It’s the spookiest time of the year, when ghosts and ghouls come out to play!
And if you’re looking for ways to embrace Halloween without trick or treating, why not have a party at home.
A party is the perfect excuse to dress up, decorate the house, watch scary movies, play fun games and eat some supernatural-themed snacks.
If you’re looking to add a little spookiness to your Halloween party, we’ve got some ideas for food, games and movies for big and little spooks alike.
1. Put up a poster to welcome or keep away trick or treaters
Since you’ll be at home, you might get some cute little ghouls and ghosts looking for sweet treats. So we’ve made some fun posters you can print out to tell people if they should knock on your door or stay away. Simply click the links beneath the posters to download a pdf version you can print and stick on your door or mailbox.
Here are the links to download the A4 posters (PDF files):
Download the BABY SLEEPING poster
2. Find some scary movies
This collection is for the adults only and if you have kids, make sure you don’t wake them up with your shouts and screams! We think they’re too scary to include the trailers… you’re welcome!
Also, you can use Teleparty to stream movies with friends who aren’t with you – the only downside is you won’t have anyone to grab during the scary bits if you’re alone.
Halloween
This had to be first on the list. The slasher franchise that started in 1978 now has 11 films to choose from, but it’s probably best to go with the 2018 version.
It (Parts One and Two)
If you’re up for a bit of a movie marathon, the adaptation of Stephen King’s It novel across two movies will keep you watching the screen between your hands for a good five hours. Are you scared of clowns? You will be after this.
Evil Dead
The greatest horror comedy ever made, it scares the pants off you and makes you laugh all at once.
Hereditary
Be warned, this is an extremely dark horror movie with a whole list of disturbing elements to genuinely frighten you. Don’t watch this one alone. It deserves the hype around how creepy it is.
Paranormal Activity
Although similar in concept to the Blair Witch Project with its found footage and purposeful mystery around whether it was actually true, Paranormal Activity amped up the scares to the next terrifying level.
Beetlejuice
“Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetle…” Careful! You don’t want to say it three times. This 80s movie is a classic with an all-star cast including Winona Ryder, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton and Catherine O’Hara. There’s talk of a sequel being in the works, which would be amazing!
The Shining
No Halloween connection here, but it’s an absolute classic that shows that sometimes the scariest things aren’t ghosts and ghouls but the demons inside your own head.
You can also watch a virtual tour of some real-life scary locations!
Check out these virtual tours for Chernobyl, the catacombs of Paris (so many skulls!) or the Isle of Dead Dolls and give yourself chills.
3. Or opt for not-too-scary kid-friendly movies
Settle in with these spooky but kid-friendly movies that are actually quite sweet too. A perfect way to hide the fact that you are terrified of anything remotely scary or just for a change of pace after watching the real scary ones above! We’ll show you the trailers so you can make sure they’re definitely age-appropriate.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Tim Burton’s groundbreaking stop-motion animated movie is a wickedly fun combination of all things spooky and Christmassy. Worth a rewatch at Christmas too!
Hotel Transylvania
Every monster you can think of seems to make an appearance in this sweet movie series (we’re up to number 4 now, with 5 due in 2024) that starts out with Dracula trying to protect his daughter from the scary world of humans.
ParaNorman
This stop motion film follows a misunderstood boy as he takes on ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to save his town from a centuries-old curse.
Coco
This playful movie showcases Mexican culture and their Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) tradition where they celebrate friends and family who have passed. Yes, it about mortality but it’s done so beautifully you might even want to start the tradition yourself each year.
4. Make some hair-raising Halloween snacks
Finger food takes on a creepy vibe when it comes to Halloween! Have fun with these creations.
Anyone for shrunken potato heads? Crispy, ghastly and just right for dunking in ketchup.🎃
— Love Potatoes (@LovePotatoes) October 28, 2020
There’s more on potato carving, monster mash and cooking these spooky snacks here: https://t.co/5W9UcB3qPn #halloween2020 #halloweenfood pic.twitter.com/dUbGnBWFHx
Creep it real with Halloween Cheese & Charcuterie #Halloween #cheese #charcuterie #cheeseboard #halloweenfood #foodie #Spooktober #October #HALLOWEENPARTY pic.twitter.com/sB1sQOCkGY
— Meggie Sullivan (@queenbrieclt) October 19, 2020
5. Play some gruesome games
If you need to keep the kids occupied when all that sugar hits, we’ve got some fun games that are easy to set up. And you’ve still got some toilet paper stockpiled after you did that panic buying, we’d recommend a mummy wrapping game where you compete to be the fastest to wrap your partner in toilet paper!
You could easily do this one white cups and spooky stickers!
There’s also plenty of spooky boardgames to play too!
