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3 Spooky Locations for Outdoor Halloween Parties

Updated on September 18, 2011
Decorate your Gallows Tree, involve everyone and have fun
Decorate your Gallows Tree, involve everyone and have fun | Source
Source

Running Out of Ideas Where to Hold a Halloween Party?

Why not do something different for Halloween this year instead of the old cotton-wool cobwebbed house and horror film marathon? Make it a night to remember by bringing your guests out into the open: great if the weather’s fair, but even better when there’s lashing rain and thunder and lightning.

Make a Gallows Tree
If you have a large old tree, preferably oak or chestnut, in your garden or a nearby public park; make it the centre of your festivities by turning it into a gallows tree. Find a length of old rope and fashion it into a noose (guides on this can be found easily online) and tie it securely to a branch parallel to the ground. If kids will be present, hang it high enough so they won’t be tempted to play with it and injure themselves.

If you want to go all-out, make a guy or scarecrow by stuffing old clothes with straw, using a cloth bag as a head and drawing on a fierce criminal expression. Alternatively, make a zombie criminal with red cloth wounds and lashings of fake blood. If you are up to the task, make the criminal’s head and body out of paper mache and fill with candy to make a gruesome piñata. Do this by blowing up a balloon, covering it with newspaper dipped in a thick mixture of glue and water and popping the balloon when it’s dry to create the head. Do the same with two balloons connected for the body.

Hang him from the tree along with bats on string and lanterns and surround the base of the tree with tables laden with tasty treats and games. Then watch the sun go down and tell spooky ghost stories as the lanterns flicker overhead.

Halloween front yard

Graveyard Walk

If your guests can behave responsibly around respected areas and won’t frighten too easily, a graveyard walk is a fantastically spooky experience. Even the most mundane town churchyard is transformed at night. You could invent a local ‘legend’ or tell ghost stories as you go along. Just please remember to respect the grave sites, not damage headstones or make a disturbing amount of noise. If you’re forced to keep quiet, the tiniest sound will make your guests jump out of their skin. Take along a video camera and embarrass them later on!

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Prepare some really colorful spooky cupcakes to offset the eerie feeling :)
Prepare some really colorful spooky cupcakes to offset the eerie feeling :) | Source

Go to a Battlefield

Like graveyards, sites of great battles or turmoil hold an impressive atmosphere at night and an even greater possibility of seeing spirits roam. But unlike graveyards, you are less likely to get in trouble if you venture onto them around Halloween, unless they contain special preservation significance or include a monument.

Having a battlefield Halloween party is an excellent option both for ghost-hunting adults and as an educational Halloween trip for kids, but as most battlefields hold no interest to anyone except archaeologists and re-enactment groups, they may require a little bit of research to find. If you live in the UK chances are your local area has a battlefield, or one close enough to warrant an organised trip. Research any ghostly sightings around the area, take along tape recorders, cameras, temperature gauges and similar equipment and see if you can capture any ghosts!

Check with your local authority beforehand, because if it is considered public land you may be able to camp, have an instant barbecue or even a bonfire on the battlefield. Of course, this means you must take proper safety precautions to protect yourselves and the environment and leave as little trace of your activities as you can. Before you drift to sleep, listen closely for the sounds of ghostly hooves, battle cries, or clashing swords. Real historical battles are often more gruesome than any zombie movie!

With a little imagination, Halloween parties in the outdoors can create a fun and memorable occasion and you may find it becomes a yearly tradition. Take a look around and you may be surprised – have you heard of a ghost in your area? Go investigate it! Or find out if there are any organised ghost walks nearby. Haunted houses and dungeons aside, the outdoors holds more fright potential than any realm of the imagination.

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Halloween at Prairie Grove Battlefield Park

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