# All About Themes



## Ecula (Oct 21, 2007)

Here what there has been so far:

• Swamp/voodoo
• Voodoo on the Bayou
• Boo Orleans Bash
• Mardi Ghoul
• Haunted forest
• Spider's liar
• Zombies
• Zombie-spa
• Zombie apocalypse
• Disco zombie
• Egyptian curse
• Mummies
• Medieval
• Scarecrow/harvest
• Killer clown/carnival/circus
• Psychotic circus
• Creepy carnival
• Witches, warlocks and other magical creatures
• Gnomes & trolls
• Train accident
• Morgue/corpses
• Graveyard
• Funeral
• Skeletons
• Pirates
• Mad scientist/lab
• Butcher/slaughter house
• Asylum
• Dungeon
• Surreal Estate
• Hell's Kitchen
• Haunted Manor
• Gothic Manor
• Vampire ball
• Haunted hotel
• Haunted Luau
• Dia de los Muertos Shrine
• Murder mystery
• Murder scene
• Twisted Fairy Tales
• Old Hollywood
• Haunted Hollywood
• Addams Family
• Nightmare Before Christmas
• Harry Potter
• Sleepy Hollow
• Underworld
• World of Warcraft
• Heroes & villains
• Superheroes/comic book
• Men in Black/aliens, space odd-isy
• Famous dead people or dead famous people
• Ghost stories
• Scary tales
• Monster mash
• Face your fears
• 80's/old skool
• Somewhere in time
• Boos & spirits
• Dante's inferno
• Dead man's party
• Choose your own adventure
• It's the end of the world as we know it!
• Haunted Cruise
• Ghost Ship
• Frozen to Death


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## Ecula (Oct 21, 2007)

It is great to pick one theme and then start to play with it. Search pics trough internet
and plan. I think I am after all more of the kind of Gothic touch. Can man even say it 
like that... Me and my English. Main thing you understand. I loved my clown last year
but all the other stuff was very hard to put up and I wasn't satisfied. How is it you start to 
plan your haunt/party?


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## Frankie's Girl (Aug 27, 2007)

I used to do just general haunted house, but then I started doing themes:

Surreal Estate
Invite was a Haunted Open House flyer from Rigor Mortgage (idea and name courtesy of the amazing Fright Gallery haunt that is no longer with us)
http://www.halloweenforum.com/party...cipes/71080-surreal-estate-theme-invites.html
I was a surreal estate agent (zombie realtor) and had a coffin shaped name tag with _Myra Mains, Rigor Mortgage_ on it. Made a realtor sign to stick out front with Rigor Mortgage and Myra Mains' contact info on it... (darn, don't have a pic of the street sign)
Had door prizes and everyone brought their keys to open the "stuck" door. It was a huge hit. 

Last party I did was funeral themed. It was fun to plan, but we had a horrible turn-out due to swine flu, so if we do decide to do a party again, this theme will be reused.
I made a large painting of Mortimer Widows (the deceased) and DaveintheGrave made me some awesome moving eyes to simulate the "old painting with the secret passage/lookout" effect. Invites were coffin shaped, and had a little rhyme:
_Mortimer Widows caught a chill,
He passed away, but left a will.
We meet to mourn and socialize -
Will you be there to claim his prize?_










http://www.halloweenforum.com/party-ideas-experiences-recipes/76377-years-party-theme-funeral.html


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## witchymom (Oct 6, 2008)

i dont do a specific theme - just go for general 'creepy'... witches, bats, skeletons, pretty classic stuff like that


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## Halloween Scream (Sep 29, 2010)

Inside my house I have a different theme in each room (Kitchen: "Hell's Kitchen, Living Room: "Haunted Manor", Office: "Dia de los Muertos Shrine", Eating Area/Bar "Boos & Spirits", Bathroom: "Nightmare Before Christmas"). I will keep these themes the same each year but just expand on them. To keep things interesting, I plan on changing the theme to the main entryway (vaulted ceilings perfect for hanging decorations) and dining room. Last year was our first party and I chose "classic Halloween" just to get things started. Here is a picture of the dining room, the entryway had dozens of paper bats hanging.


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## Ecula (Oct 21, 2007)

Sound great everyone! I most definitely have to come there sometime during Halloween!
To see how it is and visit all possible stores! 


