Spooky themes: 12 Fun Halloween Party Themes For Adults

Опубликовано: April 24, 2023 в 12:10 am

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Категории: Miscellaneous

12 Fun Halloween Party Themes For Adults

 

Throw your own Halloween party this year for friends who are too old for trick-or-treating. Don’t settle when planning your spooky get together. Look over our Halloween party themes and get inspired with these scarily amazing ideas. Each theme on the Halloween Party Themes List is discussed in more detail below to help you get ideas for creating your own Halloween theme party this season.

 

Halloween Party Themes List

• Killer Clowns Theme
• 80’s Horror Movie Theme
• Zombie Apocalypse Theme
• Day of the Dead Theme
• Blood Bath Theme
• Pumpkin Panic!
• Spider Swarm Theme
• Alien UFO Theme
• Black, White & Orange Elegant Theme
• Hell House Theme
• Skeleton Halloween Theme
• Graveyard Theme

 

Killer Clowns Theme

There has been a lot of clown talk lately. With the clown sightings, American Horror Story: Cult, and remake of Stephen King’s IT, clowns have become a terrifying topic. Now is a great time to take advantage of all the clown creepiness by having a clown themed Halloween party.

 

 

 

Clowns are one of the Halloween party themes that can be bright, colorful and creepy all at the same time. Don’t be afraid to use purple, green, white, pink, blue, red and other clown colors while planning your decor.

 

Clowns are fun but they also feel chaotic and unpredictable, which makes them scary too. You can decide how colorful or how creepy you want your clown themed party to be.

There are so many great clown items available to set up at your party. From clown decorating kits to 7 foot tall animated clown props. Evil clowns are everywhere!

Don’t be afraid to add some clown chaos to your decorating style. When designing your party there are clown decorations available both locally and online.

Don’t forget to finish off your Halloween party theme by dressing up as clown yourself. 

 

80’s Horror Movie Theme

 

The eighties were an awesome time for the horror movie genre so why not celebrate it this Halloween. Terrify your guests by surrounding them with horror movie icons like Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Pinhead, Chucky and Pumkinhead.

Horror Movie Villains Wall Art – Buy Here

You can choose one movie franchise and turn your party into a theme about specific films, or choose them all.

Depending on the age group of your guests, an 80’s horror movie party could be one of the best Halloween party themes they have ever seen.

Eighties horror movies include Evil Dead, the Shining, the Fly, Thing, The Fog, Aliens, Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 and many more.

With all these movies to choose from your guests can easily dress in your Halloween party theme without being too inconvenienced.

 

Decorations for this Halloween theme can be purchased locally or online, and you can DIY as desired.

 

→ Make Each Room A Different Movie

A fun way to approach an eighties horror movie party is to make different horror movies prominent in each room.

You can turn the backyard into Camp Crystal Lake, the front room into one of Freddy’s nightmares, make the front yard the domain of Michael Myers while bathrooms are scenes from Psycho.

There are so many fun possibilities with an eighties horror movie Halloween theme. With the popularity of 80’s horror villains you won’t have any trouble finding decorations. 

 

Zombie Apocalypse Theme

Unless you have been hiding in an underground bunker for the last decade, you’ve probably noticed how popular zombie’s have become. Zombies are one of the Halloween party themes that you just can’t do wrong.

 

 

The color scheme for a zombie apocalypse party can include a lot of greens, brown and red colors. Mostly earth tones, but you can add bright greens if you want to include “radiation” lighting and glow sticks for effect.

Zombie Backlit Window Posters

Zombie decorations are very easy to find both locally and online which makes decorating for this Halloween theme convenient.

Decoration ideas for the zombie apocalypse include zombies, radiation warning signs, hands rising from the ground and Walking Dead TV show items.

 

If you’re really feeling creative you can also serve jello brains, finger hot dogs, radiated drinks and other food that zombies enjoy.

Don’t forget to be a good host and work your own costume into the zombie Halloween party theme either as a human survivor, zombie hunter or one of the undead.

 

Day of the Dead Theme

The Day of the Dead originated in Mexico and is celebrated November first and second. Also known as Dia De Los Muertos, this has become one of the more popular Halloween party themes in America. 

During Dia de los Muertos you don’t mourn the dead but instead celebrate the life they had.

 

 

Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos Halloween party themes will often have picture frames, sugar skulls, and the colors silver, black and red. Bright pink, orange and blue highlights can be used in your decorating and often Marigolds are a great way to bring in fun colors.

Keep in mind when planning your party that Marigolds are the most used flowers during el Dia de los Muertos. They are considered the traditional flower of the dead and are often worn as part of Halloween costumes.

The backdrop below from Amazon is a great low-cost addition to any Dia De Los Muertos party!

7Ft x 5Ft Backdrop – Great for Photo Booth

For a great looking costume you can get face tattoos to apply along with basic white make-up for that unique sugar skull look. Here is a video tutorial showing how easy it is to apply Target’s temporary sugar skull tattoo.

 

The video also shows women how to apply make-up for a complete Day of the Dead look.

Skeletons and sugar skulls are also very common symbols used in the Day of the Dead theme. However, unlike Halloween skeletons, they are often dressed in nice-looking, formal clothing and tend be more whimsical in nature.

 

Read below for more information about the tradition and common foods and drinks used during Day of the Dead festivities.

