How to host a hauntingly harrowing Halloween party

Hosting a Halloween party can be a ball but there’s a few key ghostly factors that will make your party historically harrowing. 

Whether you’re planning a masquerade ball or a thoroughly haunted house there are a few initial steps to take before creating a spectacularly spooky event. Our lovely grounds here at Eastwood Park sets the scene of an elegant ball that time forgot. Laced with cobwebs and flickering candles the decoration is the be all and end all of our Spooktacular plans but enough about our moonlit manor, let’s start from the beginning.  

The first step in planning your extravaganza is to decide on your theme for the event. Once your theme is decided this is where the frightful fun begins. We’ve listed some of our favourite Halloween fantasy plans below to get the magic moving! 

• Gothic Gala – When planning a Spooktacular event a gothic themed gala will create a dark and shadowy feel which relishes in the glooms of Victorian England.  
• Murder mystery madness – A murder mystery party will always create a buzz that lasts for weeks. With careful planning and consideration, you can cause a stir between your guests, one illusive killer and a fully immersive event!  
• Halloween Harvest Carnival – With party games and spooky snacks a Halloween harvest will settle into the fall feel with intricate details. Blending the fun of the fair with an eerie autumn chill this mysterious night will form the perfect base for a chilling night.  
• Ghostly white - An elegant affair laced with white candles, cobwebs and corpses. This theatrical occasion is not one to be missed. With an array of guests all dressed in the snowy shade this event is the perfect back drop to any location!  

It wouldn’t be a party without the guests! The next step to undertake is finalizing your guest list. Halloween parties range from intimate gatherings to extravagant events but make sure you advise your guests to attend at their own risk!  

Once the theme and guest lists are confirmed you can start on designing your invites. Invites are vital to setting the tone and expectations of the event. Whether its grim and grizzly or grand and ghostly your guests need to be best prepared for the horrors they’re planning to face.  Here’s a few of our favourite invite ideas – 

• If you’re organizing a grand event a classic invitation sealed with wax will set the perfect tone for what to expect. The simpler these are the more effective they can be!  
• A ghoulish pop up card will begin the frightening feel and create anticipation for what’s to come! You can let your creative side flow with a garish design or keep it simple with a spooky black sketch!  

It’s time to make your ideas come to life! This is where the excitement sets in, finding your perfect displays, decorations and delights is a lot harder than it seems. The simplest way to stay organized in this situation is to write down everything you need to do; checklists will be your best companion!  

Food and drink will make or break a party so make sure you have a frightening feast prepared for your gruesome guests. We’ve listed some spectacularly spooky treats below so get your aprons at the ready –  

  Ghost cookies                                                            

  Spooky macarons                                                     

  Spiders web cheesecake                                              

   Pumpkin pie

With all of these elements completed you have the base of a spine-chilling event filled with sweet treats, supernatural beings and unnerving ghostly frights!  

Written by Daisy Jones