# Ghost Pirate Party Theme



## llondra (Sep 29, 2004)

This will be our third year to host a Halloween party - first year's theme was Haunted Mansion and second year's theme was a Voodoo Hoodoo. Now, we're going to do a ghost pirate ship type theme. Dead men tell no tales and all the cliches! 

And I'm so excited because October is now only 4 months away so I can really dig in and start planning. 'cause 4 months is really not that long... and I can justify thinking about Halloween before summer even starts. Hehe.

Anyway, as usual, the biggest (read - hardest) decision to make will be the games and activities. I'd like them to be pirate-themed of course, or at least something where I can make the name at least pirate-themed. I'm thinking of a treasure hunt, but our party space is very open and I'm afraid it would be a pretty quick hunt. (Though, I'm trying to think of tricking and inventive hiding spots - like using the guests as hiding places. Make a skeleton key one of the items and then make skeleton key necklaces for one of the guests to wear - every time someone finds the key, the guest gives them the necklace and pulls out another to wear.) So, if I could make it a *really* good treasure hunt, I think that would be a definite winner.

I also read a sorta goofy game that sounds like battleship mixed with role-playing that I thought I might be able to adapt as some sort of party game. The game is here:

http://www.io.com/~sj/PirateGame2.html

I have to admit that everytime I get the image of a group of adults in full costume crawling around on the floor pushing lego ships, I think it's hysterical.

And of course, I could always reprise games from the past. Last year we did Wheel of Torture - with such tortures as Sing with Brittany and Scoop for Poop. And Halloween Jeopardy and Halloween Pictionary are fun. I never did the Family Feud - so maybe I could do an adaptation and make it Pirate Feud. (Instead of buzzing in, everyone "Arrrrrgh"s in.)

So, I would appreciate any and all thoughts and suggestions for the party - games and activities, invites and decorations, recipes, etc.

Whew...


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## sisvicki (Jan 30, 2004)

Hhhhmmm, in the book 'Treasure Island', I think, there is a part where someone gets a "black spot" or a "black dot". I assume on a piece of paper. This was a summons and on the back of the black spot was written details of the summons. Thought that would be neat as an invite, although not many would guess it's meaning, or incorporate it into a game somehow. Most commonly, folks say that the black spot is the mark of death.

How about a pirate insult contest? Participants taking turns insulting the audience (who gets to vote for the best insulter) in proper Pirate language. Argh, ye scurvy dawgs.

Treasure hunts, always good. Dubloons, booty.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day is September 19.

Hhmm, pirates seem to be a difficult topic for me.

llondra, I remember your Wheel of Torture thing. What else did you have on that wheel?


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## llondra (Sep 29, 2004)

Thanks for the ideas, as for our tortures, the ones I remember were:

* Sing with Brittany / Sing with Christina - we bought one of those pop girls karaoke cd's for the tortured souls to sing their 'favorite' songs from

* Scoop for Poop - new litter box filled with grape nuts and baby ruth bars; they got to scoop and eat their findings

* River Dance

* Pat your head and rub your tummy

* Sing the Scooby-Doo theme song

Here's a pic of our Wheel:


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## littlespook (Aug 11, 2003)

We are going to have a Halloween party this year also, I like your games! I need all the ideas I can get because I have never had an adult Halloween party, just kiddie parties for my 2 boys, I like the Haunted Mansion theme. We are out by some woods, maybe I can get some ideas for some games outside!

littlespook


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## sisvicki (Jan 30, 2004)

llondra, how's the mechanism for the wheel made to make it spin? I really really want one of those! And I got a karaoke machine for Christmas so the 'sing with Brittany' thing is just awesome.

Ineteresting link:
http://www.fidius.org/quiz/pirate/

I also found an intriguing old pirate picture online depicting "monk riding". If you have enough room or are outdoors, you could have an old fashioned "monk riding" race. That would be funny.


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## sisvicki (Jan 30, 2004)

oooh, or how about this:

http://www.deadmentellnotales.com/page/DM/PROD/G/PTG

You could even make your own. And make games and rules like darts.


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## sisvicki (Jan 30, 2004)

Here's a link to an ebook for sale that I thought looked promising:
http://www.questexperiences.com/quest2/products/piratebook.asp


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## llondra (Sep 29, 2004)

We were lucky enough to have the wheel loaned to us, so didn't have to worry about building. I don't know how it was built, but here's a link that gives a general explanation:

http://www.angelfire.com/ca/kidsandstuff/wheel.html

And a link where you can buy one already made:

http://prize-wheel.com/

HTH


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## Spooky Chuck (Jun 14, 2003)

I think this thread helped me figure out what I want to be this year. A ghost pirate would make a great costume!! Thanks!!!


