Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays, probably since it is also my birthday. Although it has become a controversial holiday, I believe it is much maligned. It is a time to pretend you are someone you are not and have a lot of fun. Innocent scares and silly, but safe pranks can add to the holiday purpose. I do not believe in anything that is too scary for little kids and nothing that goes beyond the realm of decency for anyone. The type of guests should be your guide when planning parties, haunted houses, and costumes. All events should be age appropriate and provide entertainment.

This week, we will explore the haunted house theme party. We start now since it can take quite a long time to create this. Many of the props can be made ahead of time and stored until you're ready to assemble your nightmare. Once again, this party can be elaborate taking weeks or longer to prepare or it can be simple and put together in a matter of hours. Always, always keep safety in mind and the ages of guests attending your ghoulish event.

For little children a haunted house could be just mildly exciting. It can contain scary carved pumpkins, green faced witches, black cats, bats hung from ceilings, and spidery webs to catch in your hair. Keep the horror out of it, but install one or two items to startle, not frighten. The rest of your party can focus on the regular Halloween activities like bobbing for apples, painting faces on pumpkins, pinning the nose on the pumpkin, and costume judging. When judging costumes for little children, make sure you have enough categories so every one receives a small prize. To get an idea of the scary stuff appropriate for smaller kids visit the virtual haunted house created by kids for kids.

Older kids will want a few more scares. Advice from a professional haunted house designer, Michael Tucker, says you need "walk by scenes and short activity skits." He should know since he sets up houses to benefit charities. He also advises that you "scare your audience forward, getting behind them from behind." This keeps people moving through the house. He says to use a "focal point in every room, which draws the guests' attention." He believes your haunted house can have many different themes from ghosts and aliens to horror movie characters with chainsaws. Tucker recommends music to add to your atmosphere. The titles are horror sounds of the night and haunted horror sounds both on CD's. For more great ideas visit his site at http://www.mindspring.com/~haunted/.

Adults and teens can be treated to more horror and then you best perfect creating an illusion. With their sophisticated tastes, they will want more realism and more fright in their night. Monsters need great makeup jobs and wonderful props. There must be more surprise and movement in your haunted house, definitely more scares. These are the guests who will love your lifeless body that suddenly grabs their leg, the thing that pops out of an old trunk, the swinging ghost that suddenly is in their face, and the various body parts they find themselves holding. For a great example of the art of makeup, check out the photo of the Ghostly Friend at the Lombard Jaycees Haunted House at http://www.outfitters.com/~mhughes/hauntedhouse.html.

Here are a few basics to get you going. Your haunted house can contain many rooms as in an actual house; it can be outside scenes created on your lawn, a basement maze of corridors lined by hanging walls of black trash bags. It can turn a back yard into a cemetery or a bathroom into a laboratory. Each room can have its own scene/location such as one being another planet, another room being the dungeon, still another the scene of a hanging. Remember, not all of these would be appropriate for children.

Scenery outside can take advantage of old trees, rocks, weird houses, moons, and of course graves and gravestones. People have lots of fun with those gravestones and write witty sayings on them. Mounds of leaves, and dirt with bodies sticking out add realism. Create anything that isn't there naturally with imagination and things you can find around the house.

Monsters and bodies start with clothes stuffed and propped into position. Add masks for great faces. Don't forget to add ghostly beings, skeletons, and other forms of horror. Eerie music sets the mood.

Inside could be old fashioned like a haunted house of the movies. Add cobwebs of thread, candelabra, a coffin here or there, various torturous looking apparatus, and don't forget the fake blood. Many props are available to purchase or create your own. Mad scientist labs can contain everyday clear bottles with colored water. Doors could be opened to squeaking sounds, taped previously and don't forget those blood-curdling screams. Stepping on what appears to be a corpse is what haunted houses are all about. Having someone jump out from behind something or seeing a real ghost suddenly appear are all part of the fun.

Add a few scary stories told while everyone holds a lit candle in front of their face. Or relate a story, which describes a brutal murder, and while you tell it, pass body parts around including eyeballs (grapes) and brains (spaghetti). It will delight your guests and bring back the Halloweens of the past.

I personally believe keeping the horror in context of parties instead of real life is much preferred. Have a good time, haunt all your neighbors and friends, but be realistic and don't step into the realm of really bad taste. Always, always keep safety first.

Credits: Jo Ann Wentzel