Organising a Halloween Party: How do you Create a Spooky Atmosphere?

By now, everyone knows when Halloween is celebrated (spoiler alert: it’s 31st October!) Hosting a Halloween party is becoming an increasingly popular activity, but what do you need to pull off a successfully spooky party? In this blog, I’ll tell you all about the history of Halloween and which Halloween products are just the thing to celebrate this fun and frightening holiday! Best of all, a killer party doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg!

What is the meaning of Halloween and why do we celebrate it?
What do pumpkins have to do with Halloween?
What do you need for a good Halloween theme party?
Halloween decorations
Halloween lighting and sound
See also

What is the meaning of Halloween and why do we celebrate it?

The name Halloween is derived from the Scottish term All Hallow’s Eve, which is the night before All Saints’ Day on 1st November. This important Roman-Catholic holiday honours all saints, known and unknown. It’s also the Celtic festival of the dead known as Samhain, which celebrates the end of the harvest and honours those who died the previous year. During the festivities, people would wear masks in order to protect themselves from the wandering souls of their departed loved ones. 1st November was also a special day for the Romans. On this day, they also celebrated the end of the harvest and honoured their deceased. When the Roman and Celtic people came in contact with each other, their customs blended together over time. Halloween as we know it today was introduced in America by Irish immigrants in the 19th century. This was also where ‘trick-or-treating’ originated, when children in fancy dress went door to door asking for sweets. If they weren’t given anything good to eat, the children played a prank on the stingy residents.

What do pumpkins have to do with Halloween?

Everyone knows that Halloween and pumpkins go hand in hand, but do you know why pumpkins are associated with Halloween? Long ago in Ireland, there lived a man called Jack. One evening when Jack was drunk in a bar, he met the devil. The devil wanted Jack’s soul, so Jack made a deal with the devil not once, but three times! Years later, when Jack died, he was not welcome in Heaven because of the sinful deals he’d made with the devil. Unfortunately, Jack wasn’t allowed into Hell either so he was doomed to roam the earth for eternity as a tormented spirit. He begged the devil to give him a burning piece of coal so he could illuminate the dark path he was condemned to walk. He put the burning coal in a hollowed-out turnip to use as a lantern. Ever since, Jack’s soul has wandered aimlessly through the night, with his turnip lantern lighting his dark, ill-fated path. When Irish immigrants arrived in America at the turn of the century, the turnip in the story was changed into a pumpkin. To this day, we call a carved Halloween pumpkin a Jack O’Lantern, and now you know why!

What do you need for a good Halloween theme party?

A successful Halloween party basically consists of three elements: decoration, lighting and sound. Even if your budget is limited, all you need to do is make sure all three elements are present and your party is sure to be a hit!

Halloween decorations

Halloween decorations are objects that have a high creepy factor. They’re designed to strike terror into the hearts of your guests by honing in on what scares them most. Creepy creatures like rats, spiders and bats are a good starting point. Put a fake spider near a doorknob and people are sure to freeze in terror when they try to open the door to escape! A fear for these types of animals is fundamental, so you can count on success. There are also more supernatural decorative items available that work well in a haunted house theme. These products are fun and freaky to behold, they’re well made, and they’ll leave a spine-chilling impression your guests aren’t likely to forget any time soon! Filling your house with the stuff of nightmares, such as creepy skulls with glowing eyes, hungry zombies in tattered clothing or grinning pumpkins with eerie lights, is the first step in creating a successful Halloween party!

Halloween lighting and sound

Even though they have less ‘personality’ than the products above, lighting and special effects are the final ingredients that will make your Halloween party complete. You can use a combination of lighting effects, static lighting, smoke machines, and even a fan for spreading the smoke across the room. A stroboscope is a great way to temporarily blind your guests so they only see the silhouette of the gruesome ghoul you’ve hung from the ceiling, for instance. Sound also plays a crucial role in creating a truly terrifying mood. You can find creepy music and sound effects such as church organs, choirs and other spooky atmospheric sounds on YouTube. Spotify also offers plenty of Halloween-inspired audio material. Stream your bloodcurdling audio via battery-powered mobile speakers or small Bluetooth speakers discreetly hidden around around the house for an easy, effective and eerie result!

Want to know more about Halloween Party Lighting? Read the blog!