It is so much different there. Here people have parties and decorate their homes.
We don't have TOTs and almost nothing outdoors. And people don't go around
to see, what all people have put up. Some bars have theme parties at the time.
I have been saying this many times, that here in Finland Halloween is for adults.
Where I grew up in the South-West Finland, there is this old custom, that kids
go around asking for candy short after Christmas:

St. Knut's Day - "Good [St.] Thomas brings the Christmas, evil Knut takes [it] away."

Nuuttipukki was a scary character (cf. Krampus). The men dressed as Nuuttipukki wandered from 
house to house, came in, and typically demanded household residents for food and especially alcoholic 
beverages. In Finland the Nuuttipukki tradition is still living at areas of Satakunta, Finland Proper and 
Ostrobothnia. However, nowadays the character is usually played by children and now involves a 
happy encounter.








Old mask. Creepy.

And back to themes. I am thinking of having that regular thing this year. Next year it is going 
to be swamp/voodoo.


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## HKitten (Sep 20, 2009)

I've only had one proper Halloween party before now, last year, and since it was my first one I just went for a general Halloween feel  plus we only have a tiny house so there wasn't much room for interesting props!

This year, I'm going for a Harry Potter Halloween - I've started planning really early and I can't wait. I don't have any pictures yet really, since I can't set anything up, but once I start actually making things then I'll be posting


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## Tannasgach (Nov 1, 2009)

I like the themes but I'll do both. I've done _Gothic Manor_ with lace, red velvet, black roses and tarnished silver. _Voodoo on the Bayou_ - mambo house/kitchen, swamp and Mardi Ghoul. This year I'm planning a _Witches Tea Party_ and a regular Halloween party. I like to plan a theme a year in advance so I can collect things throughout the year for the party. I have a _Scary Tales_ party planned on paper, down to the invitations and I would like to do a _Dead & Breakfast_ and a _Haunted Luau_. The problem with the theme parties is storage, you can end up with a lot of props pertaining only to that theme.


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## kallie (Dec 4, 2007)

My theme is just always Halloween. I use all of the decor that I've collected through the years and always add more every year.

*Hey guys!!! The emoticons are now lil pumpkins


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## Tannasgach (Nov 1, 2009)

kallie, that doesn't look like a pumpkin to me lol. Are they all going to be changed over or will it be a combination? I want all pumpkins!!


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## kallie (Dec 4, 2007)

Mine's a pumpkin. I swear And so are yours. Little round orange pumpkins with green stems and faces. Are you still just seeing little smiley faces?


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## MissMandy (Apr 18, 2011)

This is only my second year doing a party, so it's pretty much general Halloween. But as the years go by, I would like to get into themes to keep in new and exciting for guests


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## Tannasgach (Nov 1, 2009)

kallie said:


> Mine's a pumpkin. I swear And so are yours. Little round orange pumpkins with green stems and faces. Are you still just seeing little smiley faces?


Whut?! uhh.......on my screen your smiley is the green happy face with big teeth. Are all your smileys pumpkins? I only have four.


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## badgirl (May 4, 2008)

We have done a different theme each year. It is part of the fun for my guests as they seem to start brainstorming next year's theme at the party every year! I don't go crazy trying to match the decor or food to the theme, but rather keep my staples and change up the invites/food labels/ and a couple of details to go along with the themes. What really makes the difference is that our guests dress the part to blend in---it is amazing what kind of creativity people have when there is an outlet for it! 
2007-No real theme (our first year)
2008-Haunted Hollywood (guests dressed as their favorite movie characters/celebrities). We put a red runway up to the front of the house, a "Hollywood" horror style invite, and had some gold skeleton figures as "Best Dressed" awards
2009-- Twisted Fairy Tales : This was by far one of our favorites. I set up my kitchen with the witches potions and Hansel & Gretel references, The invites I have posted on here somewhere with twisted fairy tale themes, and our guests went ALL OUT on their costumes. We had Ho White, Sinderella & Pimp Charming complete with his glass slipper with a cut off foot , Ghouldilocks mauled by a bear, Tragedy Ann & Andy, Jack & Jill with knocked out teeth and wounds, and a hysterical rendition of The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Charming.
2010- Boo Orleans Bash : I sent out an orange and black damask masquerade mask invite, we had some New Orleans food, a huge punch bowl full of Hurricanes, I added some swampy/mardi gras elements to our decor. Really easy and everyone came dressed as vampires, witch doctors, Saints & Sinners, Mardi Gras characters, etc. One guy came a-la Girls Gone Wild and showed everyone his inflatable breasts all night to gather beads.  
2011--Heroes & Villains: Should be pretty easy with all of the new movies being released this year! I'm sending out a video invite and a comic book cover style save the date. A couple of food labels, some Kryptonite punch, and of course everyone in costume should set the scene.


