Masks are not just for costumes any more. At least not for one Virginia woman, that is opening her own store to exhibit her detailed monster masks she has created.

For the past three years, after being asked to created a haunted hall at a University, she has been busy creating these awesome masks out of spray foam. Georgette Gaynor was making wedding decorations for a living when the University asked her to help them. While she was working on the haunted hall, she discovered spray foam that swells to three times its normal size that is used for insulating cracks around windows and doors.

Since then she has made over fifty large monster masks that she will exhibit as a fundraiser to collect nonperishable food items for a local food bank. The monsters have been used in the past for school fundraisers and special events. The monsters are very time consuming to make with the stages of hardening of the foam. Gaynor takes a lot of time to name them and even goes so far as to sometimes dress the monster if she feels it is necessary.

If you are tired of the same old trick or treating for Halloween, try visiting one of the real haunted houses that are popping up as Halloween attractions. Owners of homes that have been reported as being haunted, have begun to take advantage of the haunted status and turn them into a real haunted house attraction for Halloween.

Many of these locations, will include with the haunted house, a detailed story describing the original haunting of the home and how it has manifested since the haunting came about.

Many of these houses are very old and tend to look rather scary at night on their own and by adding a few decorations and scary looking people, it is quite easy to believe that the homes are actually haunted. Some of these haunted houses have added other attractions to make it a whole evening of fun with the actual haunted house, haunted trails around the property, haunted cemeteries and hayrides filled with spooks that jump out at you. Many even include an area for the faint of heart to sit out the actual hauntings but watch them on a big screen television.

The world is a scary place and getting scarier every day. This is unfortunate for today’s kids that can’t go wander around trick or treating for hours that one night of the year.

Most of us spent Halloween’s walking all over town with a friend, getting as much candy as humanly possible before we had to get home, which was usually well after dark. This is not the world we live in today.

Zoos all over the country have stepped up and filled a need for a fun, safe alternative on Halloween. Zoos are drawing huge crowds of families for Halloween events that offer rides, hayrides, the animals and, of course, lots of candy. Often the zoo offers costume contests and special displays like letting the animals smash pumpkins.

Special zoo sleepovers are becoming popular also. The haunted houses are quite child friendly as well and not filled with lots of blood and gore.

This year’s annual Halloween Fun Run will have a record number of participants—and the event promises to be fun and freakish.

The 5-kilometer race is so popular, and this is attributed to its costume component. Individual creativity rules the day here, but prizes are also awarded to teams.

Race director Lance Dlouhy says: “There are just so many creative costumes that it’s great to come to the event just to watch.”

Some colorful examples from years past included one male participant who ran dressed as a nerd—pocket protector, checkered shirt and of course the requisite black-rimmed glasses taped down the middle. Another more outlandish costume was a man garbed head-to-toe Raggedy Ann paraphernalia.

An entire team, one year, came to the competition as a pack of zombies, covered in eerie pale makeup and black attire.

Dloouhy has noticed attendance at the race spike 144 percent since the event’s inception five years ago.

If you are in the St. Peter’s area, be sure to check it out. It promises to be fun for the entire family.

Although KISS has not enjoyed the huge success in recent years as they did in the late 70’s and early 80’s, they have had a strong, steady influence in the music industry. Not to mention the costume industry.

Since back in the 70’s when KISS first became a household name, people have been trying to dress and look like the members of KISS. While the wild way that they dress is really quite simple, it isn’t like anyone has a lot of items lying around in their closet that are likely to work for a KISS costume.

First, you would need to find a black body suit and start adding layers. Basically, you need to go for as much black and silver as possible and platform knee high boots in the most outrageous style you can find. Capes and really large, gaudy belts would help enhance the outfit and don’t forget the makeup.

Once you apply the makeup, it will be quite easy to tell who you are dressed as.  If you’re like me and are not so good at applying makeup, you can buy some really great Kiss Makeup kits online.   Halloweenmart carries the full selection of Catman, Spaceman, Starchild and Demon Kiss Makeup kits.

They even have some Kiss masks (on the pricey side)  if you want to chunk the makeup all together.

…More Kiss Costumes…

Halloween parties can be a blast and a great time to let loose and have some fun.  From my own parties in the past I have one suggestion of something you may want to be careful with or avoid entirely.

Alcoholic Punch:  This is extremely tasty, and looks awesome displayed on the table, expecially sitting in a container filled with dry ice for that creepy fog rising effect. 

The problem with the punch is that it’s sneaky.  Sneaky booze is booze that everyone loves to drink and you can barely taste the alcohol in but it’s extremely powerful.  Before you know it, your house is full of overly intoxicated adults spilling and yacking in your yard or worse all over your bathroom toilet.

That’s not even the worst part.  The worst part is the next morning, because you will have sucumb to the beast of the punch bowl yourself and have no clue of the mess in which you are about to receive.

You stagger down the stairs knowing a mess is what you are about to see, but are totally unprepared for the horror and smells you are about to attain. 

You groggily take a step off of the stairs onto the kitchen floor and your foot sticks like a fly to fly paper.  Your nostrils fill with the odor of old fruit, rum, and beer mixture. 

You wonder to yourself “What the hell is this?”  Then the previous evenings events begin to flood your pounding head.

Your floor is covered in a sticky, icky mass that once was shiny and clean.  The sparkle of the linoleum floor is gone replaced by stagnant fruit juices and alcohol that once were a hauntingly beautiful table display. 

