Tag Archives: halloween

Scary films for your next Halloween

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When it comes to Hallowe’en, you could theme a Halloween party in a generic manner with cobwebs, spiders, skeletons and pumpkins. But if you want to give your Hallowe’en party a horror film list, here are some very cool film and entertainment ideas to make it an evening nobody will ever forget.

Stephen King’s It

The beauty of hosting a Hallowe’en party themed around Stephen King’s It is that the whole event is incredibly simple. Book costumed characters to dress in yellow coats holding red balloons – ideally facing away from guests – and book a clown (naturally with horrific makeup) to stalk the event and scare guests. If you want to take the theme further, by all means have a paper crafts table where attendees can make paper boats, which can handily be pressed down and act as a name tag. Clever.

Saw

Though we frown upon the idea of forcing two groups of guests into doing tasks to save their limbs, you can still have some fun with a Saw theme. Keep the lights down low and have an unseen voice speaking to guests as they enter. Add a digital clock counting down to zero – what will happen next? – as a unique way to say that food is now being served and yes, Jigsaw can always be cycling around the venue on his tricycle. Feel free to theme the event with numerous tasks from the movie franchise as well.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Another easy theme to set up – simply hang an ‘Elm Street’ sign in your event space to create the titular setting – the beauty of holding an A Nightmare on Elm Street Hallowe’en party is that Freddy Krueger haunts the teenagers in their dreams. When it comes to event themes, nothing is more broad than ‘dreams’ as an idea because it be anything you want. Book macabre dancers, circus acts, costumed characters– Anything at all! Just be sure to have Freddy interrupt each scene throughout the evening (or perhaps meander through the audience) to ensure that the scares keep coming!

Night of the Living Dead

Not every Hallowe’en party has to focus on the slasher genre! George A. Romero’s franchise about ‘living dead’ or zombies as we now call them is sure to impress when guests enter a venue to be greeted by a horde of the undead. We highly recommend booking a photo booth to capture the experience and numerous attendees can enjoy an evening of avoiding the zombie outbreak. Marvellous.

Halloween

John Carpenter’s Halloween franchise is perhaps the most famous of all horror movies. Not only did it give the world Michael Myers, a deranged masked killer who famous brings all manner of terrors to Jamie Lee Curtis’ main character, but it also spawned a number of sequel including the frankly mad Halloween III, a film that focuses on the idea of a song turning the public insane. We highly recommend not only booking a costumed Michael Myers to scare patrons but also playing ‘Happy happy Halloween’ on a loop to really send those in attendance insane.

Happy Halloween!!

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It has to be said that for a Halloween party, you have to get people in the mood. You can’t have someone walk up all smiles and simply sampling the canapés, oh no! What you need is a few scares here and there before they even reach their welcome drink. In order to do this, we highly recommend a freaky meet and greet act that can create a whole host of incredible characters that are guaranteed to give you the shivers.

Moving on from your meet and greet, it’s now time to get stuck into the party. Perhaps a few themed actors running through some classic scenes from your favourite horror movies could be a big hit, though make sure that they are very well known; you don’t want a guest fainting from the fright as a slasher villain rocks up and nobody knows who they are meant to be.

Interactive strolling entertainment is a classic way for Halloween parties to really make their mark. From stilt walkers to magicians, everyone can get dressed up and go a little macabre for the evening. Magicians love a bit of fire whilst a few mentalism scares are guaranteed to get the guests talking! Strolling bands are also not averse to a bit of costuming!

How best to remember the proceedings from the night before? With a photo booth of course! There are a number of options when it comes to booking a photo booth from ones that provide props, logos, theming and more. You can even book a photo booth that adds a three dimensional feel or gif to the final shot.

There are so many ways to put on the perfect Halloween party and we hope this blog has made you think when it comes to booking party entertainment for your scary event this October.

Halloween party ideas

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Halloween isn’t really as popular here in the UK as it is in the US, where they go absolutely crazy for All Hallow’s Eve. Even so, we have noticed a significant upturn in Halloween-themed events over the last few years so here is some spooky entertainment for your next party.

Costumed Characters
Is it fair to say ‘costumed characters’ when what we mean is something far scarier? We normally hire costumed characters as vintage entertainment for corporate events and they tend to be a lot more demure! They can either liven up their usual outfits or simply go all out on the scares and have ghastly ghouls and terrifying vampires. Stuck for ideas? Zombies are always popular.

Magic
What can be more fitting for a Halloween party than a bit of magic for the event. Whether you identify as a witch, wizard or warlock – to name just a few – a magician is the perfect accompaniment for any event. You’ve heard of magicians managing to make pens disappear but what if, just for Halloween, that pen was actually a bone from a skeleton? Numerous additions can be made to keep things creepy!

Stilt Walker
We absolutely love circus acts and a stilt-walker is sure to astonish your guests on Halloween, as well as being a brilliant choice for photo opportunities. Your stilt walker could come with unique costumes and will surely be a sight to see and of course with it being Halloween the costume will have to be spooky!

Living Statues
What could be more brilliant at a Halloween party than the idea of hiring living statues to jump out at your unsuspecting guests? A group of statues that move when you look away, or go one further than that by rigging up a statue with makeup to ensure that as you walk past, he cries blood. This will be a huge hit on this Halloween!

