Halloween Ideas - Costumes, Crafts, Recipes, Games

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It's that time of year again. Time for all the ghouls and demons to come out of the woodwork. Time for children to dress up in imaginative costumes and go around their neighborhoods asking for treats. Yes, it's that enjoyable annual holiday: Halloween. During this holiday, one popular tradition, for many, is to go to the local haunted houses. In these creepy habitations, people delight in the chance to entertain their primal fears. Many of us get a kick out of a good scare.

Of course, these are just false haunted houses. Annual occurrences of smoke and mirror type frights. They are fun because everyone plays along. The demons are actors, the ghosts, props. These haunted houses are fun because both spook and spooked, know that no one is actually going to be hurt in the process. So then, what of real haunted houses?

Here the rules change. This time the scares are real, and the safety of the victim is placed into question. No one comes face to face with the supernatural. That is, assuming that there is such a thing as "the supernatural."

Most neighborhoods in many parts of the industrial and post-industrial world seem to harbor one, or two allegedly haunted places. According to Dennis William Hauck's National Directory of Haunted Houses, there are over 2,000 haunted places in the United States alone. This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise considering that the only real criteria for a haunted house is a creepy atmosphere, a fairly rich history, and a few eyewitness accounts.

So, where are some of the best places to go, to see a "real" haunting? How about two of the most haunted places on earth:

Whaley House - Located in San Diego, California, this is the current reigning champion for the nation's most haunted house. The abode was partially built on an old cemetery, as well as some of San Diego's first public gallows. The residence has stood there for the past 148 years. Placement of the house has made it a prime scene for many gruesome acts over the past century. Because of this, vast arrays of ghostly sightings have occurred on this property. These include the ghost of a young girl who accidentally hung herself on a clothesline whilst running down a hillside. Noted thief Jim Robinson, was hung 5 years before the house was built. His place of death now resides between the parlor and music room. Visitors have reported feeling a coldness and constriction of the neck, when around the archway that separates these rooms. Along with these two ghosts, there are numerous accounts of phantom scents in some rooms, cries of nonexistent babies in other rooms, and various apparitions that have been seen in the house's mirrors and windows.

Borley Rectory - Not to be outdone by the States, England is also host to a number of haunted places. The most haunted of which is, allegedly, Borley Rectory, in the small town of Borley, in Essex. The rectory (lodging for priests) was built in 1863, on the site of an ancient monastery. Interestingly enough, it was built on a spot that was already known to house a ghost (a nun who was bricked up alive, in one of the monastic cellars). The rectory has since had numerous sightings of the nun, as well as many poltergeist activities, where various objects would be smashed, or displaced. Strange sounds, odors and cold spots are all known to occur there as well.

While both of these places claim to be haunted, one must ask if haunting is even a real thing, or just a psychosomatic phenomenon. Are ghosts real, or just figments of our imagination? This remains a controversial topic among the general public. A Harris poll in February 2003 found that a whopping 51% of people surveyed, believed in ghosts.

Of course belief in something, and the reality of it, are not always one and the same. After all, there was a time when much of the world believed that the planet was flat, and that disease was caused by the influence of the stars. While there is much debate over the validity of ghosts among the general public, there is little to no debate among the scientific community. To date, there has been no concrete evidence to suggest the validity of ghosts, or any other preternatural occurrences.

Okay then, so what are people seeing? Along with the various ghost seekers out there; there are also a handful of ghost-busters. Reading the various reports from these guys has shown that ghostly encounters are the result of one of two things.

1. Hallucinations
2. Hoaxes

The first term is just reserved for clinically insane, right? Not really. Hallucinations are more common among the general public, than one might think. A hallucination is simply a moment where one's brain mistakes a sight, sound, or smell, for something it isn't. Most hallucinations occur during "dazed" moments. That is, moments when the person is in a fairly relaxed state. The two most popular times are just when one is going to, or coming out of sleep, or when doing a relaxed, fairly monotonous activity.

Hallucinations that occur when one is about to go to sleep, or when one has just come out of sleep, are called Hypnopompic Hallucinations, or "waking dreams." The brain is not fully out of "sleep mode" when one wakes up, and thus, moments of dreaming, leak out into reality. Hallucinations can also occur during monotonous activities like cleaning. When one is placed into a daydreaming type state, apparitions have a tendency to occur. Many people report seeing something out of the corner of their eyes. This is often the result of their eye registering the sudden movement of some small thing (e.g. a fly, their eyelash, or pieces of drifting material inside the eye itself), and their brain associating it with a larger thing. Sometimes these take on the form of a person standing, or sitting. The degree of the detail in the hallucination has a lot to do with how susceptible/imaginative the hallucinator is. The result, though, is always the same. The second the person looks away, the "apparition" disappears.