You will have to scrub your floors several times and open the windows immediately.  That smell isn’t going anywhere for quite awhile.

So think twice before you serve alcoholic punch.

Show your wild, funny, or truly absurd side and take home that Best Costume prize you’ve had your eye on! After all, Halloween is all about becoming an entirely different person for one night. The more creative you can be the better.

Arrive at the party dressed as your favorite sports star, as your favorite animal, or as your jerk of a boss. Any of these subjects could result in good ideas for Halloween costumes – even GREAT ideas! Hate your job? Love animals?

Do you enjoy sports? You just have to be observant. Good ideas for Halloween costumes are everywhere. Ask around; maybe your cousin dressed up as something or someone really spectacular three years ago and would be happy to loan you her costume.

Craft magazines and catalogs are also a great resource, as are your friends and family. Some flowing fabric and strands of bells could be used to craft an exotic gypsy costume. A cheap art set could be transformed into a Parisian artist’s costume. By browsing the aisles you’ll discover an array of make-your-own costume supplies from angel wings to bridal veils. Many people succeed in finding good ideas for Halloween costumes by visiting party supply or craft stores.

All you need is a little imagination! Good ideas for Halloween costumes are as easy to find as you make them. In fact the cast of any TV show or movie is a great way to get all of your friends or co-workers in on the fun. Adult groups of friends will love dressing up as Charlie’s Angels, the Dukes of Hazard (complete with Daisy and Boss Hog!), Three Amigos, or characters from Gilligan’s Island.

How about Alvin and the Chipmunks or a trio of Superheros? Have three kids? Dress up your two children as Raggedy Ann and Andy, Sonny and Cher, or Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The entertainment industry is especially ripe with good ideas for Halloween costumes for groups of adults or children. Even items found around your home can spark great ideas – have you ever considered going to your next Halloween party dressed as a box of cereal, a toaster, or a bagel?

Dora the Explorer and Kim Possible are popular with girls now, and what boy will turn down the chance to be Spider Man for a night? Look no further than the local toy store or your child’s favorite Saturday morning cartoon. Looking for good ideas for Halloween costumes for kids? Actors, TV characters, famous faces from the news, even characters from books can be great fodder for Halloween night.

Good ideas for Halloween costumes can come from a variety of sources, whether it’s the Internet, TV, movies or even your hobbies.

Group Costumes Available for Purchase:

Gilligan’s Island Costumes

Superhero Costumes

Wizard of Oz Costumes

There isn’t a Halloween costume mask in creation that can look as realistic as a good makeup job.  However, getting that special Halloween undead look can be a trick for anyone that hasn’t used costume makeup or prosthetics before.  I know in my youth I had spent numerous hours sticking icky sticky stuff all over my face.  Desparately trying to get the desired ghoulish look for my costume and always ending up looking more like a circus clown gone bad than the horrific ghoul I had invisioned.

The problem isn’t that you don’t have the correct  costume make-up or materials, it’s just that no one ever explained how to apply the make-up.  Directions on the back of bottles and the prosthetic makeup packages leave just about everything to the imagination.   It doesn’t matter if you’re making a tiger, pirate skeleton or an undead zombie face, sometimes a little direction goes a long, long way. 

This first video is without prosthetics and just costume makeup.  Using a simple costume makeup kit you can make one creepy undead zombie.  I will be listing more halloween how to videos on using prosthetics, so stay tuned.  Be sure to let me know of your halloween costume worries and I’ll try my best to help you out.

Nothing says Halloween like creepy aged tombstones.  Buying a single tombstone at any Halloween store can easily cost over $20 and to be honest they just don’t look all that good.   They tend to be thin and flimsy. 

In the video below you will be shown exactly what you need to make fantastic looking tombstones and how to do it cheaply.  If you are planning on decorating your yard or haunted event for Halloween, then this is a must see Halloween video. 

Just because you are not a little kid doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy Halloween. You do not have to go trick or treating or even go to haunted houses if you are not up to it. You can always throw a costume party to celebrate the occasion.
 
A costume party is a great way to allow yourself to be creative and enjoy Halloween’s most appealing aspect, which is to be someone else for the day and set your inhibitions free for a couple of hours. Well, my first costume party was quite fun. The theme was “Imaginary and Mystical Creatures.”

The party had a contest for the most creative costume. I decided to dress up myself as “The Queen of the Damned” a vampire queen.  I had on fake fangs and blood on the corner of my mouth which ran down my cheek. My face was as pale as I could make it along with dark and shadowy facial makeup. I had on a jet black wig with the hair in a tight bun on the top. I was also wearing a deep dark crimson color dress it was fitted at the top and it formed to my body all the way to my waist then it begins to flow losely. The costumes at the party were very creative and everyone looked horrifing.
 
The party area was well decorated with candles to light the room with numerous props such as a witch’s caldron with the fog rising from it rapidly. There was howling and other typical halloweeen noises being played along with great party mixes. The food was named in accordance to it’s appearance, with spagetti molded into the shape of a brain and other disgusting looking (but tasty) food.

In one room, there were clips of scary movies playing such as “Nightmare on Elm Street”, “Jason”, and many more classic horror films. The night continued until sunrise when the guests began to disperse. My adventure at my first costume party had came to an end.

Buy Queen of the Damned Costume