The spookier the better

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Americans go all out for Halloween and now the UK are following suite there is now not an excuse to go to town and decorate your house for the best party in your neighbourhood.

Transforming your home to a haunted house can be a great way to stand out. Red Masque directory has many party entertainers for hire that will enhance any Haunted House experience. Whether you want to stand out in the neighbourhood or attract more customers to your haunted house, Red Masque can help! Here are few great ideas for enhancing your haunted house that we advertise:

Smoke machines – From low lying smoke that gives that graveyard look to haze that allows beams of lights to be seen easily, smoke is an essential item for your haunted house.
Walkabout artist – why not hire your very own ghost that can mingle with your guests or to welcome your guests in. Imagine the scene, they look so amazing that guests are wondering if these authentic ghosts are really real??? They won’t say a word; they will just glide around your venue looking extremely spooky!
Strobe Lighting – These are a very effective way to scare your patrons in dark environments that haunted houses are known for and when utilized with ambient sound FX you can create a great “stormy night” effect.
Black Lights – Utilizing these lights add a great glow to decor and surroundings. They can also be utilized to highlight specially designed makeup and face paint that can be applied to decor and the zombies roaming around the house.

Why not look on our directory today to find the best Halloween artists out there. Hire a smoke machine, strobe lights, sound and lights for a night or a month. All of the entertainment you see if ready to be hired ready to spook your guests all Halloween season long.

Ideas for November the 5th

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Fireworks Night, otherwise known as Guy Fawkes’ Night or Bonfire Night, is a quintessentially UK celebration, marking the time that Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators didn’t blow up the Houses of Parliament on the 5th November.

To many that haven’t grown up with this ‘holiday’, it might not seem an event worth celebrating but as many of us in the UK know, it’s become more of an excuse to watch some fireworks, wrap up in cosy clothing, eat hearty food and drink warming beverages, all whilst getting toasty by the bonfire.

Fireworks

It’s an obvious one of course, but if you’re hosting a Fireworks Night event, fireworks are a must! If you don’t think you’ll feel safe running the display yourself, you could hire a company to come in and do them for you.

If you do tackle the display yourself, make sure you do so responsibly and safely, and adhere to Government safety rules. And with fireworks, must come sparklers too, so make sure you get plenty of these, as people do love them!

Bonfire

Another staple of any Fireworks Night is the bonfire. Although this was originally to burn the Guy, this is a great way to keep everyone toasty during the night and can even be used to cook some bonfire treats.

There are different options of sizes, form the huge centrepiece fire, to little ones, to the smoke-free burning log pictured. Whilst staring into fire can be mesmerising, why not add some colour to your flames to add something extra special to your event?

Guy Fawkes

As mentioned before, this is the traditional origins of the night. People would make Guy Fawkes, which we call ‘a Guy’. This would normally be made out of old clothes stuffed with newspaper, or hay and added on to the bonfire as the main event.

If you’re not looking to be as traditional as this, you could always have some of the masks of Guy Fawkes, that feature in the film V for Vendetta, or why not make a bonfire cake with a little Guy Fawkes on top?

Bonfire Night Food

Catering at events is important; mainly because it’s a great way of warming up the crowds with some hearty food. Serving jacket potatoes has always been a classic, but why not take this further with these shepherd’s pies, cooked in a baked potato shell?

Cooking a large dish of chilli is always a crowd pleaser and is easy to make in a big batch. Or why not consider cooking up some bangers with a bit of fire (keeping it on theme) by adding some chilli for chilli sausages?

Decorative food

Whilst hearty food may keep everyone warm, it’s worth making some visually pleasing treats that fit in with the theme of the night, like bonfire cakes, firework cookies and chocolate sparklers.

Conclusion

There are different ways to approach Fireworks Night, whether you decide to go for something traditional, with traditional food and drink; or decide to go all-out and add a few twists and turns to surprise your guests, creating more of a spectacle. Whatever you do, make sure everyone is warm, cosy, safe and enjoying some of that autumnal fresh air!

Halloween party

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Although Halloween lands on a Monday this year, there’s no excuse not to make the most of it.

Set a creepy mood.

The trick to instantly creating a mood is to focus on overall effect rather than intricate decor details. Simply dimming the lights in favour of candlelight (electronic or flame) will immediately infuse the room with spooky ambiance. A quick draping of black netting over existing furnishings — tables, seating, etc. — provides instant spook factor with minimal effort, and a scattering of decorative masks will dress up everything from the food table to the bar. Finally, a scary film with a mask-related plot point (think Freddie Kruger or one of the Saw movies) playing on the TV surround sound is a clever, effortless way to emphasize the theme.

Serving Drinks.

The two most important things to remember about hiring party drinks are quality and presentation. A choice of excellent lagers offered in ice-filled black cauldrons is much more interesting than a bunch of average Fosters crammed in the fridge. Serve a single signature cocktail jazzed up with themed stirrers or glassware and made with a premium spirit to make it feel special. Margaritas on the rocks are super easy and don’t require a blender (plus the mix can be made in batches in advance for easy pouring over ice once guests arrive).

