# Halloween Party '08!!



## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

Oh I just love this theme, this is exactly like what I am doing this year. Im not much into Tarrot so I like the Edward Gorey theme for invitations. Your decorations seem right on track. Maybe add some candelabra's here and there, Lots of lace. I recently bought several old lace table clothes at thrift stores and dyed them gun metal grey. I used black dye but the result was like a gun metal or cemet gray. Awesome effect. Im using them on the tables and curtains as well. roses sound great too dark red or black. As for Music there is a music thread here somewhere I would check with them. For games Im stumped there too, but the feast idea sounds great. I would add some dry ice coming out of containers here and there on the feast table for effect and Im adding a dark chocolate fountain.(not very victorian , but fun I think) Let me know what else you come up with.


----------



## tallula_g (Sep 19, 2006)

Wikkd,
Last year I had a vampire party and it was very victorian gothic. I had lace and black material hung everywhere, I found some victorian looking furniture at the good will and used it for seating. I hung up old looking painted portraits on the walls, I made a huge fireplace out of foam sheets, covered it with black marble shelf paper and put skull and candles on it. Start scouring any second hand stores, good wills, etc for candle holders and glass serving bowls. I bought tons of them over the year from auctions and second hand stores. Think about Edgar Allan Poe poetry, use on inivites maybe? Carved pumpkins (you could use the white ones, top hats, parasolls (can't spell!) and tons of candles! As for food all I can think of is things like pumpkin pie or rolls, candy or caramel apples, suckers, etc. You could liven them up by tying with black lace or velvet ribbon. You should def. get some Absinthe (you can only buy the fake stuff in the United States.) This was the big drink of it's time and is associated with that time period. 

Check out: VictorianHalloween.com they have a listing of victorian games and other Victorian Halloween info. Some other good web sites to get ideas or info: 
Velvet Moon Bathery-victoriana soaps (really fun to look at and you will get some ideas)
Art of Adornment-Victorian goth clothing (beautiful stuff)
Dover Publishing- Lots of victorian clip art programs, books and paper dolls, etc.
Midnight Syndicate-they make Halloween cd's, I think they have a CD to go with every theme! I bought the vampire one, really good mood music! 
Guild of Funerary Violinists-very somber gothic violin music played at funerals-def. sets the mood!
Dark Candles- I bought candles from her for my prizes-she has scents like Graveyard, Vampire, Absinthe, etc. (good product, nice lady)
Martha Stewart web site-lots of her Halloween ideas are very victorian looking.

If I think of anything else I'll be back! Sounds like fun!


----------



## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

*Wow Tallula, thanks for the post. I will definately be using these sites for my party as well.*


----------



## IshWitch (May 19, 2006)

And I want to thank you as well, since my party is going to Vampire themed and I want a gothic/victorian vibe for it!


----------



## tallula_g (Sep 19, 2006)

Oh another thing I thought of was the bags I used for my favors. I got them at this web site:
Paper Mart Packaging Store - Fabric Bags & Pouches I used the sating draw string bags in red, silver & black. They were the perfect size to put little goodies in them and my guests loved them! They are pretty cheap and good quality for the price. This is a pic of my favor bags:
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n244/tallula_g/Party Props/IMG_0568.jpg and
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n244/tallula_g/Party Props/IMG_0565.jpg
also here is a link to my party pictures:
tallula_g/Bloody Good Halloween 07 - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

hope I gave you a little inspiration! Have fun!


----------



## ylbissop (Sep 6, 2007)

great theme! cant wait to see what you come up with.
Most of the Victorian games I know of had to do with various divining methods for finding a suitor like the ones at Games for Halloween

There was one i thought was neat where someone would try to identify people from only the persons shadow cast from behind the guesser onto a cloth the person casting the shadow is allowed to disguise their shadow as much as they want but if they are identified they take the place of the guesser or give up the game.

also as opposed to the messy bobbing for apples they would hang an apple from a string and take turns trying to bite it without using their hands.

haloween greeting cards where all the rage then as well you can find tons of pictures by googling "Victorian halloween cards"


----------



## The Lurker (Jun 10, 2008)

I know I'm new here, but for many years we have hosted variously themed parties. A Victorian Gothic theme sounds fantastic! I plan to steal this idea! Thank you! All of the ideas I've read are wonderful, but I'd like to add to the food options, discussion? 

I don't know how extravagent you want to go, but serving a feast would be great. Maybe break out of the traditional Halloween mode and go all out. Maybe a Turduken, a regular roast turkey or a "joint" of roast beef? Make several traditional accompanying dishes. It's a lot more work, but as you carve the meats and people serve themselves the rest of the dishes, it gives you the opportunity to really talk to all your guests. I have done that several times at Halloween, putting out a full blown traditonal buffet dinner and people were really excited about it. Do all the sides ahead, things that warm up easily and you have less to do the night of the party. When I've thrown these types of parties with a complete dinner, I know we've had to kick people out the next morning! 

