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It's the most horrifying time of year
by Jennifer Matthews

	Halloween Party ideas
history invitations decorations music and mood food drinks

Music and Mood: Shrieks, howls and things that go bump in the night

Don't overlook the possibilities here. The theme from Friday the 13th can create a bone-chilling atmosphere, while "Monster Mash" can give the room a fun feel. Or just buy a recording of spooky sounds. You can even link up to Halloween radio. Have speakers hidden outside to extend the creepiness before your guests even reach the door. To add to the chilling ambiance, you might want to have a movie playing in a corner of the room. Try "Amityville Horror," Bram Stoker's "Dracula," "The Lost Boys" or "Interview with the Vampire" for modern horror (the soundtracks from these movies are also great mood music). For a campy feel, put on the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" or "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Or try classics like Bela Lugosi's "Dracula," "Nosferatu," and "Frankenstein."

Entertainment: Conjuring up some fun

You may find that your food and guests are entertaining enough, but if you feel the need for more, fire up a scary movie, break out the Louisa board or gross out your guests with a party game (see box below). And remember to have a Polaroid camera on hand (with working flash) to capture your guests in all their horrifying glory!

Food: Finger sandwiches, anyone?

Bearing in mind that you may have guests sporting elaborate masks or full-body armour, keep the menu simple and easy to eat. A batch of Baked Winter Squash Soup can be sipped from cups and looks great served from a hollowed-out pumpkin terrine. Don't forget to roast the pumpkin seeds with a bit of oil and seasoned salt for a snack. Bloody toast corners (add red food coloring a just a drop of blue to creamed honey; spread on toast wedges) are a great accompaniment to the soup.

A variety of sandwiches can be cut into pumpkin and bat shapes using cookie cutters. The same cutters can be used to make bat chips: Cut bat shapes into soft tortillas, then brush shapes with oil and broil until brown, turning once. Sprinkle with salt, and serve with salsa and spicy guacamole.

Of course, Halloween just wouldn't be the holiday we love without some sweets - your guests will love Caramel Popcorn Balls, Witches' Fingers, and Caramel Apples.

Envelop your food table in an eerie fog with dry ice (find distributors in the yellow pages under "dry ice"). Place it in a bowl tucked behind a pumpkin or other centerpiece so it's not visible. Be careful when handling dry ice, as it can easily burn the skin. Gloves are essential. Keep a kettle boiling on the stove, and pour water over the ice as needed. The hotter the water, the better the fog.

Drinks: The real SPIRITS

Halloween concoctions can be a lot of fun, and again, presentation is everything. Offer up a few of our creepy cocktails as guests arrive.
Be sure to garnish cold drinks with an iced eyeball--yummy! Use stuffed olives frozen in ice cube trays, or trim and peel radishes, leaving a bit of red for a veiny look, then use a melon baller to create a small hole, and insert a cut olive. Place in ice cube tray, fill with water, and freeze.
For the punch bowl, freeze up a few severed hands. Here's how: Use disposable latex gloves, washed and rinsed well, inside and out. Fill with water and tie off tightly with an elastic. The shape will turn out best if you hang the gloves, fingers down, from your freezer shelf. Plan to freeze your uncanny hands for at least one full day. When it's party time, run warm water over the gloves very briefly--just long enough to loosen the gloves from the ice--and carefully peel them off the frozen hands. The frozen-water fingers break off easily, but that's okay--the disembodied digits just add to the "zombie" effect.

Have fun with colorful shooters as well. Float creepy-colored liqueurs and mixers on top (some will sink to the bottom, but that's even creepier!). Try grenadine syrup (to look like blood), crème de menthe or melon liqueur (to look like green slime), or sour peach or orange schnapps (to look like pumpkin ooze). Or mix up a batch of gelatin shooters in red, green or black cherry flavors. When they are set but not yet firm, place a gummy worm "crawling" out of each one.

If red wine is more your thing, try serving Vampire Wine (www.vampirewine.com), straight from Transylvania (also makes a great Halloween hostess gift).

Halloween Cocktails

Basic blood punch
This well-known "blood" mix is a Halloween standard. Take a large punch bowl and fill it half with tomato juice and half with orange juice. Let sit until it reaches room temperature (some prefer it served at body temperature - you could warm it gently by placing the punch bowl atop a warm oven) and serve. To spice things up a bit, use Mott's Spicy Clamato mix instead of tomato juice.