How to Get the Best Bang for Your Halloween Buck

Renee Sylvestre-Williams

Throwing a Halloween party is pretty easy – invite people to come in costume, drape some spider webs around a dark room and maybe hang a ghost or two for atmosphere. Throwing a genuinely scary party takes a bit more work because connoisseurs of fright have high standards when it comes to being scared. Ross Karpelman, one of the founders of the legendary House of Shock, based in New Orleans, says the desire to be scared out of your mind is a way of purging the everyday and its stresses from one's life: "I think it's an escape. You can release a lot of tension that way."

As a business, House of Shock spends lavishly on the latest special effects to provide a terrifyingly good time for its attendees, but if you're having a Halloween party at home, you don't have to spend a lot of money to get screams. In fact, some of the creepiest effects can be done for free. Have a look at a few ideas before going on a spending spree. We guarantee that if you start early, and plan ahead, you'll find most of what you need around the house.