# 2011 theme ideas



## Haunted Dogs (Jun 15, 2007)

Go ahead and get creative...you're not limited to a haunted house/mansion theme! We've been doing themes for several years now for our party, and I think the most fun themes we've had are the ones where each room has it's own mini-theme. For instance, one year we did Hollyweird, and each room &the yards were all based on different movies. The familyroom was a Harry Potter theme, the livingroom was filled with Disney paraphenalia, the back yard was Indiana Jones in the jungle (tropical setting), the side yard/photo op area was the Wizard of Oz. The driveway/cemetery was Beetlejuice's graveyard. 

This past Halloween we had a Dread Rot Cafe theme, based on the music world. The side yard had a 3d maze that started out as a flower child type pathway to "Woodrot", and morphed into a bad acid trip as you wound your way through. You ended up at a concert stage complete with a beat up drum set, guitars as props and a tie dyed sheet for a concert stage backdrop. The photo op area worked great! The kitchen had concert t-shirts all over the ceiling, the livingroom was from the 50's and early 60's with various ghoulish props....the master bedroom was an Elvis room, the master bath was filled with props denoting various music world artists that died, etc. 


What you can do is choose a main theme that could incorporate the Disney haunted mansion theme in maybe your livingroom, and then the rest of the rooms could have themes where the flickering tealights would fit right in. You could even do a Disney theme...have each room be a different Disney movie...maybe feature the evil women in each of those. 

Or a vampire theme would work as well. Or a haunted Victorian theme....lots of choices!


----------



## doom_buggy_junkie (Jul 27, 2010)

Great ideas, Haunted Dogs!! I especially like the haunted victorian theme, I think that that theme would go wonderfully with the style of home I have to work with. And by the way, your parties sound awesome! I applaud your creative nature and, again, thanks SO MUCH for the wonderful ideas! I think I'm going to go with the haunted victorian house/mansion theme...any ideas on what kind of decor I would need and/or where I could get it? Any info you (or anyone else!) could provide would be very helpful! Thanks!


----------



## BlueFrog (Oct 20, 2009)

Victorians had so many funeral and death-related customs that you have a wealth of possibilities to run with. Seances were so popular that they're a natural. Mourning and funeral customs were elaborate and included all kinds of details that are fun to incorporate in a haunt. Even Dracula and ouija boards date to late Victorian times. Check out this thread for some ideas.


----------



## BunnyMummy (Jan 6, 2011)

Well...I'm going with a evil bunny theme this year. Everyone has to dress up as a rabbit in some various shade of badness. Food will be bunny based (bloody carrot cake, sinister salads, etc.)


----------



## doom_buggy_junkie (Jul 27, 2010)

BlueFrog said:


> Victorians had so many funeral and death-related customs that you have a wealth of possibilities to run with. Seances were so popular that they're a natural. Mourning and funeral customs were elaborate and included all kinds of details that are fun to incorporate in a haunt. Even Dracula and ouija boards date to late Victorian times. Check out this thread for some ideas.


Great thoughts!!! I never thought of that...I'm thinking about incorporating the movie "A Haunting in Connecticut" into part of the entertainment. I've been researching mourning customs, superstitions, etc. during the Victorian era, and there's a wealth of possibilities. But, I'm on a budget, and can't afford to throw an all-out "blockbuster" party...any ideas on decor on a budget? I was thinking about making the upstairs living room a saence scene. An alternative was making the entire house a "home in mourning," and re-create that type of atmosphere. Any ideas on decor? I already know that the windows should all be draped, and so should the mirrors; the clocks should be stopped at the "time of death," etc. I thought my invites could be an obituary/notification of death. Thoughts?


----------



## BlueFrog (Oct 20, 2009)

Love the obit notification idea. I might have to steal that some day 

NOW is the time to start hitting up Goodwill, Salvation Army, Craigslist, yard sales, etc. Check out the 2010 Yard Saling thread started by Mr. Gris in General Halloween to get a sense of just what kinds of amazing finds are out there. When in doubt, hit it with black spray paint  

See if you can't find cheap black fabric at estate sales, garage sales, etc. from people leaving their hobbies. Watch JoAnn Fabrics for closeouts and deep discounts on cheap black cloth. Faux Victorian picture frames, candle holders, etc. have been popular for ages and can often be found quite cheaply. 

