The days have darkened. An icy chill lingers, sharply, in the bleak October air. And as you walk home through the Edinburgh night, a distant cackle awakens goosebumps on the back of your neck.
Was that the silhouette of a witch against the icy white moon?
Perhaps. Or just a horrifically formed cloud?
In any case, best to get home. You have a party to organise. And you’ve got to make it a terrifyingly good time.
Halloween is here once more, my evil ghouls and goblins. Your dearest fiends are coming around for a shindig and they’re expecting nothing less than a supernatural experience.
Scared? You should be. But we at Belvoir Edinburgh do not know the meaning of the word fear.
And so, take out your cauldron and dig out your point black hat. Here are 5 ingredients you’ll need to cook up a frighteningly good Halloween party.
Intrigued? Then read on…If you dare.
Devilish Decorations: Your home looks too much like a dream to be believed to be a nightmare, so you’re going to have to put some effort in here and let hell roll on in. Carve those pumpkins, drape those cobwebs and light those blood red candles…A Halloween party needs time and effort, so use your imagination and creativity to conjure up something worthy of the occasion.
Spooky Sounds: So you’ve got the look nailed down, but there’s just something missing. That’s right! You’ve got to get yourself some creepy sounds organised to really get that uneasy atmosphere you’re looking for. YouTube is great for that sort of thing, so have a look and see what you can find. Either go with a set video of sound effects (these can go on for hours), or create your own set list with scenes from movies and famous horror theme tunes. Just make it scary!
Maniacal Movies: If you’re not looking to have a party but still want to celebrate Halloween, then watching a collection of scary movies is always a good way to go. However, you could still have a party and centre it around The Exorcist, The Omen and others. Get a group around, heat up that popcorn and prepare for a fright fest. Don’t want to sit through the films, but like the idea of having them involved? Well they are perfect to have on in the background. You may just have solved your spooky sounds problem.
Creepy Costumes: We don’t really need much of an excuse to get all dressed up here in the capital, but we all look forward to donning a spook-tacular Halloween costume come October 31st. Is it necessary for a Halloween party? No. Are we going to do it? Of course! Who’s going to be your character this year? Dracula? Frankenstein? The choice, dear reader, is yours.
Fiendish Food & Drink: Any party, Halloween or not, simply has to have some scrumptious snacks and liquid refreshments to help keep the madness going. Get yourself some deep red punch on the go, whatever you can come up with in terms of themed food (supermarkets will have a variety of things to choose from around about now), and set out your stall. Just remember to get plenty. In Edinburgh, we tend to party until way past midnight. You don’t want your guests to resort to cannibalism.
Halloween is such a fun time of the year and, in our haunted city of Edinburgh, we like to go all out on the occasion. So, if you’re going to have a gathering, make sure you have all the bases covered.
From everyone here at Belvoir Edinburgh, we hope you all have a wicked Halloween.
Be Afraid. Be very afraid.