 

Unlike other Halloween party themes, Dia de los Muertos is also part of a long cultural history and Latin traditions that are still popular today. For this reason I like to know a little about what I’m celebrating and why. There are added details about the actual holiday below, not about the Day of the Dead theme party.

 

What is Dia de los Muertos? 

It’s a celebration of the lives of the deceased. The day of the dead originated in Mexico and is usually celebrated November first and second. Families build alters for loved ones who passed away and they bring the person’s favorite food and drinks to the alter.

 

 

Other food items that are popular during the festivities are sweet rolls, tamales and sugar skulls. A popular drink to serve is the red colored hibiscus tea.

 

Families also celebrate with activities the dead enjoyed while alive. For this reason, each alter is individualized to a loved one who has passed. On Nov. 2 the living can eat the leftovers that the dead have left behind.

El Dia de los Muertos is a celebration that varies in tradition throughout Mexico and other countries. However universally, a common Day of the Dead theme is the celebration of life and death.

For this reason, you can also join in on the celebration this year, without worrying about doing it wrong. For example, you can make an alter for a loved one who has passed. All it takes is a picture and some relics or items that remind you of your loved one.

It’s not uncommon to have a cross or other religious symbols on these alters, so don’t be afraid to stay true to your loved ones beliefs. Candies, toys, poems and even alcohol can be placed on the alter with the idea of encouraging the soul of your loved one to come by for a visit.

 

 

Place your altar on display during the month of October and then on November first you celebrate their life using their favorite foods and activities. Check out Old Town San Diego’s Dia de los Muertos event for creative inspiration, or to experience the event if you’re in the California area. 

 

Blood Bath Theme

Make your party a blood bath this Halloween. Blood is one of those Halloween Party Themes that is perfect for any party gathering, it adds a fantastic dramatic effect, and it’s easy to do. There are so many great blood themed Halloween decorations available to liven up every room in the house.

 

 

You can get bloody hands for your mirrors and windows, bloody footprints for the floors, blood drips and blood splatter for everywhere else. You can also DIY bloody decorations by making your own fake blood and splattering it on white clothing and old fabrics.

If you make your own blood, be careful about where you put it due to the risk of staining.

Halloween party themes with bloody decorations will often have a lot of white backgrounds to really showoff the bright red blood.

You can also add a crime scene aspect by placing a cut-out body on the ground, a bloody weapon and crime scene tape.

There are amazing food and drink opportunities available with the blood bath Halloween theme. Basically, anything white with red filling will be a hit.

You can also use red sauces as blood splatter when plating.

Another unique way to serve drinks is by using syringes or IV bags as containers and filling them with red drinks that look like blood.

 

Pumpkin Panic!

The Pumpkin Panic Halloween theme is a great way to share your Halloween spirit with party guests. You can surround your guests with terrifying jack-o-lantern faces, an elegant pumpkin palace or even a light-hearted orange and black display. 

In it’s most basic version this is one of the oldest Halloween party themes. 

The color scheme for a pumpkin panic Halloween theme party will be mostly orange with black highlights. You can carve many real jack-o-lanterns of all different sizes as DIY decorations for your party.

Surround your guests with the pumpkin style you desire by blending it into the home decorations and food items you serve. If you don’t want to choose just one style, you can mix it up by making your pumpkins decor both scary and light-hearted.

 

Overall, this is always a great Halloween theme because nothing embodies the holiday like the jack-o-lantern.

You can also use the pumpkin panic theme to make an elegant Black and Orange Halloween Theme. (See Black, White and Orange Theme below for more details.)

 

Spider Swarm Theme

I’m going to say it, “I hate spiders.” This is one of those Halloween party themes that I dread. However, I have seen some great spider decorations used in very impressive ways. You can use spiderwebs, giant spiders, small spiders, webbing and silhouettes to decorate the inside and outside of your party.

There are spider window clings, modern spider designs, light up webbing and even spider toilet clings to torment your guests no matter where they go.

A very impressive way of decorating a home with spiders is by creating a swarm of spiders crawling up the outside wall of your home. The color scheme of this Halloween theme can vary greatly because of all the colorful spider decorations available.

It’s common to have a lot of spiderwebs placed throughout the party. However, nowadays you don’t have to use white spiderwebs because there are all kinds of bright colored webbing available.

 

 

You can use large and medium sized spiders attached to webs on your walls and windows, both inside and outside, to horrify your guests and neighbors. Another grotesque web design is to put thick webbing in a corner and then add a bunch of really small spiders inside the webbing so it looks like a newly hatched nest of spiders. Gross!

The spider Halloween theme can be terrifying, but there are great spider party foods available to impress your guests. You can make spider cupcakes, cookies and we even have a recipe for quick and easy spiderweb pizza.  

 

Alien UFO Theme

An alien Halloween theme party will often have a dark or fluorescent green color scheme. You can use glow sticks and other lighting effects to spotlight important decorations.

Some ideas for decorating are scattering the bodies of aliens throughout the party, using Area 51 signs, Danger Radiations signs, Do Not Cross crime scene tape and even building a “crashed UFO” for the front or back yard.

The Alien theme is one of those Halloween party themes that can be done in a very creepy or comical style. Depending on the type of aliens you choose and the color scheme, you can set up a light-hearted Halloween shindig or a Roswell style alien haunt.