More stuff as I think of it...


----------



## offmymeds (May 26, 2010)

I read on here somewhere that people get white sheets from hotels that are throwing them out. You could always cover the furniture and always check garage sales for lace curtains, even ones with stains. Big vases and flower arrangements. Plaster columns etc.... I had a funeral parlour in my living room this year and picked up stuff all year long. It's the only way to go.


----------



## BlueFrog (Oct 20, 2009)

Consider including a white lady, another feature popular in Victorian times. You'll have to hunt the thrift stores for a while to find a suitable dress that hasn't already been snapped up by a fellow haunter  . Check out the many tutorials on this site for how to make a body to wear the dress.

Speaking of bodies, the corpse itself should be layed out in the living room for it to be a proper funeral. 

Along with the stopped clocks, never underestimate the simple symbolism of an hourglass. It's not specifically Victorian, as far as I know, but it was one of visitors' favorite props last year. 

If you're serving a meal, now is the time to stock up on silverplate dinnerware from thrift stores. Just a few of the ubiquitous big serving platters and a couple of taller accent items, like candleholders or tea pots, can do a lot to make the affair look more formal and period-appropriate.


----------



## Austin_Hauntress (Jan 23, 2011)

Not sure if this would be too macabre, but you can find numerous Victorian era death photos on the internet that could be printed out (for relatively little $$) and displayed in frames around a room. Or if that's too creepy (since they are real), perhaps you could have an area set up in your house where your guests could "pose" for their own fake digital death portraits...then email them their pictures as a (de)parting gift/party favor! Though I suppose that sounds equally weird...

But your obituary invitation sounds most excellent! : )


----------



## ThePirateHouse (Aug 9, 2009)

You all have great ideas...any thoughts on how to do a Haunted Sea Harbor? Would like to stay with the Pirate theme, but want something unexpected. Have done the Sirens, Pirate Pub, & Haunted Ship..need something fresh. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## BlueFrog (Oct 20, 2009)

How about including a Harbormaster, a recruiting station of some kind for unemployed pirate sailors, an area for trading/selling/swapping their ill-gotten swag, and some place to acquire provisions for the ships and crew?


----------



## ThePirateHouse (Aug 9, 2009)

Thank you! Great idea...gives me something to think about. Really like the Harbor Master. My father-in-law will be here this year and that would give him a part. Keep the ideas coming...any thoughts on how to work the tombstones in other than the traditional cemetery?


----------



## BlueFrog (Oct 20, 2009)

I don't know how untraditional this idea is for the cemetary, but how about a graveyard next to the pub (for those who drank themselves to death) or the trading post (for those who were killed during negotiations)? The idea would be less an orderly place of rest and respect than a convenient spot to dump the bodies.

Also, how about a red light district?


----------



## ThePirateHouse (Aug 9, 2009)

These arrrrr...wonderful ideas! Thank you so much!


----------



## ter_ran (Jan 14, 2006)

*Great ideas everyone! Really, red light district?.... Lol! You are too crazy BlueFrog! Lol!  

There is sooooooooooooo much available here at the HF for your morbid disposal. Best of luck in choosing a theme! I would drive myself crazy figuring out which one to pick as there are too many choices!  

*


----------



## BlueFrog (Oct 20, 2009)

*ThePirateHouse*, I'm glad you're enjoying my brainstorms. I hadn't ever considered doing a pirate haunt but this is fun! I think you should have some intoxicated soul being shanghai'd into service, perhaps drugged by a lady of the evening in cahoots with a captain or first mate in need of additional labor. A drunk passed out on the street, perhaps after being thrown out of the pub, would have possibilities.

