to do, stay safe and have fun this Halloween!

Materials:

• Two mixing bowls
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Blue
• Borax
• Green Food Coloring
• Water

Directions:

1. Mix together 3/4 cup warm water, 1 cup glue and several drops of green food coloring in the first bowl.

2. In the second bowl, mix together 4 teaspoons borax and 1 1/3 cups warm water.

3. Pour the contents of the first bowl into the second, but don’t stir. Let it sit for 1 minute, then lift the now-congealed slime out of the bowl.

4. Divide slime so that each child has a piece to play with. The glue in slime can make it stick to certain fabrics. To minimize accidents, give each little monster a zip-top bag to store it in.

Tips:
SAFETY NOTE: Since borax is toxic in large doses, be sure to keep the slime away from kids younger than age three.

The Ground Fogger

No Halloween party or haunted house would be complete without a fog machine. We found a great fog machine called The Ground Fogger.  Rolling fog will tickle your toes as it drifts across your graveyard or walkway. This fogger has a compartment for ice that cools the fog so it will stay low to the ground, and set that eerie mood you’ve been dying for. Order yours here.

Skinned Legs

Body parts are another important prop to use for Halloween.  Here is just one body part you can add to your macabre collection:  it’s an all-latex bloody skinned body part “so beautifully sculpted you have to see it to believe it.” Grab your own attention-getting skinned left leg or skinned right leg to strategically lay somewhere in your favorite spooky place.

Bolt

Here’s a fun guy you should make sure you invite to a Halloween party at your place. Meet Bolt. This dramatic animatronic is like Frankenstein on steroids! Push the button, and as the sound of machinery winds up, Bolt says one of 5 different phrases. Then he gets SHOCKED with violent movement and screaming. Includes amplifier, speaker, digital audio, movement control system, dressed body, and metal rack. Requires AC power and 60-80 psi air compressor. Measures 30 inches wide, 84inches tall, 30 inches deep. Please Note: This item is a Special Order and may take 4 to 8 weeks for delivery.  Order your special friend Bolt here.

The Vomit Barrel

And finally, because gross and disgusting is vital aspect of any good Halloween party, we have the Vomit Barrel. A barrel of laughs and leftovers! This disgusting but funny device throws up on cue by switch. Great quantities of green vomit spew as the familiar Friday night sounds of heaving ensue! Requires standard AC power only. Comes with a cassette player, cassette, and amp with speakers. You supply the vomit (water with food coloring). Please note: This item is also a Special Order and may take 4 to 8 weeks for delivery.  Halloween is fast approaching so hurry and order yours here!

Halloween is truly one of the most exciting occasions of the year because everyone is eager to wear spooky or outrageous costumes while attending Halloween parties or going trick or treating. For dog owners, this is also a great time to make their dogs look fashionable and give their pets an opportunity to partake in the festivities and fun.  Halloween is the perfect time to dress up your favorite four-legged buddies with extraordinary “duds” that make them stand out from the rest of the pack and become the center of everyone’s attention.

To ensure that you have the most fun this Halloween, dress your dog in a costume that is comfortable for him or her and make sure that it is break-away so he or she does not become entangled in it or become injured should he or she chase after any other goblins running the streets. Take him or her out for a fun night of trick-or-treating – hey you never know – other pet owners may become inspired by you!  Be sure not to feed your dog any of the treats that you’ve collected together, though.  Rather, have healthy treats available for him at home when you are all finished trick or treating.  Have Fun!

From the Manufacturer

Lava Lite brand lamps are the original. For 40 years, Lava Lite has captivated generations with their trademarked shape and timeless styles. Don’t accept substitutes. Demand the original….the registered Lava Lite brand. They are the perfect addition to any bedroom, living room, or party space. Simply turn on this lamp and set the mood.

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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!

Terrifying Tortilla Chips

Spray regular Flour Tortillas with a bit of canola oil cooking spray and sprinkle with parmesan cheese or cinnamon and sugar.  Use Halloween Cookie Cutters to cut the tortillas into your favorite Halloween shapes and then bake for a crispy treat!

Spooky Sandwiches

Even Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches are a treat when you use Halloween Cookie Cutters to cut them into witches, bats and ghost shapes!

Wicked Witch Fingers

Have some left over cookie dough and a few almonds?  Shape the into the shape of a Witch’s Finger – make it crooked and include a gnarly knuckle – and press an almond into the tip for the nail.

To make these cookies even more fun, color the dough green!  Or use black or red food coloring to paint the “nail” before baking.

Color it green!

For special snacks at Halloween – color all their food green!  Green Milk, Green Pudding, Green French Toast!  You name it – if it’s green, it must be Halloweeeeeeennn!

Easy Halloween Party Mix

Ingredients

• 1 package (11 ounces) pretzels
• 1 package (10-1/2 ounces) miniature peanut butter filled butter-flavored crackers
• 1 cup dry roasted peanuts
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 package (10 ounces) M&M’s
• 1 package (18-1/2 ounces) candy corn

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the pretzels, crackers and peanuts. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla and baking soda (mixture will foam). Pour over pretzel mixture and stir until coated.

Transfer to a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 250° for 45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes. Break apart while warm. Toss with M&M’s and candy corn. Cool completely. Store in airtight containers. Yield: 4 quarts.