One of the appetizer dishes I do is a loaf of bread carved and shaped to look like a coffin complete with vampire, stake through the heart (a pretzel stick), all edible. 

Hollow out some oranges, fill with a nice sorbet and freeze, its a cheap and tasty dessert. 

You could also make a Victorian Menu board, list out your food stuffs. The devil is sometimes in the details and the guests appreciate knowing what they are eating. When I've done it, I usually have creepy names for the foods which I'm sure most people also do.


----------



## pandora (Jul 15, 2004)

Everyone's had alot of great ideas, so I don't have much to add. I would scour yard sales for some cheap frames and print out some vintage pics in black and white to place everywhere. I would also have lots of knick knacks around. Again, I would check yard sales or thrift stores. Collections were very popular. Also for music, Midnight Syndicate is definitely my favorite, but in the past I've also used the soundtrack to Interview with the Vampire. Some very eerie tracks on it. You could always make a mixed CD picking and choosing. Good luck!


----------



## IshWitch (May 19, 2006)

tallula~walk me through how you dyed the lace. I've got some but want to see how you do it. I used to dye everything in my washer putting on wash and hold so that it would swish and stop and then just keep resetting it until I had the color I liked, but now I have a front loader so will have to dye in a tub.

Lurker~we have done "the carcass of the beast" for our main meat and had great results. It was a deep fried turkey, and also a smoked turkey on the grill. Looks great on a table!

ylbissop~the apples on the string get more people to do it! And it doesn't wreck the makeup and costumes. Thanks for reminding me of doing that from way back in girlscouts!


----------



## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

IshWitch said:


> tallula~walk me through how you dyed the lace. I've got some but want to see how you do it. I used to dye everything in my washer putting on wash and hold so that it would swish and stop and then just keep resetting it until I had the color I liked, but now I have a front loader so will have to dye in a tub.
> 
> Lurker~we have done "the carcass of the beast" for our main meat and had great results. It was a deep fried turkey, and also a smoked turkey on the grill. Looks great on a table!
> 
> ylbissop~the apples on the string get more people to do it! And it doesn't wreck the makeup and costumes. Thanks for reminding me of doing that from way back in girlscouts!


Ishwitch I once dyed an all lace wedding dress in the bath tub. I just followed the directions on the box added the salt as it said and started stirring it with the end of my broom stick. I felt like a real witch then When I had the color I wanted I just added some soap and rinsed the dress until all dye was gone and it came out awesome. Im using it this year as my costume....Glamour Ghoul Hope that helps


----------



## The Auditor (Apr 2, 2006)

Wikkd said:


> 5. and lastly, what about music?? i suppose we could use regular halloween songs but i wanted to get more accurate with the theme. maybe i could try the sleepy hollow soundtrack...?


2 words...Midnight Syndicate. Yes I know others have pointed out the same, but it bears repeating. The 13th Hour has exactly what you're looking for. 

Midnight Syndicate's Official Site

Midnight_Syndicate&#146;s Profile » Sinister Space - Halloween and Haunt Community


----------



## IshWitch (May 19, 2006)

DITTO! Love Midnight Syndicate!
13th Hour is one of my favorite shirts to wear, too.


What color did you dye the wedding dress, Spook?


----------



## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

IshWitch said:


> DITTO! Love Midnight Syndicate!
> 13th Hour is one of my favorite shirts to wear, too.
> 
> 
> What color did you dye the wedding dress, Spook?



Hey ish I used black dye but it came out like a gun metal grey, I love it, its very cool. The lace looks great when you dye it. Really takes the dye well.


----------



## Elza (Jun 21, 2004)

I know a party game that really fits anything. I don't remember its name, but its fun.

Two people are in on the "Trick" to this game. One is the medium and the other the assistant. You place 9 hardbound books on the floor. You send the medium out of the room and then you have a party guest pick a book. You call the medium back into the room and using a pointer, you point from book to book and ask the medium which book was chosen. The medium tells you the correct book. This really stumps the guests. You have everyone try to figure out how the medium does it.

Now here's the trick to this game. When the assistant points to a book, they are pointing to the position of the actual book chosen. To explain further...Visualize the book. The book has four sides, four corners and a middle total of nine positions (9 books) so if I point to the top right hand corner of each book as I point, the medium knows the book chosen is the top right hand corner book. If I point to the exact middle of the book, they know the middle book is the one.