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## kallie (Dec 4, 2007)

Tannasgach said:


> Whut?! uhh.......on my screen your smiley is the green happy face with big teeth. Are all your smileys pumpkins? I only have four.


Yep it's a cute lil pumpkin with a big grin. I wish you could see, it's so cute!


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## Tannasgach (Nov 1, 2009)

What do you see? A pumpkin or a green smiley face?


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## halloweendemon (Aug 15, 2011)

This will be my third year. I have not done an entire house theme, but I do create a separate theme in each room. For example, I will have the dungeon in the family room, spider's liar in one bedroom, murder scene in one bathroom, etc... By doing a theme in each room, I am able to more easily "repurpose" props I already have by changing costumes, using masks, etc.


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## MissMandy (Apr 18, 2011)

I see a pumpkin, Tanna


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## Xane (Oct 13, 2010)

If you still have the old smileys stuck in your cache, hold down SHIFT when you press the REFRESH button. This usually deletes anything related to the page and makes the browser reload it. On some browsers I've been told that it's CTRL that does it, but SHIFT always worked for me.


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## Tannasgach (Nov 1, 2009)

MissMandy said:


> I see a pumpkin, Tanna


wtf!! Where are my pumpkins?! 

do you see a red face or very angry pumpkin?


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## Tannasgach (Nov 1, 2009)

Xane said:


> If you still have the old smileys stuck in your cache, hold down SHIFT when you press the REFRESH button. This usually deletes anything related to the page and makes the browser reload it. On some browsers I've been told that it's CTRL that does it, but SHIFT always worked for me.


Hey, the shift worked!  I have pumpkins!!  Thanks Xane! In fact, everybody has pumpkins! Kallie, Miss Mandy, Badgirl.....

It's a Pumpkin Fest!!!


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## kallie (Dec 4, 2007)

Tannasgach said:


> wtf!! Where are my pumpkins?!
> 
> do you see a red face or very angry pumpkin?


your pumpkin is REALLY angry!! lol


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## Tannasgach (Nov 1, 2009)

lol I know, I can see him! What was weird is that I had four pumpkins but the rest were the old smileys, the ones we had before the forum update.


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## Xane (Oct 13, 2010)

The forum may still be "settling down" because I manually killed my cache the other day and I still think I'm seeing the old ones pop up every so often.


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## Mordessa (Jul 23, 2007)

LOL! I love the punkin emoticons too! I just noticed them the other day. Whoever is responsible for adding them in, thank you!! They are great!

As for themes, we try to change out our theme every year. The first and second years were just basically "Halloween" and we didn't have all the much stuff to work with. The third year we did a silver mine, because our town is famous for the silver mine. So, we had the downstairs, which is the entrance to the house, set up like a mine, and the upstairs was a haunted forest that was situated above the mine. The fourth year was a haunted mansion complete with home made paintings with eyes that follow you. Last year was an asylum theme and this year we're doing a generalized "zombie" theme. (Although, after looking at the real estate theme on this thread, we started brain storming and somehow possibly landed on a spa theme for the zombies. It's not certain yet, but I'm hopeful. Hehehe I work so much better when I have a theme in mind.)

If we do end up going with a spa theme, I'm thinking of people being drown in mud baths by the zombie attendants, strangled with hot towels, fingers and toes removed at the mani-petti stations, boiling oil used in the massage room, as opposed to the warm soothing oils you might normally find. Perhaps a yoga room, with zombies twisted into pretzels, or exaggerated acupuncture with huge needles... That sort of thing. Anybody else have any other suggestions for more zombie-spa related stuff we could do?