Either way there are many decorations available locally, online, and you can even DIY your Alien UFO Halloween theme party.

In fact, many talented people will build their own crashed UFO site. However you decorate the party it’s sure to be a success.

Black, White and Orange Theme

The black, white and orange theme is one of the more elegant Halloween party themes. It’s also been referred to as a modern theme. When decorating your party with this theme you want to use silhouettes to make the colors pop while keeping it classy.

For example, it’s common to have an orange pumpkin on a black background, without a carved face or shadows to make it look real.

 

 

This Halloween theme is about simplicity more that looking real. In fact, it’s common to use fun stripes, polka dots, zig zags and other designs when decorating with the elegant black, white and orange Halloween theme.

 

 

Target has had great Halloween decorations that fit the look of this theme the last couple years. For decoration ideas consider placing ghosts, bats, pumpkins, bugs, banners and even balloons around your party.

Here are a couple of great variations to this Halloween theme that keep the same elegant design with silhouettes, zig-zags, polka dots and solid color backgrounds. You can change this theme to the following as desired:

 

• Black, White, Pink and Orange Halloween Theme

• Black and White Halloween Theme

• Orange and Black Halloween Theme

 

Hell House Theme

Celebrate by creating a horrifying home filled with demons, flames, gargoyles, and other dark creatures. This is one of the Halloween party themes that should only be attempted by brave souls.

The color scheme for a Hell House theme will be predominantly red with black highlights. A great touch is using red lighting whenever possible.

 

 

Greet guests and set the scene with a Welcome to Hell banner over your front door. If you are having them sign a Party Guestbook, leave a note about signing their soul over to the devil.

There are many demon like masks that can be used as decorations, and fake chains attached to foam stones or walls add a nice touch.

The Hell House theme offers many opportunities for theme related menu items like deviled eggs, hot wings along with other red and black drinks and dishes. Throw a Hell House Halloween theme party and your guests will be dying to get in. 

 

Skeleton Halloween Theme

The modern day skeleton theme party can be very different than the skeleton party of our childhood. While skeletons may sound boring, this is one of the Halloween party themes that can be spooky, lighthearted, morbid or even funny. Think Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland for reminders of how comical they can be.

 

 

There is such an assortment of skeleton decorations available, the possibilities are endless. Some of my favorite Halloween decorations are the line of skeleton animals that have become popular. I buy a new one every year at Target and have acquired quite a collection.

 

You can decorate your skeleton Halloween theme party with skeletal birds, cats, dogs, bats, rats, toads or even a horse! My neighbor had the skeleton horse in his front yard last Halloween and it looked amazing.

 

 

Another fantastic way to celebrate with skeletons is by creating a human skeleton swarm crawling up the outside of your home. It takes some effort, but it’s sure to be a great first impression for guests attending your skeleton Halloween party.

 

 

Be ready to have people stop and take photos if you decide to make skeletons swarming your house!

Graveyard Theme

The graveyard Halloween theme can be similar to both the skeleton and zombie Halloween party themes. In fact, you can have both skeletons and zombies as decorations at your graveyard themed party.

Some other likely decorations are foam tombstones, dirt, leaves, tree branches, body parts, coffins and cobwebs on the furniture.

You can use lighting and dry ice to create a spooky graveyard ambiance. Don’t hesitate to have zombie hands reaching out of the ground or skeleton bodies coming out of the dirt. There are a lot of food opportunities with the graveyard Halloween theme.

For example, you can use chocolate cake crumbles as “dirt” and white frostings for “bones”. If you’re in a hurry you can also tell guests you will be serving “Tombstone Pizza” for dinner.

The graveyard is one of the more classic Halloween party themes, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun. You can also cobwebs or even white sheets on furniture to help give the inside of your home a spooky abandoned look. This classic Halloween theme is sure to provide a spooky atmosphere for any festivities this season.

Check out these Halloween party posts:

→ Fun Games for a Kids Halloween Party

→ Create your own Halloween Music Playlist

 

Creepy-Cool Halloween Party Themes and Ideas (For Grown-Ups!)

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Category: blog
Updated: 16th February 2023

We began celebrating Halloween somewhere around the eighth century. Back then, this Samhain celebration was an adults-only affair, with superstitious grown-ups dressing in costume to ward off wicked ghosts and spirits. Though this spooky tradition has since transformed into a children’s holiday, plenty of adults have reclaimed All Hallow’s Eve as a night to have a haunting good time with their friends.

At Bands For Hire, we believe you’re never too old to throw a rollicking Halloween bash, complete with games, music, and everything spooky. With the right adult Halloween party ideas, you can throw a memorable blowout for every spirit in town. In fact, with some liquid courage in your system, any Halloween party can become a frightfully fun affair.

We’ve created this guide to share everything we’ve learned about creating a haunting atmosphere, regardless of the venue. We’ll include ideas for eerie entertainment, thrilling themes, and fearsome food. When you finish reading, you’ll be bursting with impish inspiration.

Read on to start planning the most pallid, pernicious, paranormal party this Autumn!

Thrilling Halloween Party Theme Ideas

While “Halloween” can be a theme for a party on its own, you can get far more specific. Choose a focus area and unite your theme around those images to create a more cohesive event aesthetic. Your options range from black tie Halloween galas to casual costume celebrations.