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## llondra (Sep 29, 2004)

The more we talk about the party theme, the more jazzed we get. And, of course, we've been walking around for days unable to get the words to "All For Me Grog" out of our heads.

I've started collecting music - drinking songs, sea shanties, and bawdy verse. We're wanting to do the front of the house as a ship scene with the prow of the ship coming out of the front and the captain at the wheel. Ideally, we'd like some animated props - maybe a turning wheel, singing and drinking skeleton pirates for sure, and the rattling-cage skeleton pirate. The inside of the house will be a sea tavern, complete with saucy wenches. We're going to do up a cell off of the kitchen - open up the garage door and put cell bars in the opening. We'll put up a black background so you can't see the garage and put a pirate behind bars. Down the hallway to the bathroom we're probably just going to put torches and then have ambient sound of waves and creaking ship. (And don't ask how we go from tavern to pier - that's not the point LOL) Not sure how to do the bathroom itself yet. The backyard will be the backside of the tavern - tropical and beachy as suited to a pirate hideaway.

So, we've got the basics of the party laid out... now those pesky details. 

We're talking about trying something a bit different this year as far as hosting and that is to host the whole thing in-character - similar to how we do our murder mystery. We can definitely get a few faces to play along and it'll provide some amusing and entertaining interaction I think. (Anyone who's ever been to the Adventurer's Club at WDW would have an idea of where we're heading with this.)

Thanks for all of the ideas so far - and I hope ya'll keep them coming.


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## Spooky Chuck (Jun 14, 2003)

You just can't go wrong with saucy wenches I think I'll have some at my party also, even though it's not a pirate theme! Sounds like it will look great!


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## CreepyKitty (Jul 19, 2004)

That sounds like such a great party Llondra! You have got a great theme to boot! (no pun intended) As for the bathroom, I have gotten pretty good at decorating the bathroom to match-out lately and just thought I might run an idea by ya.

Fill the tub up with water and put a skeleton in there maybe with a shower cap on and holding some soap if you can and also put real/fake fish in it to swim around him. although, if there are children going to be at your party I don't think that might be a very good idea because they might make a mess. But if you are mainly going to have adults you could try the skeleton and fish thing for the tub, and maybe some spooky candles sitting around it and a aquarium treasure chest in there with the fish.

Not sure how you would do the sink still thinking about that. lol. Just an idea thought I think it would be kind of neat for people who went into the bathroom! I usually put something really bizzarre in the bathroom to confuse people when they go in there. One year for my party I had a pre-recorded tape of a very faint scratching and I put it in the bathtub behind the shower curtain and some people were so afraid they didn't want to go in there! Of course some people (like my dad) wasn't scared and he just pulled the curtain open and saw the sterio sitting there.


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## pirategirl (Jul 9, 2005)

Pirates, yummmy... he hehe

Hmmm can I come? lol 
Alright, you need a plank that you can make ppl walk. Maybe have a large matress at the bottom or something like that and have it on the wheel of torture.

Also pirate fued would be good, if you want some ideas for questions feel free to email me Like you can ask name three famous pirate females and name 7 famous pirates..
Two pirate females were Anne Bonnie and Marry Reid... THe other was a Chinese woman that inheireted her ships when her husband died.

If you serve alcoholic beverages you can make grog... 
Ingredients
2floz rum
1 sugar lump
the juice of half an organic lemon
2 cloves
small stick of cinnamon

Method
Put all the ingredients into a heat proof mug and fill with boiling water. If preferred serve in a strong tumbler when the drink has cooled a little (so as not to break the glass).

I will come back when I can think of more things, this has me excited and it's not my party lol


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## llondra (Sep 29, 2004)

The ideas are coming together. Here's what we have so far:

Outside decoration (front yard) - we nixed the pirate ship idea and are going with a ship wreck instead. Let's us have the elements of the ship without the hassle and expense of trying to actually build a realistic looking pirate ship. So, we're going to have a stand with the ship wheel and a pirate skeleton lashed to it. We're thinking of setting up half of a mast with the crow's nest and tattered sails hanging from it with, of course, another tattered skeleton in the nest. Blue lighting on the scene and we're thinking of adding wind (via shop fan) and thunder sounds.

Outside decoration (back yard) - We have a covered patio made of wood planking so we were going to try to set up some kind of effect to make it look tented at one end - hang sheets and pull back with twine. The idea is to create a 'landing party' effect with the captain's tent. We have tiki torches and we were going to toss down some sand around the edges, and build a treasure chest scene. The treasure chest will be partially in a shallow hole with shovel beside it.