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## MissMandy (Apr 18, 2011)

Tannasgach said:


> Hey, the shift worked!  I have pumpkins!!  Thanks Xane! In fact, everybody has pumpkins! Kallie, Miss Mandy, Badgirl.....
> 
> It's a Pumpkin Fest!!!


Hahaha that totally made me do a snort laugh!


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## Lenore (Oct 18, 2009)

Ecula said:


> Sound great everyone! I most definitely have to come there sometime during Halloween!
> To see how it is and visit all possible stores!
> 
> 
> ...


Joku muukin Suomesta, kiva 

I want to visit U.S during Halloween time too. Especially all the shops full of Halloween stuff lure me  Here Halloween is definitely an adult thing. I got interested in Halloween as a kid/teen (I think I was 12-13) and me and my friend dressed up. No-one else did, so we just walked around the streets and everyone looked at us like "what's their problem?" lol. Now I think Halloween has come more popular, during the last few years. And that I of course love. 

This year, like past years (2 parties) I'm gonna have several themes - every room has it's own. I do this because I'm poor (hehe) and don't have all the money to buy/make enough stuff to fill the whole apartment (tho it is pretty small, 2 rooms, hallway and kitchen) and I'm not good at making decisions!  I also love all my decorations so I want to use them all or almost them all.  

In the livingroom (big space, here the party will really happen) I´m gonna go with a sophisticated Gothic theme. Candlelight, dead flowers/black roses, a skull or two, black lace/velvet and black fabric covering furniture... In the kitchen I´m gonna have a voodoo theme, bathroom is gonna b gore/butcher´s stuff with some body parts and blood. I have planned to fill the bath tub with ice cubes so my guests can put their drinks there. And there will of course be a brain, a leg and some cut fingers too... ;D I dunno about bedroom yet, gotta think something. Hallway is gonna b Gothic too cause u can see it from the living room. I don't want to break the theme in that connected space but kitchen, bedroom and of course bathroom are so separate from the rest of the apartment that u can have different themes there and it doesn't look stupid. When I have more time and money I think I'm gonna have one different theme in every party. I'm waiting to get my own house, too, with a yard. I would love to plan yard decorations! Maybe I'll do something for the balcony for now.


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## natascha (Jul 21, 2004)

For Themes I have done:
1997 & 1998 Halloween
1999 Train accident must get head back to body so 'Charlie Haze' could rest in piece
2000 Monster Mash
2001 Space Odd-isy
2002 Addams Family
2003 Gnomes & Trolls
2004 Psychotic Circus
2005 Zombies
2006 Hollywood
2007 Face Your Fears
2008 Murder Mystery
2009 Scary Tales
2010 Heroes & Villains
2011 Somewhere in Time
2012 It's the End of the World as we Know it!


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## Halloween Scream (Sep 29, 2010)

Great ideas natascha! I love how you have a theme picked out already for 2012. My husband likes to tease me for planning so far in advice - my 2012 theme will be Nightmare Before Christmas and will be a combined Halloween party/my 30th birthday celebration!


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## Addicted2Boo (Jul 19, 2009)

The first year was general Halloween. The next was a sinister circus. Last year was by far the best...80's! Every one of our 40+ guests dressed as someone from the 80's or in a fad etc. Hilarious! We had wayne and garth win for best couple, tom selleck for best male, rainbow bright for nest female, and best overall 80's was Billy Idol. So many good costumes it was hard to decide. This year we are doing Voodoo on the Bayou.


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## star_girl_mag (Aug 5, 2008)

We do a different theme every year but we try to reuse props and decor as much as possible. However my brother keeps trying to convince me that we should do an Egyptian curse theme. Which would REALLY mean starting from scratch and most places don't carry anything like it. We have done Haunted Mansion, Vampire Ball, Sleepy Hollow, and this year we are doing a Twisted Fairy Tales theme.


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## Monroe58 (Sep 13, 2009)

In the years before I met my hubby, I threw general Halloween themed parties. Once he and I got started on our own, we did another general Halloween party in 2009, and a voodoo New Orleans bash in 2010. This year we're doing a small dinner, general theme, due to having a brand new baby. Next year the plan is zombie apocalypse for 2012, and the following year will be creepy carnival. Other ideas for future: old hollywood, haunted hotel, dante's inferno; we'll see what else!


