Pirating adventures are in demand after the movie, ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean.’ Let your child become a pirate by designing a costume similar to that in the movie. Theme a Halloween party around the movie, and then issue invitations similar to those of the 19th Century.

A sample invitation:

Attend a Halloween Pirate Party at 1122 Lansdale Road
Bring your best Pirate Costume and Attitude
Sunday, October 20th, Rain or Shine

Items Needed: Treasure Map
Name of Missing Pirates
A Knowledge of Traps and Foul Play

Once the kids have arrived, turn your home or yard into a shipwreck scene and let them find the missing pirated and treasure. Mark the trails to pirates and treasure with props, and put up decorations and danger signs. Skeletons and other Halloween markings can be used as indicators of a ‘find.’

It’s also good to use run on tattoos or face painting as a reward for found treasures or pirates as well as prizes and other goodies. Playing a Halloween movie at the end of the party completes the picture.

Sample Halloween Map:

The Secret Hiding Place of Billy Bones’ Treasure

Beware of Traps……….

Begin by following the areas marked with skeletons, to the end of the trail that is marked by a skull. Proceed to the mark of the Devil’s Head, and then dig where the X marks the spot in the earth. Unearth the treasure and return it to the table that has a witch atop it.

Using imagination can make a great Halloween theme party for your child and their friends!

Nashoba Valley in Massachusetts is home to the infamous ‘Castle Morbid.’ If you like acting, want to be involved with a local attraction, and love frights, this is definitely for you. All you need is to love Halloween and have the ‘spirit’ to really get into the fun here.

Always looking for volunteers, this happy little attraction will let you be a monster, a vampire, a zombie, a mad scientist, a werewolf, or any other ghoul you like. They also like those that seek to interact with the public and the place by organizing affairs and shows. You can also build and design sets, and they welcome new ideas so bring yours too!

Haunts usually build props so handymen are welcomed. You can then watch your creations come to life and you can also take part in the marketing and design of the brochures if you’d rather push a pencil than a rake.

You can be a community volunteer by actually being a tour guide also if you have people skills. And don’t forget there are more places like this for you to choose from. Check your local listings and be a participant wherever you like. The more the merrier on Halloween!

Children love Halloween. Picking out costumes, carving pumpkins, eating sweets, and trick-or-treating makes Halloween a favorite children’s holiday. Projects are also a good idea at this time of year.

For example, making a scrapbook makes children’s imaginations run wild. Go to a store, pick out a scrapbook, and let the kiddies pick out the paper and materials. Back home, use a plastic theme Halloween container to hold the materials and let them go to town copying, pasting, coloring and drawing.

Some materials they might use:

1. Autumn leaves they have collected.
2. Pictures they take themselves.
3. Poetry and songs about Halloween.
4. Pictures of them and their friends doing Halloween activities that you take.
5. Pictures of ‘Halloween past’ as a memory scrapbook.
6. Pieces of Halloween cakes and flowers that are dried and saved.
7. Halloween artwork that they collect.
8. Halloween sweets they got by trick-or-treating.

The list is endless so let your imagination run wild and each year review the ‘previous’ Halloween for unsurpassed memories.

Pick a New Theme for Your Halloween Party!

How? Check your bookstore. For example, using ‘The Complete Jack the Ripper’ as a guide can turn your home into the dreary streets of Whitechapel, England in the late 19th Century. Make a display then for your window or yard, and have others dress up as the characters. The book, written by Donald Rumbelow, an investigator tied deeply into the case, can provide real insight into the happenings at the time and therefore set up a perfect scene.

You can then re-enact the scenes one by one or make up your own. Other books can also be used that are just as great to theme your Halloween. Imagination is the key!

Halloween can be romantic too! If you’re seeking something special for your partner for Halloween, here are some really good tips:
1. Buy a special gift that is not Halloween related
2. Wrap the gift in Halloween colors.
3. Get VIP tickets to any Halloween gathering you had in mind.
4. Rent a hearse for driving around town on Halloween.
5. Throw a Halloween surprise party for your partner.
6. Take a romantic getaway Halloween weekend trip.

Halloween memories are made forever using any methods above!

Halloween is a true movie buff’s holiday! Historic events on Halloween include ‘The Witch’s Dungeon’, located in Bristol, Connecticut. This museum is privately owned by Cortlandt Hull, professional makeup artist and illustrator since 1966. An old witch’s house is constructed on the property deep in the woods, and several classic American icons ‘populate’ this ‘fairy tale home.’

A dungeon exists where visitors encounter the ‘Phantom of the Opera’, ‘Dracula’, the ‘Mummy’ and other well-known movie ghouls and goblins. Replicas of the famous classical movie icons are in each nook and cranny and the replicas are created from live casts of the character’s head. Artistic painting, natural hair, and original costumes complete their ‘real life’ transformation. Voice tracks add realism using voice talents such as Vincent Price and John Agar, as well as June Foray and Mark Hamill.

Striking detail makes this a ‘must have’ Halloween visiting spot, and traveling through the dungeon brings a visitor ‘up close and personal’ with each character.