As for why so many people report the same thing; this has a lot to do with the power of suggestion. People, who are aware of the stories associated with a particular place, are often predisposed to seeing the objects in question. Most of the time, the hallucination is just attributed to some portion of the stories the person may have heard (often getting molded to fit the scenario after the fact). Other times, the hallucination is vivid enough to create a new ghostly tale. This is usually the result of a person with a "fantasy prone" personality type. That is, a person who is particularly good at fantasizing. Many people like this go on to write fantasy/science fiction books, or claim to have psychic abilities. They also tend to be easily hypnotized. Cases where objects are found displaced, or moving, are often exaggerations of what actually happened. Sometimes the person might even subconsciously move stuff about in an effort to bring their fantasy to life.

Which, then, leads us into our second major type of haunting: hoaxes. Many haunted places around the globe, are staged that way to elicit the feeling of paranormal activities. Many places that have a history of being haunted are probably getting a helping hand from owners/staff members who are trying to keep the legends alive. This can be small things like synchronized stepping sounds during a certain portion of the night, to intentionally flicking light switches on and off, creating ghostly images, and making up secondary stories.

Oftentimes, these "hoax houses" are readily ferreted out. Occasionally though, a haunted house retains its air of paranormal for much longer, and resists attempts at debunking. Take, for instance, the infamous case of the Amityville Horror. The Amityville Horror took place in Amityville, New York in 1975. The home had been the scene of the gruesome murder of the DeFeo family by family member Ronald "Butch" Jr. a year prior. The home was bought by George and Kathy Lutz, and their three kids. Not long after moving in, the Lutzes reported the demonic possession of their house, and gave a somewhat detailed account of what occurred there during their 28 day stay.

The story was turned into a book by author Jay Anson, in 1977. This was then followed by a 1979 movie based on the book, and a 2005 remake. All three feature the tagline: a true story. This, though, was far from the case. Ever since the initial tale was brought to the public's attention, there have been detractors. Yet despite the noted compilation, by researchers Rick Moran & Peter Jordan, of over 100 different factual errors seen between the book's story, and the actual facts (e.g. the supposed demonic hoof print found in the snow, could not have occurred as there was no snowfall that night), despite these facts, the legend continued.

In the end, it finally took the confession of William Weber (the DeFeo's attorney), and the Lutzes themselves, to finally put this legend to rest. The Amityville Horror was finally debunked, but the damage was already done. All successive owners of the DeFeo's old estate must now deal with multitudes of gawkers and paranormal investigators, who insist on touring the ill fated home.

So this Halloween, if someone dares you to spend the night at the local "real" haunted house; just remember the famous words of investigative authors Robert Baker and Joe Nickell:

"There are no haunted places, only haunted people."

If your kid's costume is ready the only thing they need now is a trick or treat bag. While you can buy this from the store, you can save money and be creative at the same time if you are able to make this on your own.

The first thing you have to do is look for an old shopping bag. This should be able to carry a lot of candy and should not break because of the weight. Ideally, this should be color orange as this is often associated with Halloween.

Since your kid can't go around with a gift bag featuring the logo of the department store, it is time to decorate the trick or treat bag. For that, look at some templates online and then print it out.

Now trace the picture onto tracing paper using a pencil and then cut it out. Tape the cutout onto a sheet of black construction paper and center this in the middle of the bag. Push the construction paper down so it will stick well on the trick or treat bag and all air bubbles have been removed.

There are some designs that you can get that will require more than just pressing it on the bag. You may have to iron it into the fabric similar to what is done to a shirt that has no distinctive markings. When you do it, make sure there is a cardboard placed in between the two sides so the colors do not bleed from one side to the other.

You can also create a trick or treat bag by drawing the design and then pasting it. Some examples which are popular include the ghost, skill or pumpkin. You then cut it and then repeat the same procedures as the one mentioned before.

To make the trick or treat bag more decorative, add some Halloween stickers or sprinkle some glitters after mixing this with some glue. You can also use this to write their name so no one will get it by mistake.

Another way to make a treat or trick bag is to buy some fabric from the store and then sew it together. Since there is sure to be leftover material, use this to create handles and then label it using some thread or with craft paint sticks.