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## Trinity1 (Sep 5, 2009)

We've only had parties for the past three years. Each year we've done just a general Halloween theme, but we would change it up a bit. This past year was the best as far as decor went. We put up a mini corn maze/field in the backyard that people HAD to walk through to get to the beer  And just did a bit more inside as well. 

I've thought about doing different themes, but always end up just going with the general. I love some of the ideas from other people on the forum though!!!


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## ShannoninPa (Oct 19, 2009)

Inspired by an invitation and pictures of the party I saw on here a month or so ago, we are going with a Disco Zombie theme. My first real themed party, so hoping everyone hops on board and dresses in disco attire!


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## Trinity1 (Sep 5, 2009)

ShannoninPa said:


> Inspired by an invitation and pictures of the party I saw on here a month or so ago, we are going with a Disco Zombie theme. My first real themed party, so hoping everyone hops on board and dresses in disco attire!


Omg, that will be a blast! I look forward to seeing pics of some of the costumes!


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## Ecula (Oct 21, 2007)

So many great ideas! And it is clever too to make guests do something. Maybe 
I should make my guests do something too. I bought couple scene setters last
year and am planning to use the other one this year. I only wish there were some
kind of dark forest to buy... those couple I have seen aren't what I am looking for.
And a corn field at night would be great too. And, and...


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## Ecula (Oct 21, 2007)

*Hey, a question. What kind of scene setter would you 
like to have, if you could have whatever you like?*


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## Primrose (Aug 27, 2011)

Let me see....I should really keep a record of these....

Party Themes: 
Dead Man's Party
Pirates
Superheroes/comic book
Men in Black/aliens
Halloween Survivor
Murder Mystery
Victorian Goth
Mad Scientist
Nightmare Before Christmas
Choose Your Own Adventure
Ghost Stories

Life has gotten crazier in October since starting the ghost tours, so I'm taking the easy route and going back to a simple murder mystery party again this year. Not to mention, I promised my teens that they could have a party on Halloween this year, so I'm technically throwing TWO parties!


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## Bella Betty (Sep 24, 2010)

So it took me a few minutes to recall our themes, but here they are/were:

2006 Pirates/World of Warcraft (we had some awesome WOW costumes!)
2007 Underworld
2008 Medieval
2009 No theme
2010 Famous Dead People or Dead Famous People
2011 Witches, Warlocks and other magical creatures

2006 was the first party that my hubby and I put together. We discovered that it really is our favorite holiday. We decorated the main room, dining room, hall and guest bath. The weather was nice, so outside we had lots of inflatables.
2007 was the first year that we covered the walls with scene setters--we used the stacked skulls with columns. We also added strings of the flickering lights and really concentrated on the food and games.
2008 we took it over the top. We bought additional scene setters paper in the dungeon brick and completely covered our walls, pairing it with the columns and skulls from the previous year, as well as putting the brick on the ceiling in our living room, dining room, kitchen and hallway. I think we used over 800 push pins and had sore fingers for days. The weather was rainy, so no inflatables, but we did build a nice graveyard in our side yard. At this party we also punked all of our friends--the first game we played was "attend the wedding"--and got married at the party! The pictures of everyone with shock on their faces is pretty entertaining. We had a great time and so did our guests.
2009 we thought we'd let our guests be creative on their own, but we found that our friends really excel with a theme. Our party was pretty low key and we had a subdued group. We opted out of games for the year and in review we decided that we wanted to play games at all our future parties to keep the energy level high. Even though we had fully decked out the house and had the graveyard outside, it wasn't as much fun.
2010 we fully covered the ceiling and walls, only use colored lights and flicker lights for effect, had a couple of small graveyards and made tons of food, played some awesome games and made skittles infused vodka for the first time. Our guests really got into the theme and we had a great time. We even kept the decorations up through Thanksgiving and had a feast in the dungeon by candlelight with our 20 guests--it rocked and some of our friends who couldn't make the party got to appreciate the decorations.
For 2011 we're going to opt out of the 800+ push pins and change up the decor for the the witches/warlock theme. I've been shopping at the thrift store and have dusted off my sewing machine in order to create a more elegant decor, yet still have an awesome time with food and games. I've added 30 yards of tulle netting in various colors for draping, purchased some incredible lace valances and curtains from Heritage Lace, will re-use my extensive supply of potion bottles throughout the kitchen and dining room, and I am hoping to make some covers for my furniture using sheets in black, grey and purple that I've been scouring the thrift store for. The guest bathroom is going to be the "bat room" (which I am stealing from another forum member and loved!) and I've managed to find several batty items to use. 

