Planning For Halloween

Halloween Night Planning

It’s the month of Halloween and that means it’s time for the rest of the world to catch up on all the spooks that horror-fans enjoy the entire rest of the year.  Naturally, everyone’s looking for something to do to celebrate the yearly spook-day so I’ve decided to put together a couple short lists of ideas.  Whether you’re planning a party, spending the night in, or looking for something to watch or listen to, I’ve got some ideas for you!

Watch List

Whether you’re looking for thematic background noise or some movies/series to sit down and watch for the night, here’s a list of my Top 10 favorite horror movies/series to throw on:

• Creepypasta Playlist (to YouTube!)
• Horror Movie Classics
• Blair Witch (this one may not still be in theaters by Halloween so go see it asap!)
• The Ring/Ringu Series
• The Grudge/Ju-On Series
• Babadook
• Yami Shibai (a short anime series of horror stories)
• Mononoke (not the princess kind, this is another short anime series of horror tales, both of these can be found on crunchyroll)
• Nightmare Before Christmas
• One Missed Call Series (Japanese) (I highly suggest the Japanese series, which has 3 movies, over the American version)

A Night In

In addition to a good movie, sometimes you want something fun to actually do and there isn’t always a party to attend (or even one you want to, for that matter).  So here’s a list of night-in fun to make sure you still get your Halloween spooks:

• Video Games
• My first go-to for a night-in of fun is always a video game.  Luckily, there are plenty of horror games out there to play.  Some great choices include: The Uncle Who Works For Nintendo, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Outlast, Silent Hill, or Luigi's Mansion/Dark Moon for something slightly less shit-your-pants but just a good bit of ghostly fun.
• Manga
• There's a decent collection of horror manga that would be great for Halloween night reads.  Uzumaki, or anything by Junji Ito really, is always an option.  There's also I Am a Hero and Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni, and even a manga-format of One Missed Call that follows the movies perfectly.
• Books
• If you're looking for something in a more classical reading format I highly suggest a book called Classic Horror Stories, which is a thick collection of stories from writers like H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, and others.  There's also the old Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books if you're lucky enough to still have those around.  With the original art.

Party Fun

If you're looking to hold a party, big or small, or even just spend the evening with a friend for a sleepover, you're going to need fun things to do.  A simple movie night is easy and fun, but sometimes you just need more to do.  So here are a few ideas to throw a memorable party:

• Old Fashioned Party Games
• Just because you've gotten older doesn't mean classic party games become less fun.  Bring back some childhood fun with a few creative games:
• Build a Scarecrow - Get some pillows, straw, and various clothing items and see who can build the best scarecrow in 10 minutes!
• What Am I? - At the beginning of the party tape a piece of paper to each guest's back without them seeing what's written on it and you can spend the night trying to figure out what you are with 'yes' or 'no' questions!
• Monster Bowling - Save up empty cans and paint them like monsters.  Then set them up for bowling for your guests
• Candy Corn Count - We've all played the jelly bean count game.  Whoever guesses the closest by the end of the night wins, but this time do it with candy corn

• Board Games
• Another great way to have fun with a larger group of people is to get some board games started up.  There are, of course, everyday games like monopoly or battleships, but Halloween is the time to break out the more ghastly games.  Betrayal at House on Haunted Hill or Are You a Werewolf are just a couple examples.
• Co-Op Video Games
• Sometimes you need games for just two or three and, once again, video games are a great platform for that.  Again, there are everyday games for groups or parties like Mario Kart/Party, but for Halloween you need something a little more horror-related.  F.E.A.R. and Dead Space (2 or 3) can be played solo, but they also have multiplayer options to terrify your friends as much as yourself.
• Telling Scary Stories
• The age-old practice of sitting around a campfire and telling scary stories is a strongly kept practice and just because you no longer attend a summer camp doesn't mean that needs to stop.  You don't even need the campfire.  Sit in a circle in a dark room and take turns creeping each other out with the best on-the-spot spooky tale!
• Haunted Houses
• If you're looking for a Halloween night out on the town and you're somehow too old for trick-or-treating (though, really, who's too old for free candy, let's not be ridiculous here) there's always haunted houses.  Of course, real haunted houses aren't always an option, but even the smallest towns usually have some sort of Haunted House setup you can check out or even help with.  Or a forest-walkthrough in one place I lived.  If you live in a larger area sometimes there's even theme parks specifically for the season.  I'll be checking one of those out, myself, this year.  Either way, there are always options to get out of the house and find some spooks and fun, you just have to look.
• Just remember to be safe!  And no trespassing!