Here are a few of our favourite Halloween themes to help you curate a chilling atmosphere:

  • Vampire’s Ball
  • Dia De Los Muertos
  • Classic Horror Movies
  • Witch’s Coven (or Wizard School)
  • Gothic Rave
  • A Graveyard Smash
  • Danse Macabre
  • Arachnophobia
  • Full-Moon Werewolf Fling
  • Pumpkin Patch Party
  • Grown-up Trick or Treat
  • Spooky 20th Century Spiritualist Seance

All the above themes have the potential for specificity, from music style to menu options. You can choose a colour scheme and select decor that compliments the theme. When your guests arrive in themed costumes, they’ll only add to the ambience and support your ghoulish vision.

Party Entertainment

Take your event to the next level with one of our live party bands, musicians or DJs

Browse Acts

Monsterous Halloween Music

You can set the tone from the moment your guests arrive by incorporating a DJ or live musicians into your event. Don’t underestimate the power of background music during arrival.

Imagine guests walking into your party to a room underscored by a gothic string quartet or a masked pianist playing the themes to your favourite horror films. A range of soloists and small ensembles can offer a chilling soundtrack to your event.

Consider including one of the following musical acts during the arrival portion of the evening:

  • A harpist playing gothic themes
  • A haunted string quartet
  • A solo pianist playing a baroque score
  • A mariachi band performing for Day of the Dead
  • A mournful solo violinist

Check out our spooky Halloween party playlist below to get your guests in the mood. ..

If you book your musician through Bands For Hire, you may find your performers are happy to arrive in costume to match your theme or party aesthetic. You can have a ghostly violinist haunting the corners of the party or a string quartet dressed as though they’ve stepped out of a bygone age. Our experienced professional performers love to get into the spirit and help create lasting memories for hosts and guests alike.

Of course, no Halloween party is complete without a bit of the Monster Mash. Consider hiring a DJ to spin seasonal favourites and keep the atmosphere alive. They’re pros at providing a mix of seasonal sound and dance-worthy favourites.

At a classier event, such as a Vampire’s Ball or Ghostly Gala, an evening band can add a touch of spooky class. Consider a string ensemble to accompany your exquisite corpses as they take to the dance floor.

Of course, every party improves when you hire a high-energy function band kitted out in their most gruesome Halloween costumes.

Ghoulish Halloween Games

Your guests can only spend so much time admiring your decor. Plan a few games, events, and activities to keep the guests busy throughout the night. Mix a few classics with some original spooky ideas, and no one will have time to run away screaming!

Costume Contest

If you tell your guests you’re hosting a fancy dress affair, everyone will expect there to be prizes. Every costume contest is more fun when the awards are generous and ridiculous. You can offer a grand prize for “best costume,” but keep some blank certificates on hand to award hilarious superlatives and make everyone’s night.

The best way to ensure that every participant has a fair shot is with a costume fashion show. Ask your band or DJ to play spooky modelling music and allow each guest to strut their stuff on the runway. Our charismatic DJs will gladly narrate and announce each participant, making every guest feel like a star.

Halloween-Themed Drinking Games

While the booze and the boos are flowing, incorporate a few drinking games into the evening. You can allow guests to entertain themselves or host a tournament with prizes.

Here are some spine-tingling variations on some favourites:

  • Bobbing for booze
  • Eyeball beer pong
  • Tipsy mummy wrapping challenge
  • King’s Cup out of a plastic pumpkin
  • Coin flip for “trick” or “treat” shots

All these games will inspire guests to loosen up and encourage a good time. They’re silly, thematic variations on everyone’s favourites. Every game gets better when the guests are wearing Halloween costumes!

Scary Movie Games

A trivia game is always more fun when the guests are a little tipsy. Try a scary movie theme or offer a few chilling categories, such as “bones in the human body” or “classic monsters.” To “buzz in,” you can have players howl like wolves, which will add a touch of monstrous whimsy.

You can also show a scary movie during the evening. If possible, rent a projector and project the film on a wall. Create a drinking game with rules that reflect stereotypical horror movie shenanigans, such as “drink when a phone rings” or “drink when someone enters a basement. “

With the right group, you could try a game of Scary Movie Charades. Guests must act out the title or plot of popular scary movies, leaving the other guests to guess. When you have alcohol in your system, the difficulty goes way up!

Dastardly Halloween Drinks

In most cases, the thing that makes your party an adult Halloween party will be the addition of drinks. There are plenty of creative ways to whip up signature cocktails that will creep everyone out. Take advantage of coloured liquors, creepy vessels, and playful accessories to put together a series of cocktails straight out of a witch’s cauldron!

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel (or the gin and tonic), either. You can update many familiar drinks with new names and spooky extras to offer your guests something fun.

Here are a few creepy signature cocktails to try (if you dare—muahahaha!):

  • Bloody Marys with a (plastic) severed finger inside
  • Glowing negronis with a miniature glow stick at the bottom
  • Bubbling whiskey sours featuring dried ice
  • Magical colour-changing butterfly pea flower hard lemonade
  • Purple martinis made with blue curacao and a crazy straw
  • Eye-of-Newt punch with floating ping-pong ball eyeballs in the bowl
  • Vampire cocktails served with a syringe of raspberry puree
  • Red punch with hand-shaped ice cubes made in rubber gloves

If your guests prefer a simple pint, garnish your glasses with plastic spider rings, bat-shaped suction cups, and other creepy accompaniments. Something as simple as colourful ice cubes go a long way toward elevating your Halloween drink offerings.