I love having a theme--it really gets my planning juices flowing--along with reading all of the outstanding ideas from fellow forum members. A HUGE THANK YOU to all of you that share your ideas, photos and tutorials, it is such a thrill to be a member of such a creative, inspired group of people!


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## rockplayson (Jun 7, 2008)

This year the yard theme is Halloween in CandyLand. I was thinking a good party theme that would go with the candyland theme would be iconic things from game boards.


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## Ecula (Oct 21, 2007)

Bella Betty said:


> I love having a theme--it really gets my planning juices flowing--along
> with reading all of the outstanding ideas from fellow forum members.
> A HUGE THANK YOU to all of you that share your ideas, photos and tutorials,
> it is such a thrill to be a member of such a creative, inspired group of people!



That is true


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## RedSonja (Sep 18, 2004)

This year we're thinking of doing an 80's/old skool theme. We've done this before, several years ago, but that party was a bust and hardly anyone showed - so thought maybe I'd try it again. Plus, I'm short on cash and trying to plan a wedding , so reviving it will cost me next to nothing!

Someone mentioned 80's theme costumes too - that could be fun!


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## Ecula (Oct 21, 2007)

Here all mentioned so far, that is a huge amount of themes to choose from.
Let your imagination run! I for sure have million ideas in my head right now.


• Swamp/voodoo
• Voodoo on the Bayou
• Boo Orleans Bash
• Mardi Ghoul
• Haunted forest
• Spider's liar
• Zombies
• Zombie-spa
• Zombie apocalypse
• Disco zombie
• Egyptian curse
• Mummies
• Medieval
• Scarecrow/harvest
• Killer clown/carnival/circus
• Psychotic circus
• Creepy carnival
• Witches, warlocks and other magical creatures
• Gnomes & trolls
• Train accident 
• Morgue/corpses
• Graveyard
• Funeral
• Skeletons
• Pirates
• Mad scientist/lab
• Butcher/slaughter house
• Asylum
• Dungeon
• Surreal Estate
• Hell's Kitchen
• Haunted Manor
• Gothic Manor
• Vampire ball
• Haunted hotel
• Haunted Luau
• Dia de los Muertos Shrine
• Murder mystery
• Murder scene
• Twisted Fairy Tales
• Old Hollywood
• Haunted Hollywood
• Addams Family
• Nightmare Before Christmas
• Harry Potter
• Sleepy Hollow
• Underworld
• World of Warcraft 
• Heroes & villains
• Superheroes/comic book
• Men in Black/aliens, space odd-isy 
• Famous dead people or dead famous people
• Ghost stories
• Scary tales
• Monster mash
• Face your fears
• 80's/old skool
• Somewhere in time
• Boos & spirits
• Dante's inferno
• Dead man's party
• Choose your own adventure
• It's the end of the world as we know it!


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## Ecula (Oct 21, 2007)

*Swamp/voodoo... Voodoo on the Bayou...*

What is it made of? Moss, voodoo dolls, rotten wood, alligators, muddy water, 
old trees, all odd little crawlers in the mud, odd masks, chicken feet, rituals, 
candles, bones, little cans and bottles full of odd ingredients; snake venom, 
snakes, frogs, mist, drums, mambo, voodoo priestesses, medicine men... 

Some pics to get in the mood:


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## Ecula (Oct 21, 2007)

*• New (Boo) Orleans bash... Mardi ghoul... Gothic manor... Haunted mansion...*

A picture is worth a thousand words (+ add some voodoo):

































































When it comes to haunted mansion, I think, that that one movie with Eddie Murphy in it... 
The Haunted Mansion, is full of good decorating ideas. The ambiance is just right. Still it really 
isn't scary, that movie.