*ter_ran*, you wouldn't believe the ideas for last year's Seven Deadly Sins that I had to nix because my display is so public!  Wrath, and to a lesser extent Lust, suffered from some deletions that grieve me still. I was thisclose to setting them up in the back yard for select ToTs to view but just plain didn't have the time or security. This year's Four Funerals and a Wedding is an inherently more subtle theme, but I'm not above including some suggestive naughtiness where I can get away with it.


----------



## ThePirateHouse (Aug 9, 2009)

Thanks again for the great ideas! Does anyone how to do a water effect without the real thing?


----------



## koliver1 (Sep 21, 2009)

MY friend did a DEAD AND BREAKFAST. It was kind of victorian theme. I had sort of a rooming house thing with one room being the witches boudoir. I had a picture of Frankenstein in a frame with a KISS on it, an old mirror tray with Perfumes ( every eau de toilet you can think of), and old hairbrush, jewelery (skeleton necklaces, spider rings), a diary (lots of spells and hexes). I also made a vibrator to hang on the bedpost ( a leg bone from an old skelly with a hole poked in the end and hot glued a non-working extension cord with plug into the hole. The guys are the ones that commented the most--go figure. I decorated a bunch of goodwill shoes, purses, dresses, and hats and had them hanging in the closet. There was a decanter and martini glass on the nightstand. A carved funkin cage with a blackbird inside hanging from the ceiling and A black cat was eyeing the bird from the floor. I made a pair of witches legs (striped tights stuffed and black boots on the feet) that were peeking out from under the bed with the toes up. Between the witches legs I had a kicking legs prop (mens legs) with the toes down. The kicking legs were sound activated so eveytime someone came in the room the legs went wild. In the bathtub I put a skeleton with a shower cap on and filled the tub with batting "bubbles." I wired a sound activated tree shaker to his legs so he shook when people went in there. I had a skelton hanging over the middle edge of the tub with the head in the bubbles, but my husband made me remove it in the name of dignity. Can't remember more details--my daughter took tons of pics but her camera was stolen before we got them downloaded!!!


----------



## ThePirateHouse (Aug 9, 2009)

Sounds Incredible! Would have loved to have seen the photos. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## allmapa1 (Oct 10, 2009)

Our theme this year is Antiquities and Oddities and I am finding lots of fun things on eBay.
Old vintage silver, vintage butterfly collections, mummy themed items, animals skeletons, etc. We host a party for our neighborhood and friends and each year their expectations get higher.


----------



## BlueFrog (Oct 20, 2009)

*allmapa1*, that is just fantastic. I can only imagine the fun to be had with that theme. In fact, I think I am going to shamelessly steal it for 2013! Wow, wow, wow I wanna do it _now_.


----------



## offmymeds (May 26, 2010)

OHHH allmapa! Absolutely wonderful theme!!! So many possibilities, what fun!


----------



## allmapa1 (Oct 10, 2009)

It should be fun, you can head in any direction with this sort of idea. We started by thinking Mummies and some Egyptian themed items for the bar, I will try to make some canopic bottles based on the great tutorials here on HF. Then on to bugs, skeletons, mounted spiders in display boxes, taxidermy, old funky pieces of silver to serve food in. I found some old doll eyes on Ebay, and those I want to set up somehow to turn and be looking around the room. Then ocean stuff, like brain coral, blow fish, fossil fish, I could go on and on. Oh and don't forget vaseline uranium glass to use with black lights. I want it to feel creepy and spooky, with folks just a little on edge....what will be around the corner or in the next room. We are hiring a band (2 guys) who will be lurking in the woods around our house and escort guests to the party with some odd little melody!


----------



## obcessedwithit (Jul 13, 2009)

BlueFrog said:


> I don't know how untraditional this idea is for the cemetary, but how about a graveyard next to the pub (for those who drank themselves to death) or the trading post (for those who were killed during negotiations)? The idea would be less an orderly place of rest and respect than a convenient spot to dump the bodies.
> 
> Also, how about a red light district?



You could use the red light district with a Jack the Ripper theme. I made tombstones of all his victims and one for him and made their own little cementry area.


----------

