10 Halloween Party Ideas That Ensure a Hell Of a Horror Party

Hair-raising witches, ghastly ghosts and disastrous pumpkin cannibals! These 10 Halloween party ideas will make your party unforgettable!

When the gates to the spirit world and hell open on October 31 and the creatures of darkness are unleashed upon the earth to spread unspeakable horror, there is only one thing left for the people trembling with horror….

An absolutely legendary, hellishly good Halloween party to throw!!!

An awesome Halloween party combines pleasant creepiness with exuberant party atmosphere. Since it makes a huge difference, especially in terms of the creepiness factor at the party, whether children are present or not, we have dedicated a separate article to planning a Halloween party for kids.

If you’re planning a Halloween family party that includes kids and parents, you can combine the ideas from both articles beautifully. But make sure that the overall decorations and the buffet of horrors (see below) are not too disturbing when younger children are present.

At Abenteuer Freundschaft, you’ll find even more Halloween ideas here!

10 Hell of a Halloween Party Ideas

1. Drawn Dr. Frankenstein – Send Stylish Invitations

At any theme party, a creatively designed invitation already ensures that guests are properly tuned in and prepared for what awaits them.

We advise:

• Stands on costume obligation
• Determine a specific theme, e.g. Welcome to Castle Dracula, From the Madhouse, Circus of Horror, The Gates of Hell etc., which gives the guests a direction for the costume, but at the same time leaves enough room for their imagination
• Whether you send it digitally or analog – put effort into the design of the invitation and formulate it in appropriate language.

Here are 5 templates for creative Halloween party invitation wording.

2. Who Is the Biggest Spook? – Host a Costume Contest

Whether announced in the invitation or not, a little costume contest with award ceremony goes over well at any theme party. It’s best to introduce the jury at the beginning of the party (at least 2, better 3 people) and let them choose the best dressed woman and the best dressed man at a later time. If you have a big party with many guests, you can of course give out more than one place.

3. Pumpkin Frats, Mummy Lights and Other Halloween Decoration Tips

To every good Halloween party belongs, in addition to scary costumes, the appropriate decoration. Hollowed out pumpkins with scary grimace faces are almost mandatory! Here are our instructions for carving Halloween pumpkins as well as how to make mummy lanterns out of a few jars of preserves and gauze.

A great way to get guests involved in creating the decorations is also to have a pumpkin carving contest. Who carves the most hideous, creepy grimace? Who’s the fastest?

If you’ve chosen a specific Halloween theme (as advised above), such as vampire castle, witch’s house, etc., it makes sense to keep that in mind when decorating the party location, too, of course. Many things can be made by yourself or improvised with everyday objects, e.g. old candle holders, (witch) brooms, black cloths, dead branches etc. but of course there are also plenty of suitable Halloween decorations to buy.

By the way, with a purchase via one of the following amazon links you support Abenteuer Freundschaft without making the products more expensive.

4. Eerie Dim Lighting

In order for the decorations to really come into their own and create the right scary atmosphere at your party, you should definitely put some thought into the lighting. Remember the tremendous effect of playing with light and shadow in old horror movies!

Real candles are stylish and appropriate, but always a risk if left open at a party with lots of guests. A good alternative are jack-o’-lanterns and the already mentioned mummy lanterns. However, both should be placed in such a way that even tipsy guests can’t knock them over so easily…. 😉

Furthermore, we recommend connecting small bedside or desk lamps in certain places to create dramatic lighting. Bats, spider webs or bare branches that look like skeleton fingers can cast great shadows on the walls when illuminated from the right angle! Purposefully placed flickering lights can also be very effective.

5. To These Sounds Dance the Dead – Good Halloween Party Music

The question of music is a bit tricky at any theme party: do you play what best fits the theme or what is most likely to get the guests on the dance floor? The great art is to somehow do both.

A List for Inspiration:

• This is Halloween (Danny Elfmann)
• Halloween Theme (John Carpenter)
• Thriller (Michael Jackson)
• Highway to Hell (AC/DC)
• Creep (Radiohead)
• Demonique (Aim)
• Werewolves of London (Warren Zevon)
• Nightcall (Kavinsky)
• Deal with the Devil (Pop Evil)
• Ghostbusters (Ray Parker)
• Monster Mash (Bobby Boris Pickett)
• Zombie (The Cranberries)
• Time Warp (Richard O Brien, Song aus der Rocky Horror Picture Show)
• She’s lost Control (Joy Division)
• Don’t Fear the Reaper (Blue Oyster Cult)

For more good Halloween party music tips, check out this page.

6. Pimp the Creep Factor of Your Halloween Party With Horror Sounds!

Deep sighs, creaking doors, chain rattles and wolf howls…. Nothing gives you goosebumps more than effective sound effects. Even as a child, I loved scary audio games, because in addition to an exciting and scary story, there were always extremely effective sound effects.

If you have a great sound system for your party, don’t start with music, but play a collage of scary sound effects, the more stereo the better… 😉

Or you can run the soundscape at a later time during one of the Halloween party games.

If you have time and feel like being creative, why not make your own sound collage with an audio editor program like Audacity. You can find free sound effects at Free Sound Effects.

The less costly option for those who lack preparation time is to buy a ready-made sound collage.

7. Buffet of Horror – Halloween Party Ideas for Foodlovers

Chopped-off fingers, blood punch with eyeballs, puking pumpkins, alien eggs and spider cream – Doesn’t your mouth water at the thought of the glorious delicacies of a Halloween banquet?

In the vastness of the Internet, you can find numerous ingenious ideas for delicious treats. Some even look so disgusting or disturbingly real that I would advise against serving them up at kid-friendly Halloween parties.

Here is a page of Halloween recipes that I particularly like.

8. Mummy Wraps and Other Halloween Games

Party games enhance any party, but especially for a special event like a Halloween party, they’re the crowning icing on the cake that your guests will be talking about for years to come.

For example, from the betting of mummies in teams…. About unmasking the psycho killer who snuck in among the guests or about the ultimate horror movie pantomime quiz…
For the best Halloween games, check out our top 10 Halloween games for adults. And you’re never too old for one or two Halloween games for teens, either 😉

9. It’s Showtime – Book a Magician, Fire Eater or Mind Reader as a Surprise Event

If it’s a really big party or you just want to throw an unforgettable Halloween party this year, then it’s worth considering including a show act and booking someone to wow your guests with fire games, magic tricks, fortune telling or similar arts.

Of course, this is a question of budget, but maybe you’re lucky and have someone among your friends who can do such things and is happy to perform at your party.

10. Hold a Seance

Ok, this is exactly the point where everything always goes wrong in horror movies: a good-humored party group decides to play with the forces of darkness just for fun. Everything goes quite harmlessly at first, but then… Right! It comes as it must: the ancient demon Pitzliputzli escapes from his astral dungeon into our dimension and wreaks hienieden gar schröckliches mischief!!!!

But hey, these are only movies, such things don’t really exist…? Or??? 😉

For a round of grounded and more or less rational people, a séance with glass bridging and Ouija board offers pleasant creepiness and ghostly fun. However, if there are very anxious or unstable natures among your guests, or those who are inclined to believe in the supernatural, I would advise you against this program item in the interest of good humor.

Image source Cover photo: Halloween Gaua by Donostia Kultura at CC BY-SA 2.0

What brilliantly creepy infernal Halloween party ideas are haunting your brain, undead reader?

What autumn activities have you been up to? Get inspired and browse our tips for activities with friends, family and partner.

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