Frightfully fun Halloween décor ideas
Any child who’s ever jumped out from behind a bush to surprise a friend can tell you giving — and getting — a good scare can be great fun.
“Halloween isn’t just for kids in Spider-Man costumes carrying plastic pumpkin buckets,” said Kim Boyd, chief “spook-tologist” for the Johnson Smith Co. Boyd’s family business has been selling novelty items, including Halloween decorations, since 1914. “According to the American Retail Association, only Christmas surpasses Halloween in terms of how much people spend on decorating,” she said.
That means a lot of adults are spending a lot of money each year on Halloween decorations, Boyd said.
Modern Halloween decorations have gone far beyond cardboard skeletons and hand-carved jack-o’-lanterns. Now there’s something for every boy and ghoul — from the serious collector to the casually creepy — to fit in virtually every budget. Cheesy, campy, frolicsome or bone-chilling, whatever your Halloween decorating style, Boyd and her cohorts at www.ThingsYouNeverKnew.com offer some ideas for decorations sure to set just the right mood this Halloween:
• “Keep your audience in mind,” Boyd advised. “When choosing decorations for kids, remember that your goal is for that initial squeal of surprise to be followed by giggles and laughter. A nice jar of Bubbling Eyeballs, a Coffin Fogger or Haunted Shaking Chandelier can do the trick.”
If you’re expecting teens or adults to be haunting your abode this Halloween, you can amp up the fear factor with some gruesome masks or the ever-popular Headless Corpse or Twitching Cleavered Head.
• Consider adding small, inexpensive items, like a string of shrunken heads, vinyl replicas of human organs that pulse with multi-colored light or even a bleeding human skull candle to your Halloween décor. All can be had for less than $10 an item.
• To inspire screams, nothing beats action or sound by an object one thought was inanimate, like the Life-Size Glowing Mummy. The victim knows the mummy is supposed to be a spirited decoration, but doesn’t expect the 6-foot-tall figure to groan and glow when approached.
A motion-activated ghoul, called a Spazm, can have the same effect. As a visitor approaches, the seated, shackled figure begins quivering.
For more ideas, visit www. thingsyouneverknew.com or call (800) 232-0962 for a catalog.
This information was provided by ARA Content.
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