Halloween Fun for Grown-Ups: Horror, Dinner, and Pumpkin Heads

Halloween is so great because it allows you to indulge in that seldom-seen dark side. It also invites your imagination, and once you're dressed up in that crazy costume, you finally feel free to let lose and act goofy. But most of the time, kids get to have all the fun! They dress up in cool costumes and run around the neighborhood all night, they can eat all the free candy, and they get to go to Halloween parties. Doesn't that make you jealous? Don't you just hate watching kids run around in their costumes because you wish you could go with them?

Well, news flash. Halloween isn't just for kids anymore. Nowadays, there are great ways for those of us who are too old to trick-or-treat to enjoy this great holiday.

Whether you're in high school and having trouble letting go, in college and want to party, or you're married with children and want to have fun with your friends, the following tips are designed to get you into the Halloween spirit.

What makes you feel better than some good friends, a few drinks, and a full belly? Decorate your dining room, light some black and orange candles, and have your friends show up in costume. Serve Halloween-themed dishes designed to look like "eyeballs" and "brains", and toss some dry ice in your drinks to create a spooky atmosphere.

Throw a party around one of these games. They create an interactive party where each one of your guests are involved in acting out a role and guessing which other guest is the "murderer". They are a ton of fun- I threw one of these parties over two years ago and my friends are still talking about it.

Halloween is a great time for one of these games. Pick one with a supernatural or Halloween theme to really get into the spirit.

If you live in a tight-knit neighborhood, a college dorm, or an apartment complex where everyone knows each other, start up a neighborly Ghost in the weeks before Halloween!

Up the stakes with a cool prize. Have everyone pitch in a dollar or two at the door to pay for a cool little gadget or a gift card, and then have everyone cast their votes for the best costume. Include subcategories like scariest, funniest, etc.. This will provide some incentive for everyone to put some thought into dressing up well, which is key to a good costume party.

When my dad was young, he lived in a farmhouse with some other guys, and they threw some "legendary halloween parties" (direct quote). They had a roomie with a glass eye who would put a light in it for the night and give people a nice "Light Tour" of the haunted barn. Now, I grew sick of hearing about these parties as a kid, but 30 years later, people still talk about them around town.

I'm not saying you have to get a fake eye for the night, but why not go all out and invest some time into created a really horrifying haunted house? Organize the party at a friend's house who has something cool on their property, like a barn or a large basement. Go all out with the decorations, and make something small and scary that guests can walk through. Recruit a few people to work the costume and makeup until they are unrecognizable, then have them pop out and scare people.

If that sounds like a lot of work, get a group together and visit a local haunted house or haunted corn maze. Lots of people put these on around Halloween, and some of them are really frightening!

Research your local haunted areas and urban legends, and go out with some flashlights and cameras late at night to hunt for ghosts. This can be done at old, legendary haunted houses, battlefields, or if you have the guts, a cemetery. Just be prepared to get scared out of your wits!

Have each of your friends bring a scary movie, and vote on which ones you watch. Get some popcorn and spend the whole night on the edge of the couch.

Look for Midnight Movies at local theaters. Around this time of year, a lot of businesses show horror classics like Psycho, Freaks, or the Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight. Turn it into a night out!

Have fun ;)