It's really a lot of fun and could fit well with this theme.


----------



## Elza (Jun 21, 2004)

Ooops! forgot to tell you to place the books in 3 rows of 3.


----------



## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

*very cool. I think I will try that at my party this year. Thanks Elza*


----------



## GDfreak (Jul 11, 2006)

If you need help with anything decoration wise, I would let The Haunted Mansion be your bible. Welcome, Foolish Mortals... to DoomBuggies - a Tribute to Disney's Haunted Mansion > Free email, fan forums, multimedia and more...


----------



## IshWitch (May 19, 2006)

Spook and Tallula, 
Do you soak the lace/dress in boiling water? Hot water? Do you use a bin?
I have collected around a half dozen lace curtains/table cloths to do this.
How many bottles or boxes of RIT do you use?


----------



## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

Ish I did that as well. I went to all of these thrift stores and I bought tons of lace and crochet table clothes. Dyed them all. They came out awesome. I dont remember if it was hot or not I just did what ever the box tells you. It tells you how much water and salt and if it should be cold or not. You have to check because I dont remember. Anyway it makes for a great effect. You are going to love it. Let me know how they come out. 
You really cant screw this up, I remember it being very very easy


----------



## tallula_g (Sep 19, 2006)

found these cool napkins at Plum Party, would look great with a victorian goth theme:
Plum Party Supplies, Theme Parties, Favors & Decorations: Chandelier White+Black Luncheon Napkins - Set Of 20


----------



## rayzir (Aug 17, 2006)

I'm not sure how structured you like your games. But you could do a Murder Mystery. It only supports a certain number of people, but you might be able to widen that a bit, or perhaps have your 'actors' act out the murder and let your onlookers decided who the murder is (nobody really knows who the killer is, not even the actors). They're a lot of fun to play.

Another alternative is a game called Werewolf (sometimes called Mafia). Basically, each player is assigned a roll. Villager, seer, and Werewolf. The turn alternates between night and day. During the night, a werewolf (or werewolves) chooses a villager to kill. During the day phase the killed villager is revealed by the moderator and that player is out of the game. The villagers then decide who they think the werewolf is and lynch that player (out of the game). The game continues until the werewolf is caught or all of the villagers are dead. Its a very psychological game where you're always questioning the motivations of the other players. A lot of fun and it could easily be adapted to Vampires vs. Villagers. I'd check it out if you get a chance. You can read more about it here. You can also Google "How To Play Werewolf" and you should come up with a lot of sites explaining the rules.


----------



## BadTableManor (Sep 8, 2007)

Hm, Gorey or Tarot. That's a tough choice. I guess it depends on whether you want the invites to be colorful (Tarot), or more the black-and-white look (Gorey). 
If you went with Gorey invites, you could continue the theme by using a lot of urns and stuff. Here's a great site, Edwardian Ball. The Edwardian Ball Weekend :: Jan 25-27, 2008 Every year they throw a big, weekend-long event, and every year is a different Gorey theme. I especially love the stand-ups they made. There's also a ton of outrageous Victorian-inspired costume pics. You're gonna love it.

I'm really anal about what music I play at my party. It has to fit the theme just right. 
I got this cd and absolutely love it; it's dark, beautiful, and sensuous. If the Phantom were a vampire, this is what he'd play.
ABSINTHE - ALANDIA World of Absinthe - Absinthe Music Absinthe CD "Sanguinem Mittère" vma31000

Alandia has some fantastic absinthe accessories, but I've found the best deals on e-bay. Got a beautiful pair of absinthe glasses, an absinthe spoon, and even absinthe-themed sugar cubes there. If you've got the bucks, an absinthe fountain would be gorgeous. Or you could try an make one yourself, just for display.
Lucid brand absinthe is available in the US, but I've never tasted it. I love licoricey-tasting liquores, but found most absinthes to be harsh. Absente, which is fake absinthe, tastes much better to me. Or even better, Pernod, but that's getting away from the theme. Yeah, I have a bit of an obsession with La Fee' Verte...

Victorian food. I'm thinking (moldy-looking) teatime sandwiches, tea, and very fancy cakes? Did you see this site already? Food

Have fun!


----------



## 2coolbaby (Jul 21, 2008)

We played the Immortal Murders murder mystery game last year. It would work great for this. It has vampires, werewolves, fae and mages. It takes place at the Immortals annual Costume Ball. We had a blast. We did up everything in goth. We even put paper on all the walls with hand drawn gothic decorations. Castle walls, brocades drapes, candlesticks, bats outside windows. It was so fun creating our scene.

The Immortal Murders - A Halloween Murder Mystery Party Game


----------

