| Too old for ghosts in white sheets? Take terror to the | | | | 4. "Waltz in Black" by the Stranglers |
| next level with these Halloween party ideas for | | | | 5. "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus |
| teenagers! | | | | 6. "Let There Be More Darkness" by Robyn Hitchcock |
| Make Sure Your Digs Are Spooky! | | | | 7. "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance |
| For a killer Halloween party, the first thing you gotta do | | | | Pumpkin Carving Contest |
| is set your scene. The cheapest and easiest way to | | | | One reason this is such a great Halloween party idea |
| do this is to light lots and lots of candles. This creates | | | | for teenagers is teens love to make a mess! Be sure |
| an eerie ambience of flickering light and moving | | | | to hold your contest in a room with floors you can |
| shadows. | | | | mop, away from the good furniture! For easy cleanup, |
| Next, put out a few well-placed props. Drape your | | | | line your work area with newspapers! |
| furniture in black, gray and blood red sheets, or use | | | | 1. Here's what you'll need: enough pumpkins that each |
| any dark or gauzy material you can find. Most | | | | guest or pair of guests can carve one; tablespoons; as |
| costume shops, drugstores and dollar stores sell | | | | many fine felt markers (or pens) and paring knives as |
| packages of fake cobwebs to stretch out in corners, | | | | you can 'scare' up; 2-3 large bowls (for pumpkin 'guts'); |
| in door-frames and over furniture. 'Bloody' knives, | | | | tea lights or short candles. |
| scythes, scary masks, rubber rats and spiders, | | | | 2. Draw circles around your pumpkin stems, large |
| dismembered body parts and signature props from | | | | enough for your hand to fit through when the holes are |
| scary movies (Jason's goalie mask, Freddy's fedora, | | | | cut. Cut along the edge of each circle, making sure to |
| Candyman's hook hand) can be found at Halloween | | | | angle your cut so that the 'lids' will not fall through the |
| shops, or use your imagination to build your own | | | | holes. |
| Halloween party props! | | | | 3. Using tablespoons, scrape out the pumpkin seeds |
| If you have a guest list, 'build' a tombstone for each | | | | and guts, putting them into the bowls provided. |
| guest. Cut out pieces of cardboard into tombstone | | | | 4. Let your guests draw and cut out whatever designs |
| shapes, spray paint them gray, 'age' them with a few | | | | they want for their Jack o' Lanterns. |
| light sprays of black spray paint and write a funny or | | | | 5. Once everyone is finished, place candles into the |
| fearsome epitaph for each of your friends. It's scary to | | | | Jack o' Lanterns and light them. Vote for the scariest, |
| see your own tombstone! | | | | most original and best-made Jack o' Lanterns. Be sure |
| Once your Halloween party house looks scary it's time | | | | to have some small prizes ready for the winners! |
| to make it sound scary, too. Look for free downloads, | | | | Once your pumpkins are gutted, rinse the pulp and |
| or borrow your friends' music collections to compile a | | | | juice from the pumpkin seeds. Toss the seeds in a little |
| spooky Halloween party soundtrack. | | | | cooking oil (olive or canola oil works well). Season the |
| There are hundreds of songs to suit your Halloween | | | | seeds with salt, pepper, paprika or your favorite spice, |
| theme. Here are just a few suggestions (warning, | | | | and spread them out on a baking sheet. Bake the |
| these are not your parents' Halloween pop classics!): | | | | seeds at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-40 minutes, |
| 1. The "Halloween" theme song (teenagers love Rob | | | | stirring every ten minutes or so. |
| Zombie's 2007 version) | | | | This is a great idea for a party snack later on, when |
| 2. "People Are Strange" by the Doors | | | | you're all curled up to watch a scary movie together - |
| 3. "Psycho Killer" by the Talking Heads | | | | the perfect end to a perfect Halloween party! |