# Atmosphere makes the Halloween Party



## kprimm (Apr 3, 2009)

Totally agree. I play halloween party music and decorate the whole darn house, but the basement is primarilly where the party is. I have fog, lights, a halloween village and decorations every place you look.


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## printersdevil (Sep 7, 2009)

We also have lots of atmosphere at the Boo Bash with every room decorated and music too. All of my food is spooky or frightful in name or looks or both. Last year we had a full dinner with the main dish being Freshly flayed flesh, which was barbecued brisket. 

We just spread out through the house with most congregating in the living/kitchen dining area and the large screened in porch. 

This year I will also have card tables set up in the backyard by the cemetery.

I am changing up things inside and doing a lot with witches since my theme is a Witches Ball and I am also hosting my first party for women only that is called Be WITCHY. Is is based on the wonderful ideas from this forum of the Witches Wing-ding and the Bewitched Bash.


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## NOWHINING (Jul 25, 2009)

The party is set at my sister, Spookyone's house. I dont know what is going on on the decorations yet, becuz mainly there was a change and then it ended up being changed back.


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## Witch Hazel (Sep 6, 2008)

Music and sounds are essential to set the tone for the party. We have scary sounds & noises playing on front porch when guests arrive. Upstairs (where the food is), we have Halloween themed music playing to get everyone in the party mood. Songs from "Thriller" by Michael Jackson to the "Monster Mash". In the basement, where the most of the props & the walls are wrapped, we play scary sounds until everyone arrives & then we start the music we can dance to. 

I agree lighting plays a huge part as well. Just halloween lights on porch and possibly a black light.  Lots of candles, flicker candles & strings of purple lights upstairs. Our living room/dining room/kitchen is open so we replace the recessed lights in kitchen with red ones. Gives everything an eerie glow. Lots of candles & jack o lanterns throughout, esp in basement & we string orange & purple light on the rafters of the basement along with replacing the bulbs with red or black lights. We like enough light so everyone can see what they are doing & no one falls or gets hurt but too much light isn't scary at all.


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## Paul Melniczek (Jun 5, 2009)

Sounds cool. I like the sound of that barbeque brisket. 

Lighting should be dim, but too much spoils the effect. I totally agree. I turn the lights down, and my wife will sneek them back up.

Paul.


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## psox16 (Jun 6, 2009)

Unfortunately, I am still pretty novice and haunting so I don't have a lot, but candles are my number 1 ambiance tool. I am addicted to buying Halloween candles and candle holders. Going along with the lighting theme...flickering candles are a great way to set the mood. Of course...always be safe and don't leave candles unattended. Also, not for the big drunken party. Dangerous times. Not that I know of experience or anything...


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## johnshenry (Sep 24, 2006)

This should give you some idea:






The "blackout" from last years party which was totally over the top insane. Listen for the hum, buzz and bang right before the place blacks out (was all part of the opening soundtrack). 

3000 watts of strobes in the back woods blasting through the back windows. Old candelabra lights with flicker bulbs, etc....

55 people there had a blast....


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## blackfog (Oct 9, 2008)

I didn't have a fire but put these guys in the fireplace with lights. I put a bulb that changed 6 different colors in my lamps.










This was the powder room. It turned out better than I thought it would.










This was my dining room window.










This was my foyer. I made black curtains for every room entrance out of a black plastic tablecloth and it really added a nice touch to every room.










I have more pics in my album. So yes atmosphere and lighting and music really does make a difference for a party. The food and spirits help to mostly the spirits....after a few drinks everything looks better lol!


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## CMSSATX (Aug 18, 2010)

Great stuff; to me LIGHTING is the number one item on the list.
I can take a relatively lame prop... put it in the right lighting- an presto! It can look scary/cool/crazy. 
I do lighting EVERYWHERE- from the front door/lawn to the main party area to the bathrooms. I don't want my guests to ever forget that they are at a party!!!
Favorite lighting combo is red low wattage with UV lights; always a great effect.


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## Paul Melniczek (Jun 5, 2009)

Blackfog, great pictures. Your fireplace looks a lot like ours. Same design. I need to get the camera working for online pics! That room does look awesome, my friend. Our room is bigger, but we have the TV in the same spot. What are those things in the fireplace? They look like lighted orange skulls. And I like that ghost with the blue light.

On our mantle we have flickering skeleton lights, a blowmold pumpkin in the middle, blowmold scarecrow on one end, a jack-o-lantern blowmold on the other, and several ceramic vintage pieces. We got them at a Giant Food Store years ago. One is a headless horseman, another a mummy, another a witch with crystal ball, and one is a ghost with pumpkin as head. The series is called Prettique if I remember. Cool vintage stuff, and rare. Thanks for posting.

Paul.


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## blueblurred (Aug 24, 2010)

I'm going to have a Tales From the Crypt marathon on in the living room, and in the kitchen I will be playing my Halloween/creepy song playlist.
Dim the lights in the kitchen, candles, blablabla. I think I will get a cheapo fog machine and put that in the kitchen/dining room as well.
I think I will put a strobe in the open stairwell leading to the basement (we won't have anything going on down there but I have a scene to build in the stairwell itself).
I will also have the obligatory sound effects outside for the outdoor scenes.


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## BadTableManor (Sep 8, 2007)

johnshenry said:


> This should give you some idea:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs2ilME5EV4


Best. Party. Vid. EVER.


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## blackfog (Oct 9, 2008)

Thanks Paul for the nice comments! Those skulls in the fireplace were form the dollar store and I cut into them and stuffed them with some orange led lights. The purple led lights under them twinkled. Some great finds at Giant go figure. Yes would love to see some pics......put down that pen and fix the camera lol!


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## johnshenry (Sep 24, 2006)

BadTableManor said:


> Best. Party. Vid. EVER.


Thanks. I just got a new Hi Def video camera, so I will try to run that, and my old one, from two different angles (maybe one outside) and capture this year's "Zombie Attack Party"...... 

BTW, list at 3;24 in that video, you can hear a fire alarm. Some one got busted by the bathroom closet booby trap.

Also, it is probably obvious, but we hand out glow sticks to everyone when they show up. Maybe this year we can tell them they are "Zombie Repellers"....


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## blackfog (Oct 9, 2008)

nice pics johnshenery! Looks like your party was a huge success.....gives a new meaning to "Dancing in the Dark" lol!


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