It’s polite to offer at least one alcohol-free option for teetotalers or sober folks in attendance. Consider serving a squash-based punch in a cauldron or a Shirley Temple with a few gummy worms at the bottom.

Fiendish Halloween-Inspired Food

Whether your party is a fancy affair with a sit-down feast or a casual costume party with a few sharable nibbles, there is a chilling way to incorporate your theme. Imagine “finger foods” that resemble actual fingers!

Startling Starters

Many halloween parties are late-night affairs. The food is lighter, as most guests will have eaten in advance.

Consider finger foods and appetizers that guests can enjoy while mingling. Prioritize options that go well with your selection of cocktails and alcoholic drinks.

Here are a few simple ideas that even picky ghouls adore:

  • Mummy-wrapped jalapeno poppers
  • Spider-shaped mini cheese balls
  • Eyeball-shaped Caprese bites
  • Veggie dip served inside a hollowed pumpkin
  • Pizza bites shaped like witch fingers

Individually, each of these options is deviously delicious. When displayed together, they create a feast for the eyes and stomach.

Frightening Feast

Think outside the box when planning a sit-down dinner for your large Halloween party. Many stunning, thematic main courses are just as delicious as the old standards.

Here are a few sample menu options to die for:

  • Jack-o-lantern stuffed peppers
  • A pie or stew with a bat or ghost-shaped pastry puff
  • Pumpkin or autumn squash bisque
  • Chicken wings fashioned into bat wings
  • Spaghetti and eyeballs

These menu offerings are unique, charming, and delicious. Even the zombies and vampires won’t be able to resist taking a bite!

Petrifying Pudding

Halloween parties might include a sit-down dessert course or a spooky Viennese table where guests can help themselves. Candy is a mainstay on Halloween, so be sure to include your favourite sweets.

If you want to go above and beyond, here are a few dastardly and delicious desserts that delight demons and Draculas alike:

  • White chocolate-covered ghost strawberries
  • Worms and Dirt layered chocolate pudding cups
  • Candy or caramel-coated apples
  • Ghostly vanilla meringue cookies
  • Pumpkin pie

Everyone loves a sweet ending to a spooky event. A selection of stunningly creepy desserts makes any Halloween celebration a smash.

Disconcerting Halloween Decorations

The right food, costumes, and music can do a lot to create a sense of creepy ambience, but a few decorative touches go a long way. The way you choose to decorate will depend a lot on your theme. Are you aiming for a black and white colour scheme with blood red accents or a mix of pumpkin orange, witchy purple, Frankenstein green, and batwing black?

Here are a few tips for getting the balance just right.

Subtler Is Spookier

Think about it. What’s creepier—obvious, noisy animatronics or a silent skeleton looming in the corner, waiting for you to catch it out of the corner of your eye? Horror movies are scary because the audience is waiting and watching for something creepy to happen, so use the same spare style to inspire fear and dread in your guests.

Keep It Quiet

Noisy, talking store-bought decorations get old quickly. If you have a motion-sensing talking witch or a chattering crypt keeper, turn down the volume after guest arrival. If you don’t, the repetition will drive everyone mad.

Elevate Classic Decorations

There’s nothing wrong with including classics like balloons or streamers in your Halloween party decor. Dress up with balloons with ghost faces, or add stems to orange balloons to evoke a pumpkin patch.

Use What You Have on Hand

Even everyday items can become great party decor if you present them correctly. Bring out any unsettling antiques, or create a display featuring your favourite tarot deck. A few well-placed candles, a vintage lamp, or a strange black and white portrait can do much of the work for you.

Adult Halloween Party Ideas for Spooky Season

You don’t need a full moon or a haunted mansion to throw a rocking Halloween party that your terrified guests will never forget! With these adult Halloween party ideas, every ghost and ghoul on your guest list will go to their grave raving about your bash. The spookiest season will be over before you know it, so start planning today!

You can bring your party’s ambience to the next level by including a creepy musical performance so get in touch to check on availability. Our musicians tend to book up quickly during the Halloween season, and we wouldn’t want you to miss out on a chilling time!

The scariest themes of Runet: free software, porn and cooking

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    According to Kaspersky Lab, more than half of PC infections when clicking on links from search engines generate requests to search for free software, porn, and “female” resources: about cooking, fashion, and health.

    Kaspersky Lab investigated the degree of danger of search queries made by users in Runet. Based on this research, the company was able to rank the top queries that most frequently lead to malware infections on computers.

    After analyzing the statistics of June and July 2011, analysts came to the conclusion that the main danger of infection is the search for pirated and free software. Analysts emphasize that the use of the word “free” in the query significantly increases the risk of a link to malicious content appearing in the search results. According to Kaspersky Lab, 26% of infections on the Internet come from clicking on such links.

    The second place in terms of the risk of catching a virus is occupied by sites “for adults”. Clicking on found porn links in search engines leads to 17% of PC infections. Finally, “bronze” in terms of danger went to “lady-themed” sites, according to Kaspersky Lab.

    Analysts included resources on cooking, beauty, health and fashion in this category. Transitions from search results to “female” sites give 15% of infections.

