Halloween at Gruenwold Cottage
Halloween here at the Cottage isn't for little
kids!
This is a night for teens and adults to howl...
Most of the time, I’m just a sweet little old granny
witch. No! Really!
But at Halloween, I admit, my EVIL twin emerges and has a blast! The yard becomes filled with fog, graveyards and ghosts flying out of the trees. Monsters lurk on the porch and eerie voices warn away trick or treaters. We live at the end of the road, up a hill and next to a cemetery. The few houses in our area are dark on that night. (party poopers!) Somehow, the trick or treaters find us anyway!
A few years ago, when my youngest daughter became a teen, we had a Halloween Party. The house was filled with her friends and mine. Apparently the whole thing was a huge hit because everyone assumed this would be an annual event and started clamoring for invites the following year. In fact, every year since then the thing has grown and grown. We'd created a Monster!
So every October now, the living room is draped in cobwebs and fall leaves. Ghosts fly around w/ the ceiling fans and bats hang from the rafters. Skeletons perch on the old secretary desktop and dangle at the end of hangman’s nooses from the big beams across the ceiling. Candles flicker everywhere and a fire roars in the fireplace .A brass cauldron is filled with little parchment scrolls upon which rhyming fortunes have been written. You can also just toss them in a bowl with some mixed nuts to pass around. We did this one year and it was so popular that we've repeated it every year since. It's a good way to break the ice - People love sharing and comparing "fortunes" and speculating on what they might mean.
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An oriental rug and old table are cleared away from one end of the living room. The space becomes a strobe-lit, fog filled dancing area for the teens.
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If you can, be your own D.J. and put together a cd or tape, alternating Music
Themes from Scary Movies and Spooky Music with a good dance beat. If you want to really get Scary/Creepy - try the music of Evanescence. |
Tarot readings...
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In another room we have the fortune teller's table set
up. I use the herb room for this but you can use a bedroom.
Just change the lighting and put oil lamps and candles all over. Drape white or black sheets (shop your local thrift store or Salvation Army for these)
over all the furniture. Set a table and a couple of chairs in the
center. You'll need at least 2 oil lamps for illumination. A velvet
tablecloth and a large antique doily in the center looks good. Try spray
painting some dried, long stemmed roses black and sticking them in a
vase. Think
Gothic Victorian! Incense too will add to the atmosphere. You might want to have several "Readers" who can take shifts. Otherwise, trust me - one person will be stuck in there all night giving readings. On the bright side, it also ends up being a nice place for adults to duck in and get away from the teens and the music for a while! *whew* |
Afterward...
In the herb room, after the party...
I'm pooped and ready for bed, but Kevin is still "raring to go"!
Next....
Halloween at Gruenwold Cottage
Stop by the Dining Room
Grab some recipes for your monster bash
Grab some Rhyming Fortunes for your party
A few pictures of last year's party
Explore some Halloween Magic & Superstitions