Indoor decoration (living room) - this is our main entertaining area and we are dolling it up as a tavern. We bought some sconces and hurricane lamps to hang off of them. We already have hanging swords and a dart board in our living room. You can't go wrong with cobwebs (no one said it was a clean tavern - these are pirates after all!) Flickering lights and candles, and other odds and ends to add to the effect. And we found a copy of the "Pirate's Creed" done on old style looking paper at the museum which we're going to hang. And monk riding - we definitely need a pic of monk riding!!

Indoor decoration (hallway) - The original idea was to have the pirate behind bars off of the kitchen, but we're thinking now to put him at the end of the hallway. (The way our house is laid out, you walk down the hall and the bathroom is to the left, so they would see him on the way to the bathroom.) We'll probably put together a sound track for him.

Indoor decoration (bathroom) - still deciding. We had the skeleton in the bathtub with a shower cap and bath brush last year, so wanted to do something different. Maybe a cave? Or outhouse...

Food - keeping it simple this year:

* Dead Men's Finger Sandwiches
* Dead Men's Bits and Pieces (fruit and cheese tray)
* Dead Men's Tails (haven't quite decided what this will be, but we loved the name - anyone have some ideas?)

Drink -

* Grog (we're going to put this in some kind of cask for serving)
* Rum punch

Activities -


* Mix and Mingle - The first hour will be letting people arrive and mingle - and get drinks. During this time, we're going to have several 'cast' members wandering and providing interaction. There's a fortune teller doing Tarot reading, a fiddle-playing minstrel, lusty wenches propositioning.... and, any other ideas?

* Booty Hunt - ladies (who want to participate) will write down a description of their booty. We'll line them up at the front and read the description, at which time the other guests have to match the booty to the lady. This was my DH's idea and while I think it could be hilarious - I'm also a little worried that there could be some issues with hurt feelings (someone writes down a description like "large and in charge", but the wrong lady gets guessed...) Am I just a worry-wort?

* Pirate Ship Races - We'll divide guests into teams and each gets a ship. The pirate ships are tacked to a cork board track. There will be a bowl to draw from that has different 'events'. For example, you draw "Hurrican a'Comin". In order to outrun the hurricane you have to perform an activity faster than the other ships (teams) - activities could be wrap a team member in toilet paper, pass 3 apples with your chin down the line, throw out the best insult, etc. 

* Treasure Hunt - We downloaded the Pirate Treasure Hunt from Quest Experiences and are working that into a treasure hunt.

*Costume Contest - same as last year with the trophies being a bit more pirate themed.

* Sing-a-long and interactive storytelling. This would be the last part of the evening and the way I see this working is our pirate 'band' starts off with a medley of songs to draw the crowd around. Then some of our 'cast' lead the group in a couple of sing alongs. (Songs like Barnacle Bill the Sailor because you can have the girls and guys singing back and forth to each other - but not quite so raunchy LOL). Then, one of the cast tells a proper pirate ghost story with certain phrases to be interjected by the group(every time he says this, the group says that). Finally, the last story will be Mad Lib type, with the storyteller pointing out random people to fill in the blank.

OK. That's where we are now. Thoughts or further suggestions?


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## pirategirl (Jul 9, 2005)

ok dead men's tails Cocktail wennies? 

and as for the bathroom... add a few things to make it kinda look like part of the ship, and use the skeleton again but this time fill the bathtub part way with water adding food color to make it look like Rum having the skeleton kneeling with the head sideways under the water. Maybe even have a sign that says "Fresh Rum Suppy" or something like that.

OR:
have a sign on the door that says DAVEY JONES LOCKER: Enter at your Own Parrel(risk)!!!
And have the bathroom styled like a locker room only with piratey theme. Like stripped socks hanging over the shower curtain, boots that look piratey near the sink, clothes of black and brown color in the tub as if they are about to be washed.... or something similar.

Still I am liking your party alot... Need an actor??? lol


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## llondra (Sep 29, 2004)

pirategirl, awesome! Thanks so much - the cocktail weenies and Davey Jones Locker ideas are perfect!

Hey, if you're in the Houston area...


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## pirategirl (Jul 9, 2005)

Glad to help lol I love pirates
but no sorry to say I won't be I will be up in VA... 
have fun though and take pics... I would love to see what you do


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2005)

Can you get Johnny Depp to attend!   If you can pull that off, don't forget to invite me!!!!!!!!1

Seriously, how about a "rum tasting" game? Break people up into teams and mix up drinks of rum and cokes (or rum punch or whatever). All members of the team will taste each sample and have to guess which brand of rum...


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