Host a Frightfully Fun Horror Movie Bash With These Tips
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Photo: miodrag ignjatovic via gettyimages.com
Hosting a Halloween Movie Night is the ultimate way to hunker down with family and friends to experience some fright night thrills and chills. From serving up tasty treats and devilish décor to enjoying a classic list of scary flicks, your adults-only cinematic soiree is sure to deliver a ghoulishly grand time. Just follow these recommendations to ring in the spookiest night of the year – at your own risk. Mooo – wah-haha!
Choose a Spine-tingling Movie
The most important part of hosting an epic Halloween Movie Night is choosing the right movie. Horror buffs will likely agree that the spookier and more spine-tingling a film is, the better. A Halloween-themed movie list is jam-packed with hair-raising options. Doing a quick Google search for “best Halloween movies” or “scariest Halloween movies” will yield many results.
Some legendary serial killer-based flicks include “Halloween,” “Friday the 13th,” “Scream,” and “Nightmare on Elm Street.” If you love classic Halloween monsters, some critically-acclaimed films include “Dracula” (1973), “An American Werewolf in London” (1981), and the original “Frankenstein” (1931).
Iconic psychological horror movies include “The Shining” (1980), “The Sixth Sense” (1999), “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968), “Carrie” (1976), “Psycho” (1960), and “Get Out” (2017).
Or, if you’d like some comedic relief, some hilarious spooky spoofs include “Young Frankenstein” (1974), “Ghostbusters” (1981), and “Scary Movie” (2000).
Overall, there are plenty of spooky movies to conjure some Halloween spirit and stir up some old-fashioned fright.
Set the Spooky Scene
Nothing sets the spooky movie scene better than some festive Halloween décor. Use flickering wax or flameless candles for dim lighting, drape some “cobwebs” in corners or around tables, carve some jack-o-lanterns for a centerpiece, and string some tissue ghosts along the fireplace mantel. Decorations like these are inexpensive, but you can get as elaborate as your budget and imagination allows
Halloween-themed throw blankets also add a cozy touch to the room – and provide protection during those heart-pounding movie moments when you feel compelled to close your eyes or hide. Check out Country Living’s75 Easy DIY Halloween Decoration ideas here.
Photo: Pekic via gettyimages.com
Play Halloween Soundtrack Name That Tune
To kick off your movie night, play Halloween Soundtrack Name That Tune:
- Before the gathering, create a playlist of popular scary movie soundtrack or Halloween songs. Give players orange paper and black pens.
- Have them number their papers with the number of tunes in the playlist.
- Set a timer and see who gets the most correct answers when the time runs out.
- Give a Halloween-themed prize to the winner – a bag of any kind of Halloween candy is a popular prize.
Get a printable version of this game from The Tiptoe Fairy.
Enjoy Chilled Halloween Drinks
Quench your guests’ thirst with some chilling Halloween drinks. Serve your favorite brand of orange soda orJust a Pinch’s Dreamsicle Orange Punch in black party cups as easy, crowd-pleasing, nonalcoholic refreshments. Or, whip up some wickedly wonderful adult beverages likeThe Flavor Bender’s Witch’s Heart Cocktail that combines purple Blackberry Liqueur, Apple Brandy, and Grenadine. Yummly’s Zombie Brains also has a fun blend of raspberries, pomegranate juice, orange juice, vodka, Chambord, ginger ale, and ice.
Note: Be sure to drink responsibly, never drink and drive, and always use a designated driver.
Serve Tasty Halloween Treats
Every movie night needs some tasty treats – and Halloween is known for some of the best. Popcorn is a movie-time favorite. You can serve microwave or fresh-popped or your favorite brand of ready-to-eat cheddar, caramel, or kettle corn. The Coffee Mom offers a unique sweet and salty Halloween movie snack mix that contains candy corn, skull-and-bone candies, and popcorn drizzled in melted white chocolate turned orange with orange food coloring. Get the recipe here.
Additional ideas are individual candy cups with Halloween M&M’s, peanut butter pumpkins, gummy worms, candy orange slices, or this amazing Candy Spiders recipe from The Spruce Eats. Black licorice, pumpkin muffins, or Pillsbury’s Jack-o’ Lantern Sugar Cookie Pops also make some scrumptious movie night treats.
Use some of these Halloween Movie Night suggestions or dream up some of your own – then, most importantly, sit back, chill out, and prepare to scare yourself silly!