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## ChrisW (Sep 19, 2006)

Themes we've had included:
THE BIRDS (I was Hitch, my wife was Tippi Hendren)
Young Frankenstein (Dr. Fronkenstein and Inga)
DIE-NER (I was a dead Elvis short orfer cook, my wife was a car hop)
Sweeney Todd (Sweeney and Mrs. Lovette)

We didn't force people into the theme, and complimented the theme with traditional Halloween decor and props - I just couldn't see not using them.


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## Ecula (Oct 21, 2007)

ChrisW said:


> We didn't force people into the theme, and complimented the theme with
> traditional Halloween decor and props - I just couldn't see not using them.


That is a good point. I don't either. The main thing is people are wearing even
some kind of costumes. And I am for that "mixing" too, theme decorations and 
traditional decorations all together in a "good soup".


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## Ecula (Oct 21, 2007)

If I could I would change the name of this thread to "List of Themes and more"...


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## Ecula (Oct 21, 2007)

*Egyptian curse/mummies...*

I have always been fascinated by ancient Egypt. So this is one of my
favorites. Haven't had this yet, but will in couple of years. After
swamp. Have you had this already? If, please post pics!


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## Muffy (Sep 25, 2006)

Ecula....not to long ago someone came into our local consignment store with quite a variety of Egyptian statues and such also King Tut. I scooped up some of it for a pretty good price. I'll get some pictures of it as soon as we start decorating.

As far as themes......I have always decorated the inside of my house for Halloween as did my family. So the 2nd year I was in this new house I started inviting the kids in for their candy. Parents did not know what to make of it so I invited them in also. We are in our 6th year this season and last year had 600 people come through the house. I did not think I could afford to change themes each year but I keep buying so this year we are changing things a bit. Last year we did not get everything up. SO we decorate our foyer,down the hall is the Mad Scientist, bathroom is the "Bat Room", never decorated the bathroom until some kid coming through had to use the bathroom so now we decorate it. Dining room is the "Spell & Potion Room", Kitchen is "The Cadaver Cafe & Candy Kitchen", living room is the funeral parlor. Last year we did not do the funeral parlor & did not finish the kitchen but this year we will. Then you step into the garage which housed a dungeon like room with a witch & her table of goodies. This year the garage will house 2 scenes...a Vampire Ball & a gypsy tent.
I been buying stuff all year so I'm pretty excited to start unpacking.

The people come through the house & get treats, a bag of freshly popped popcorn and their candy bag in the kitchen. We also hand out brownies & last year I made gourmet chocolates for the adults. Outside we have a cemetery that is a work in progress. Best new item this year is the antique pump organ I just bought. TOT's are gonna love it.

As far as storing???>>>>hahahah ...it's everywhere & I mean everywhere, the garage, under the beds, on the shelf above the washer & dryer, in the barn, some stuff that we needed weathered was left outside & now it looks great. Sometimes I lose stuff....for instance I lost the Halloween shower curtain for 2 yrs., just recently found it in hubby's closet!lol So sometimes I don't gather it all up. Its also in the basement & in my office. We have a commercial kitchen & when the health inspector came she wanted to know why we had a full sized coffin sitting at the entry door. Had to do some explaining with that!lol


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## Ecula (Oct 21, 2007)

@MUFFY: 

First, HAHA, that coffin episode sounds funny! 

600 hundred people! Now that is something. Lots of work! And
popcorn to pop. I have in my small apartment about 13 friends.

- - -
Dear Reader, tell us your theme this year!


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## 88Mwife (Sep 27, 2011)

*is my idea lame?*

I'm reading through all of these theme ideas, and I feel like a lame-o. My husband and most of our friends just got back from Iraq, and so we have a reason to party  But we can't decide on a theme. I want to do a 'P' party. Everyone has to come in a costume that starts with a P. Princess, Pimp, Pilot, Peacock, etc. Anyone who doesn't come in costume has to wear a pig nose all night. I also thought of a "Past & Present Heroes" party. Guests could come as a super hero, or as whatever their heroes were when they were younger. We always just do simple Halloween style decorations, so we don't have to worry about trying to decorate in theme. So what do you think? Lame or easy and effortless? I'm worried about how much people are really going to want to dress up, so I'm trying to keep it simple.


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## Ecula (Oct 21, 2007)

@88Mwife: Hows your party idea doing? P-party or heroes? I am starting to 
decorate next weekend. Woohoo.


