With some corn syrup, drink mix powder and water, you can make a splendid concoction of stage blood--without spending an arm and a leg. From budget-friendly frights to sophisticated props, this book offers dozens of imaginative ways to haunt a house for Halloween. Readers will find generously illustrated step-by-step instructions for creating a barbecued skull, devil eyes, bonehead tableware, a magic bottle, a glowing brain and other projects. The book details ways to enhance an eerie ambiance with effects like blacklights and music. Props use many common household items and tools. Where specialty items are required, the author tells where they can be found at a reasonable cost. Projects take anywhere from a few hours to several days to complete. The chapters ooze with tips on topics like creating apprehension and surprise, using design to guide guests, creatively using plastic skulls, and making papier-mache masks and molded hands. There are recipes for fake blood and vomit and ideas for using them, and other creative and adaptable ideas. Appendices include "Merry Halloween," which advises, "One of the best times to look for bargains on Halloween prop-building materials is right after Christmas"; an alphabetical listing of props and supplies and where they can be found; a list of specialty suppliers; and an "epitaph" inviting comments.

Complemented by more than two hundred full-color photographs, a family-friendly guide to Halloween is filled with delicious recipes, fun-filled games, ghoulish decorations, creative crafts, ingenious costume ideas, and party-planning suggestions to help everyone in the family enjoy the spookiest holiday of the year.

Every October, schools, civic clubs, scout troops, little leagues and charity groups of all kinds sponsor Halloween "haunted houses" as fundraisers. But where do they go for good information on how to do it? How to make the rotting corpse that scares the bejeebers out of everyone or the demonic knife-wielding doll or the living, beating heart that visitors swear is real? And what about the mundane details (e.g., permits and insurance) that make the haunted house a profitable and safe venture? Where does one find out about that? All aspects of the successful haunted house are covered here. There is good information on site selection, logistics, design, security, budgeting, sponsorship and volunteer management. This is followed by detailed, descriptions of many inexpensive illusions for your haunted house; each is accompanied by illustrations that further explain how to make the effect successful. Floor plans, advertising flyers and design worksheets are some of the sample materials included.

From adorable pumpkin families and classic jack-o-lanterns to down-right scary giant spiders (eek!), the All You Frightfully Fun Halloween Handbook packs in more cute and creepy crafts for tabletops, porches and yards than you'llhave room to display. Kids and adults alike will marvel at the ingenious storybook costumes, like Charlotte the Spider and Curious George, and shiver at the sight of our graveyard-chic décor. The best part? Every idea comes with simple instructions and a clear list of budget-friendly supplies you'll find online or at nearby stores. And since no holiday celebration is complete without delicious food for the whole family, our dozens of recipes for appetizers, main dishes, sides and, of course, desserts, will satisfy even the hungriest vampires or zombies in your brood. We've even included easy-bake treats so you can use up all that leftover candy (Mmmm... Milky Way Pudding!). No matter whether you're gathering toddlers, teens or adults for your annual spookfest, the All You Frightfully Fun Halloween Handbook offers low-cost, big-bang ideas to ensure everyone a hauntingly good time.

With this great guide to celebrating the spirit (and spirits) of Halloween, no special magic is needed to enjoy the latest trend in family fun. Tricks & Treats has tons of great ideas for Halloween costumes, decorations, parties and tempting fun foods. Over 50 projects.

Next to Christmas, more money is spent on Halloween decorations and novelties than on any other holiday. This wonderful book has been credited with inspiring the Halloween collecting craze, giving its devotees a chance to celebrate the holiday all year round! In addition to color photography and a brand new price guide, there are also many fascinating insights into Halloween. Most people are familiar with the symbolsghosts, Jack-O'-Lanterns, witches, bats, skeletons, and black catsbut few know about Halloween's past. Why does it exist? What is the origin of trick-or-treating? Why does it fall on October 31st? Through these pages you will experience Halloween celebrations of the past and take a look at Halloween today. For collectors, this is one of the largest collections of Halloween memorabilia.

Suggests ways of assembling hundreds of classic and original Halloween costumes, mostly for adults, from everyday objects, and provides information on holiday lore, party ideas, and seasonal amusements.

Every October 31, children--and even some adults--dress up in costumes. Some go door-to-door looking for a treat, some carve faces into pumpkins, and others tell scary stories about Dracula and frankenstein. But where do these traditions come from?

Fresh, fun ideas for children's storytime fill this book. The author, a long-time storytime facilitator, has put together 52 weekly themes plus additional plans for holidays, all with detailed instructions for talking about the theme and choosing the books, crafts, songs, poems, games and snacks. Each storytime idea is illustrated with photographs of a suggested craft and snack for easy reference. Libraries, bookstores, preschools and parents alike can use this book to offer themed storytimes that include discussion, literature, art, music, movement and food. Options are provided for each storytime, so the ideas can be used year after year.

This big, informed, witty, and entertaining book, actually several books in one, covers all the aspects of the secular holiday unlike any other. Only the exhaustive is interesting. - Thomas Mann HALLOWEEN HISTORY AND TRADITION, THE JACK-O- LANTERN, TRICK OR TREAT, HOLIDAY FOLKLORE, MASKS AND VARIOUS COSTUMES, HALLOWEEN BUSINESS, HALLOWEEN AROUND THE WORLD, HALLOWEEN PARADES AND PARTIES, HALLOWEEN RECIPES AND PARTY IDEAS, HALLOWEEN STORIES AND OTHER LITERATURE, HUNDREDS OF BIG AND SMALL SCREEN DELIGHTS FOR YOUR WATCHING AT HALLOWEEN WITH A FULL, CASUAL, GIANT ANNOTATED FILMOGRAPHY, & COMMENTS ON HORROR IN ARTS OF YESTERDAY AND TODAY.