Food.

A spicy pot of chilli served with tortilla chips instead of bread works perfectly with lagers and tequila, and a buffet of toppings allows guests to personalize their bowls. For snacks, a sweet-and-savoury dipping bar of crisps, fruit, and dips provides visual impact as well as variety. Salsa, hummus, and sour cream-based dips are must-have classics, while melted chocolate on marshmallows are a must, as well as a chocolate fountain with toffee apples.

Playing DJ.

Soundtracks to scary movies are a quick and easy way to infuse the room with doom. Extra points for playing spooky sound effects at the front door or in the bathroom. If you have extra time, make a playlist of your favourite horror movie themes and make a game of guessing which film goes with each tune.

Keeping Guests Entertained.

Give the classic games you played as a child a slightly more sophisticated spin to keep guests happily occupied. Replace pumpkin carving with decorating lanterns with stickers, markers, and chalk that guests can take home with them, and trade bobbing for apples in water for bobbing for toffee apples ice. Pick up a horror-themed video game for bonus points.

Dressing Up.

Invite guests to simply add a decorative mask to whatever they’re wearing for the evening. Feel free to set a dress code if you like, but letting guests come as they are makes it easy to accept your invitation. You can also set out masks on tables and let undisguised guests know that they can put one on.

Throw and Black and Orange Halloween party

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Looking for a festive and fun kids Halloween party theme this year? Throw a black and orange themed party, complete with pumpkins, spiders and witches – oh my! Here are few tips on how to get started:

Invitations: Send perfectly themed Halloween invitations that feature the black and orange colour scheme and will appeal to kids. Don’t forget to remind your guests to wear their costumes! Free online invitations are the easiest, fastest way to invite guests to your party.

Treats: Serve up some delicious black and orange snacks and desserts that kids will love! Make pumpkin shaped Rice Krispies treats with orange frosting, Oreo cookie spiders using thin pretzel sticks for legs, or dark chocolate-dipped apple slices.

Drinks: No Halloween party theme entertainment is complete without a signature punch! This black-coloured punch goes well with the overall black and orange party theme, and can be served over dry ice for an extra spooky effect. Try this quick recipe to impress all your witches and goblins!           

Witch’s Brew Punch

• 1 can grape soda
• 1 can frozen orange juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 litre of ginger ale
• 2 pints of cold water

Mix all ingredients together, and serve over ice in a large punch bowl.

Games: Incorporate black and orange themed games into your Halloween party! Play Pumpkin Ring Toss, Pin the Spider on the Web, or have a Monster Mash costume parade around your neighbourhood or garden!

Decorations: Use creative Halloween decorations that complement your colour theme. Pumpkins are a natural choice to incorporate orange into your party, and they provide both decoration and an activity. Encourage guests to decorate them with markers, paint, glitter glue, and more. No carving needed! You could also draw spooky faces on orange and black balloons with black and white paint markers! Place them around your party space at various heights for an easy way to decorate.  If your party is in the evening, hang orange glow sticks from the trees for a creative backdrop to all the fun!

This classic Halloween theme allows for a lot of creativity as your plan your child’s next Halloween party.  Use these spirited ideas to help bring your party theme to life, and enjoy the haunts and thrills with your little ones this Halloween season!

Adult fun at Halloween

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Incorporate fun adult Halloween party games into your monster event this year. Halloween party entertainment for adults can be competitive, scary, or even silly as long as they are Halloween inspired. Adult party games are also a great way to entertain your guests and make your party more memorable.

Here are some easy adult Halloween party game ideas to play at your spooky soiree:

Mummy Wrap: Teams pair up and each get a roll of toilet paper. Then one person spins around the other turning them into a mummy. The person becoming the mummy generally also tries to spin to help the team finish first, which is the goal. With all that spinning and drinking, it’s bound to be entertaining for those watching and playing! 

Shot in the Dark: This is a great scary Halloween party entertainment for adults. Play a scary movie in the background or in a separate room. Set up some movie rules, like whenever someone gets shot, everyone does a shot. Or whenever a character screams, everyone drinks. Or whenever they say a certain word, everyone cheers. You get the point. You can get really creative, however it’s generally a good idea to watch the chosen movie ahead of time to get an idea of how many times you’re going to have people do each thing.

Monster Mash Dance Contest: Get everyone up and dancing with this Halloween party game. Have a monster mash dance contest and award the best dancer a prize. All you need is a Halloween themed playlist and two dance judges. Have several dance off rounds and eliminate a few people each time until one winner is left. Make a fake plaque that reads: “monster mash—best dancer award.” Everyone will want to keep dancing way after a winner is declared.

Who am I? This is a Halloween twist on a classic name game. Write down characters from famous scary movies on notecards. Tape one note card on each person’s back as they arrive.  The objective of the game to have everyone ask questions and talk to each other them if they are that character to give them hints. Once everyone guesses his or her “identity” the game is over.

When you plan the games and activities for your party, it’s always important to consider your audience. Most adult Halloween parties involve a lot of mixing and mingling so try to mix in a couple of your favourite game ideas to keep things interesting!