    Clicks on links to sites with free software, porn and women’s topics account for more than half of infections associated with searches on the Russian Internet. In total, Kaspersky says that the search for resources in 8 large thematic categories carries a noticeable risk of infection.

    Comparative risk of search queries in Runet

    No. Category Percentage of infections, %
    1 Freeware and/or pirated software 26
    2 Adult Resources 17
    3 Women’s resources (recipes, beauty and health, fashion, dream books) 15
    4 Social media search 13
    5 “Easy money” on the Internet 9
    6 Children’s Resources 6
    7 Entertainment resources (cinema, sports, music) 6
    8 Other (not included in the eight main categories) 5
    9 Cars 4

    Source: Kaspersky Lab

    In addition to searching for warez, porn and “women’s sites”, analysts single out the danger of searching on social networks, searching for “easy money” on the Internet (for example, bonus programs for clicks), searching for children’s and entertainment resources. The automotive theme closes the rating of dangerous queries. All other search topics account for no more than 5% of infections.

    Statistics were collected by Kaspersky Lab using the Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) monitoring system, a cloud network that collects and organizes threat data from user PCs.

    Yury Namestnikov , Senior Virus Analyst at Kaspersky Lab, explains that information about user actions is collected and delivered to KSN with users’ consent. With the help of KSN, “Laboratory” constantly monitors the virus situation on the Internet.

    On the basis of KSN, the 2012 products of the Kaspersky product line have the functions of a web filter (a tool that restricts visits to fraudulent and malicious sites), an anti-phishing module, an application control function (rating software by danger signs when assigning access to PC resources and personal data ) and an anti-spam module that contacts KSN for samples of spam emails.

    • Expert online webinar: “Digital technologies – economic effect and prospects for the use of MDM, EMM, UEM systems in Russia and the world. ” December 5, 2022. 11:00-15:00. Organizer: Internet Initiatives Development Fund, J’son & Partners Consulting

    Vladislav Meshcheryakov

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      Creepy and funny Halloween emails: ideas for email, SMS and instant messengers

      Although Halloween is not as popular here as it is in the US and Europe, brands have long been using it as a newsbreak for their autumn newsletters. The holiday is cheerful, bright – you can get creative, surprise subscribers. And also to remind about the company and increase sales.
      In this article, we collected ideas for funny and scary emails and showed you how to set up an automatic series of emails for Halloween in SendPulse. Let’s show examples of letters for Halloween, SMS and messages in instant messengers.

      • org/ListItem”> Halloween Email Ideas
      • Creative Halloween Email Themes
      • Halloween Email Text
      • Halloween Email Design
      • 0127
      • Halloween Email Samples
      • Halloween Messaging Email
      • Halloween SMS Email
      • Halloween Email Campaign Preparation Checklist

      Halloween Email Ideas

      There are several options for linking a holiday and company products. Here are some ideas to keep in mind.

      Collections of themed items

      Collections primarily include Halloween items: costumes, decorations, makeup, souvenirs and gifts, sweet treats. Product selections with discounts will spur demand and help increase sales.

      Product selections will also be relevant for online stores that sell:

      • clothes and jewelry;
      • household goods;
      • decorative cosmetics;
      • furniture;
      • household appliances and electronics;
      • pet supplies.

      Stores usually select themed products for promotions. For example, a furniture store may include an orange chest of drawers, a red “vampire” chair, a clothing store – clothes in black, red, orange tones. “Chitai-gorod” made a discount in honor of the holiday on books about magic and scary stories.

      Chitay-gorod themed promotion

      Newsletters for non-scary products

      If you sell non-scary products, you can still use Halloween as an informational event. Here you need to dream up, for example, build a letter on opposition. So they beat the idea of ​​a holiday in the mailing list of the Spim.ru bedding store, offering ideas for a fearless sleep:

      Halloween newsletter for non-thematic goods

      And the marketers of the OneTwoTrip ticket service called the mailing list “Anti-Halloween” and picked up ideas for non-terrible trips:

      Halloween ticket service mailing with ideas for non-scary travels

      Useful tips in the Halloween email newsletter

      Useful tips, interesting facts from the history of the holiday will help dilute Halloween sales letters. Such a letter can be included in the holiday series, which we will discuss below.

      An interesting and useful newsletter was prepared by the 4 paws store for pet products. It tells how not to harm a dog or a cat during the celebration. Links to sections of the site with products for animals were included in the tips. The newsletter turned out to be useful both for readers and for the store:

      Halloween email from a pet store with “How to take care of a holiday animal” tips

      Fears and mistakes: content email

      Another idea for a Halloween content email is to talk about customer fears about a purchase or discuss common mistakes.

      Halloween Content Mailing List of Clients’ Fears

      Photo School Mailing List describes four fears of aspiring photographer:

      Halloween Photography School Mailing List of aspiring photographer’s fears

      Newsletters with a game element

      On holidays it is customary to give gifts, and shops usually offer discounts. If you encrypt the promo code and make the recipients “squeak their brains” a little, it will turn out to be much more interesting. Gamified mechanics help to engage customers and make more sales.

      See how Contented implemented it.

      The promo code is encrypted in riddles on the theme of Halloween

      Creative email subject lines for Halloween

      One of the most effective literary techniques when composing a subject line for Halloween is a pun or a play on words. Using words in unexpected wording, you convey the atmosphere of the holiday and motivate the subscriber to open the letter.