Before you let your kid walk out the door with it, test it to make sure that it won't suddenly burst open once it becomes too heavy. You can do this by putting candy and then leaving it for an hour or so since this is about the same time that your child will be out. If nothing happens, then it can withstand the weight even if your kid is walking with this from house to house.

You don't have to pay much for a trick or treat bag when you can make it at home. One of the benefits of doing it is to reduce the chance that someone in the neighborhood will have something similar to what your kid has.

When Halloween is all over, you can keep it and then use this again for next Halloween. But if your child wants something different, that is perfectly because they will most likely wear a different costume next year and the trick or treat bag should always match the outfit.

3 oz lemon gelatin (can be sugar-free)
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup pineapple juice
8 oz cream cheese (can be lowfat/Neufchatel)
1 cup mayonnaise (can be fat-free)

Dissolve lemon gelatin in 1 cup water in double boiler, add marshmallows and stir to melt. Remove from heat. Add pineapple juice and cream cheese. Beat until well blended. Cool slightly. Fold in mayo. If you have a truffle candy mold or round ice cube trays, pour the mixture in the molds and leave to set in the fridge. Otherwise pour into a deep ceramic dish and chill until thickened or firm enough for scooping into eyeballs. Using a melon baller, scoop full balls of the mixture and set aside for decoration. To decorate, use liquid food coloring and an old detail paintbrush and get creative. You will need black food coloring for the pupils. Also, if you are in a hurry, instead of painting the colored irises, you can carefully dip the ball in a small pool of food coloring to approximate the iris, but still paint on the pupils.

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
8 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1 (.25-ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin softened in 1/4 cup water
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3 pounds cooked shrimp, coarsely chopped
(or 1 pound crab meat)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Tabasco or creole seasoning to taste

Heat soup, undiluted, and mix in the cream cheese. Stir in softened gelatin and blend well. Fold in remaining ingredients and pour into a lightly-oiled mold. Chill until firm and serve with your favorite crackers.

1 cup Butter, softened
1 cup Icing sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Almond extract
1 tsp Vanilla
2 2/3 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Almonds, whole blanched
1 Tube red decorator gel (optional)

Gross everyone out with these creepy cookies.
In bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla. Beat in flour, baking soda, and salt. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Working with one quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remainder refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoonful of dough into a finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into 1 end for each nail. Squeeze in center to create knuckle shape. Accompanying picture showed long rolled shape with bulge at center for knuckle; you puff it out rather than squeeze it in.) Using paring knife, make slashes in several places to form knuckle.

Place on lightly greased baking sheets, bake in 325F (160C) oven for 20-25 minutes or until pale golden. Let cool for 3 minutes. Lift up almond and squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place so gel oozes out from underneath. You can also make slashes in the finger and fill them with "blood." Remove from baking sheets and let cool on racks. Repeat with remaining dough.

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/3 c. warm water
2 T. granulated sugar, divided
2 eggs
2 T. butter or margarine, softened
1/4 c. mashed pumpkin
1/2 t. salt
2-1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/3 c. packed light brown sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon
2 T. melted butter or margarine

In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water; stir until dissolved. Stir in 1 t. sugar, let stand until mixture foams, about 10 minutes. In large bowl, beat eggs lightly. Add remaining sugar, softened butter, pumpkin and salt. Mix well. Beat in yeast mixture. Add 1-1/4 c. flour; beat on low speed for 5 minutes, constantly scraping sides of the bowl down. Add remaining flour; mix well (dough will be soft). Place dough in a large, greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover; let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 1 hour or until doubled. Punch dough down. Turn onto floured surface; knead a few times to make dough smooth. Roll into 10x12 inch rectangle. In small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush surface of dough with melted butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Beginning with side of dough, roll up firmly, jelly-roll style. Pinch seam to close. With sharp knife, cut roll into 12 slices, 1 inch wide. Place rolls cut side up, in 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Cover, let rise about 45 minutes or until nearly doubled. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove rolls from pan and place on wire cooling rack, right side up. Cool 10-15 minutes. Drizzle with Caramel Frosting.

Caramel Frosting

In a small saucepan, melt 1/4 c. butter. Stir in 1/2 c. packed brown sugar and 2 T. milk. Bring to a boil; cook over medium heat for 1 minutes, stirring constantly. Transfer to small mixer bowl; cool. Add 1/2 - 3/4 c. powdered sugar and 1/4 t. vanilla extract. Beat well.