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## Ravenfell Manor (Oct 2, 2011)

Last year was our first year with a house and yard to haunt, and I had always planned that when I could I would do a yard haunt. Of course the first year was a big rush starting just a few weeks before Halloween so I didn't really consider a theme. However this year as we added to it I decided that I wanted something to bring the whole haunt together. While I like themes I wanted something a little more. Which is why I created a history for the house and a reason for the haunt. It seems to pull everything together for me, so I am gong with it. The story of the house centers around a fictional family I am creating that lived in the area a hundred years ago. What I really like about it is the family was reclusive so no one ever knew how many of them there were. Since I do not like to do one simple theme but a series of different scenes each with their own theme it works out great for me having a whole family to create to fit each scene. As an example when I started telling my hubby the story he asked me how he was gonna be able to fit the circus theme into the storyline. He has been wanting to do a creepy circus scene. My response was "We can have a long lost cousin who ran away with the circus years ago and returns for a reunion with his whole troupe of crazed carnies."
I eventually want to do stone tablets etched with parts of the story that people can read as they traverse the haunt and learn about each family member and how they fit in to each scene. I am hoping it works out. I have high hopes. 
If anyone is interested I have started a blog to tell the story of the Ravenfells and their manor. Kinda hoping to get some insight into what people think of it. http://www.halloweenforum.com/blogs/ravenfell-manor/1025-ravenfell-manor-beginning.html


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## Ecula (Oct 21, 2007)

@Ravenfell Manor: Sounds great, that idea of yours. Now when I have been 
reading these, I am thinking, that I most definitely have to do some kind
of mystery thing myself one year. It is just that my apartment is so small,
that I would need more space. And, I hope to see pictures later, maybe on
your blog. How things are progressing/evolving/coming up (as I am Finnish,
I really don't know, what term I should use), and how it all is, when ready,
and how did your party go.


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## Lenore (Oct 18, 2009)

Ancient Egypt theme is something I have been dreaming of as I have also been fascinated by it since I was a kid. It´s just really hard to find decorations/stuff for that I think, especially with a low-budget... But someday, someday...  I just found a very cool band called Melechesh (from Jerusalem) and their oriental black metal would be so cool for Egypt theme! 

Ecula, is the last pic of your Gothic manor/Haunted mansion post last page taken by you? The one from the bone church in Czech Republic? Anyway, so cool themes everyone and it's great someone decided to make a list of them.


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## FireStarter (Oct 8, 2011)

It has been 16 years since I have had a party; so I decided to go big this year. The theme is “Seven Deadly Sins.” Each area/room has been decorated based on sloth, pride, lust, greed, gluttony, envy, and wrath. It has taken me seven months to plan everything. It took almost two months just to get the basement decorate. The trophies, invitations and the games are all based on the theme. I even decided to hire a DJ and photo booth to make it a party that no one will ever forget. With 70 people attending, I can’t wait until the party starts….only two more weeks!


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## MumBO jUMbo (Oct 22, 2008)

More pictures in my album. 
I did a VooDoo theme last year.


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## stormygirl84 (Sep 4, 2009)

star_girl_mag said:


> However my brother keeps trying to convince me that we should do an Egyptian curse theme. Which would REALLY mean starting from scratch and most places don't carry anything like it.


MAN. I get that it would be hard to find decorations for it, but it would completely ROCK if you were able to go all out for something like that.

As for us, we've never really bothered with a "theme," to be honest. It doesn't help that our Halloween parties are more along the lines of movie parties than honest-to-goodness parties. We make Halloween-themed food, have our decorations up, turn down the lights (except for the jack o'lanterns and such, of course) and play spooky movies. 

ALTHOUGH, the movies are always chosen by theme. The first year we did a general Horror movie theme, but that became far too all-encompassing. What we do is collect all the movies from a specific theme and vote on which movie to watch next. I think that first year we ended up with "Secret Window," "The Shining" and "Poltergeist."

Since then, we've enforced themes within the general horror theme - Vampires, Werewolves, Ghosts, etc. This year we're going with Classic Universal Monsters. Considering that most of my friends actually haven't seen any beyond Dracula and Frankenstein, it should be interesting.


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