What do mummies dance to?
Wrap music.
Why did Dracula go to the doctor?
Because he was coffin.
Find more fun Halloween riddles and answers to questions such as Why do we wear costumes and trick-or-treat? or learn the truth about Frankenstein and Dracula in The Halloween Book of Facts Fun by Wendie Old.
For instructions on how to carve the most unusual pumpkin on your block, you’ll want to consult Extreme Pumpkins and Extreme Pumpkins II by Tom Nardone. The author’s philosophy is that carved Halloween pumpkins should be gross, tasteless, terrifying, and outrageous. If you don’t want to go quite that far, but still want an extraordinary pumpkin try How To Carve Pumpkins For Great Results by Deborah Schneebeli-Morrell, You Can Carve Fantastic Jack-O-Lanterns by Rhonda Massingham Hart, Halloween Pumpkins and Parties by Better Homes and Gardens, or Pumpkin Chic by Mary Caldwell.
Next you’ll need to decorate your house. How to Build Hair-Raising Haunted Houses by Megan Cooley Peterson will help you create the creepiest house in the neighborhood. A front lawn full of lost souls, a flying ghost, and faces in the fog are only a few of the ideas you’ll find to terrify your neighbors. Don’t forget sound effects. From our compact disc collection you’ll want Scary Sounds including 70 haunting sounds and 16 spooky orchestrations, or Casper’s Spookiest Songs and Sounds.
For costume ideas Homemade Halloween has instructions for quick and easy costumes, masks, and face painting. Quick Costumes for Kids by Deborah House contains 30 costumes that require little or no sewing. Patterns for a black cat, a wizard, a scarecrow, and a butterfly are included.
Don’t forget food and indoor decorations. The magazine collection is the place to look for Halloween menu and decorating ideas. The Oct. 2011 issue of Every Day with Rachel Ray has recipes for Tarantula Cookies, Arachnid Ice Cubes, Brain Cupcakes, and Severed Finger Cookies. The Oct. 17, 2011 issue of Family Circle includes a Cemetary Cake using Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies as gravestones and crumbled chocolate cake as dirt. Yum! The Oct. 17, 2011 issue of Woman’s Day has easy Halloween crafts with spiderweb placemats, bat napkin rings, and cat face treat bags.
Maybe you don’t want to try any of these suggestions. You’d rather turn off the lights and pretend you’re not home. That’s O.K. too. It’s the perfect night for a horror film marathon. Your first choice would have to be John Carpenter’s 1978 film Halloween. It stars Jamie Lee Curtis as a teenage babysitter trying to survive a Halloween night of terror. Being stalked by knife-wielding mental patient escapee Michael Myers doesn’t help matters. Other choices to consider are Alien, Poltergeist, The Shining, The Bride of Frankenstein, and Night of the Living Dead.
Who ya gonna call for a movie to watch with the entire family? Ghostbusters! The 1984 sci-fi comedy hit stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis as parapsychologists who start a ghost catching business. Continue with Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, or Beetlejuice. The youngest family members will enjoy the classic It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob Squarepants Halloween.
One last tip: How do you mend a broken jack-o-lantern?
With a pumpkin patch.
Be sure to visit A Reading Life for more reviews and news of all things happening at the Everett Public Library.
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