      This is how well-known brands use puns and associations with the holiday:

      • ? Boo! Scary discounts? (Sports store Proball. ru).
      • Monstrous discounts up to 66% with free weekend delivery?❗ (Good Seafood).
      • ? Terribly pleasant surprise! ? (Kerastase.ru).
      • ? In one black-black letter … monstrously large discounts were hidden (Photosklad.ru).
      • Black and white Halloween: a watch for all lovers of the classics (Consul).
      • Spooky Generous Halloween ? in the RIVE GAUCHE online store! (RIVE GAUCHE).
      • ?Halloween is coming soon, and you haven’t got a horse yet?? (Auchan).
      • What are you capable of? ?(Mac cosmetics store).
      • ? Scary long hair! (4Fresh).
      • ? Let’s play a game! (Contented).

      Another way to attract attention and motivate to open the mailing list is to play on curiosity. Here are examples of such a Halloween email subject line:

      • Horror, how profitable! Take a look if you’re not afraid? (Lamoda).
      • Don’t be afraid, come here! (Pich Shop).
      • We ourselves are terrified (Reebok).
      • We have terrible news! (Uprock).

      Emoji will create additional mood: pumpkins, ghosts, devils. In SendPulse, emojis can be added to the email subject when creating a mailing list:

      Adding emoji to the email subject line when creating a mailing list in SendPulse

      Wordplay, associations on the holiday theme are used not only in the subject line, but also in the email itself. So you enhance the atmosphere of the holiday and make the letter complete.

      If you used a pun in the subject line, continue it in the letter itself.

      For example, an English school mailing list comes with the subject line “Scary letter”. The text uses the same pun: “Is it scary not to know English? It’s scary not to try to learn it”:

      The text of the English language school’s Halloween content mailing list

      Here is an example of the use of atmospheric words in the mailing list of the Stylus.ru hardware store. The copywriter came up with original leads for promotional products:

      Themed leads for promotional products in the mailing list of the electronics store

      In the mailing list of the cosmetics store, a storytelling technique was used – mystical descriptions for promotional goods:

      Storytelling techniques in the description of promotional products of a cosmetic brand

      Letter design for Halloween

      In the design of a mailing list for Halloween, as well as for other holidays, the designer has two tasks: to convey the atmosphere, but at the same time not merge with other letters. Let’s discuss how to issue a newsletter for Halloween.

      Classic – orange background, pumpkins, bats, moon, night

      The advantage of this design is that it is recognizable and immediately sets the festive tone for the newsletter. It is quite easy for a designer to make – there are many free drawings on the net.

      The downside of this design is that it is used often, and the letter may look like dozens of other letters in the subscriber’s mailbox. To avoid this, try to bring your product to the fore. And let pumpkins and bats be accents. For example, in the mailing list of the Consul watch store, a pumpkin was depicted as a clock:

      The design of the mailing list of the watch brand in orange tones

      Creepy

      The design of the mailing list in this style immediately attracts attention. But it can cause a mixed reaction from readers. This design is more suitable for a youthful, bold audience:

      “Terrible” design of the newsletter for a manicure tool store

      In the 4Fresh newsletter, the banner is stylized as a frame from a horror movie: the theme of long hair is played out, and the heroine holds a jar of the product in her hands. Creepy and funny at the same time.

      4Fresh Spooky Newsletter

      Black and White

      The second most popular color after orange for Halloween is black. It can be used to design a letter or pick up products in black for mailing. This design is suitable for status goods, underwear, clothing, electronics and technology.

      Black and white mailing by Reebok. The goods in the letter are not related to the holiday, but the mailing looks thematic due to the design:

      A selection of goods in black colors for mailing on Halloween

      A similar mailing was prepared by the Consul watch store:

      Black and white design of the mailing of the Halloween watch store

      Merry

      For children’s products, a creepy atmosphere is not suitable. Here, the Halloween association would rather be appropriate – fun. For example, this letter perfectly conveys the mood of a children’s holiday:

      Fun mailing design with kids Halloween costumes

      Shoe brand Crocs drew cartoon vampires and ghosts for Halloween mailing list:

      Fun mailing design with kids shoes and Halloween costumes

      How to create an automatic Halloween email thread in SendPulse

      In this section, we will look at how to send a Halloween email in Automation 360 by SendPulse. The chain will include three letters: if the subscriber makes a purchase, the following letters will not be sent to him; if there is no purchase, we try to reach out again.

      Email automation

      Send chains of triggered greetings, abandoned carts, reactivations by combining email, SMS and web push within one chain.

      Creating an automatic mailing list

      Login to your SendPulse account and select the “Auto mailing list” section in the menu on the left.

      Creating a new auto-batch in SendPulse

      Click the “Create an auto-batch” button and select Automation 360. In the window that opens, fill in the parameters of the new batch: name, sender’s address and name, and the time of the batch.

      Filling in the Halloween mailing parameters in SendPulse

      Specifying the start and stop conditions for the series

      To start an automatic Halloween email series, you need to set a start event in the service. In our case, such an event will be the opening of a mass mailing or clicking on a link in it. In this way, we will cut off uninterested subscribers who do not open our newsletters and increase the open rate.

      Let’s set the parameters in the “Series start” block:

      • Series start — select the contact’s webhook (open the previous mailing list or follow the link in it).
      • Address book — select the subscribers to whom the series will be sent.
      • Stop the series by event — activate the option and select “Purchase”. So customers who made a purchase, the next letters from the series will not be sent.

      Indicate the condition for starting the mailing list on Halloween

      Pay attention! To connect SendPulse with your purchase data feed, you need to set up the data to be passed through the API so that each purchase is tracked as a separate event. Read our knowledge base for instructions on how to send events to SendPulse.

      We send mass mailing

      Mass mailing to the entire subscriber base is launched in the first days of October – three to four weeks before the holiday. Anyone who opens the email will be sent an automatic Halloween email thread.

      You can include an announcement of an upcoming promotion in the content of a mass mailing – for example, tell that discounts will open on a certain date so that the subscriber has an incentive to wait for your next email and open it.

      Create a chain of three letters

      For an online clothing store, the mailing script can include three letters:

      1. Halloween items are already in our store – 25 days before the holiday, inform us that a section has been created on the site specifically for Halloween.
      2. Scary party outfit ideas and promotional items – Offer 15 days of promotional Halloween clothing.
      3. The best accessories for Halloween. Hurry up to order! – 6 days before the holiday, offer inexpensive clothing or accessories in the style of the holiday.

      To add an email to the thread, drag the Email icon from the left panel to the editor field. In the window on the right, write a subject, set the time of sending, select a letter template. You can design your own template or use SendPulse Halloween templates.

      Adding the first email to an automatic chain in Automation 360

      Add two more emails from the series in the same way. The finished thread will look like this:

      Halloween email thread

      After you have added all the emails to the thread, drag the Action block into the workspace and connect it to the last email. Contacts of subscribers who have not made a purchase will be transferred to another address book. Using it, you can set up a new chain of letters:

      Adding an “Action” block to the chain

      This is how the finished automatic chain of emails for Halloween in the SendPulse editor will look like:

      Automatic mailing script for Halloween in the SendPulse editor open mass mailing? Subscribers may not open this newsletter immediately, but after a few weeks, just before Halloween or even after it. So that automatic mailing does not start when opening a mass mailing, it must be stopped two days before the holiday.

      We stop automatic mailing two days before Halloween

      Pay attention! Please check the list of addresses with our validator before sending out the mailing list. The validator will help you get rid of non-existent addresses, spam traps, misspelled addresses.

      Examples of Halloween Letters

      In this section we have collected examples of Halloween letters with original design and texts.

      The first letter from the Ulmart store is interesting for several reasons. It has a central idea – how to survive Halloween, and each group of goods has a holiday-style eyeliner. This is an example of how you can play with non-holiday items in your mailing list:

      An example of a Halloween email with original eyeliners for non-themed items

      Lingerie brands used GIF animation in their emails. In the first letter, this move helps to show an unusual product – luminous underwear:

      An email with GIF animation that shows the properties of underwear

      In the second email, GIF animation conveys the atmosphere of a holiday and makes the images more seductive:

      An email with GIF animation that shows models of underwear and creates mood

      The newsletter from the cosmetic brand Kerastase is distinguished by the integrity of the design. The graphic design of the witch is combined with the company’s range of expensive cosmetics:

      Designing a Halloween newsletter in brand style

      Halloween messenger newsletter

      With SendPulse, you can also tell your messenger subscribers about your Halloween promotions. To do this, you need to connect a href=”/ru/features/chatbot”>chatbot to your pages on Facebook, VKontakte, or create it in Telegram, Instagram, WhatsApp. Then you can send bright, detailed, personalized and segmented mailings to subscribers.

      Detailed instructions for creating chatbots, setting them up and sending messages can be found in our knowledge base section.

      Text and pictures are available in the content of the newsletter, you can add subscriber data and buttons with a link to the site or to the desired chatbot message chain. The content varies slightly depending on the messenger you are creating the newsletter for. For example, the Instagram chat bot has product cards with a payment button, while the Telegram bot allows you to add audio and video files.

      Payment acceptance is available in all chatbots on a paid plan. Implement this feature in one click – add a payment button to your message chain script. When clicked, you will be redirected to the payment page, where the customer can quickly and securely checkout.

      You can accept payments through YuMoney, PayPal, Fondy and in the near future through YuKassa.

      Create a mailing list through a chat bot

      Discover a chat bot

      Build auto sales funnels and answer user questions using a chat bot on Facebook, VK and Telegram.

      To segment recipients, you need to check the corresponding checkbox and set the necessary conditions, as in this screenshot:

      Segmentation of mailing recipients in the chatbot0002 Learn more in the knowledge base:

      • How to send a Facebook newsletter,
      • How to send a newsletter to VK community subscribers,
      • How to create a Telegram newsletter,
      • How to create an Instagram newsletter,
      • How to create a WhatsApp newsletter.

      SMS mailing for Halloween

      If you are planning a campaign for Halloween, SMS mailing will be a good way to tell about it. Please note that the text of the proposal should be short, but at the same time as clear as possible.

      Do not forget about the rules for compiling SMS mailings. Set the sender name so that it is immediately clear who the message is from. If the name is not set, indicate the sender in the text, as in the example below:

      Bulk SMS with the sender in the text

      personalization in SMS. For example, in SendPulse, you can substitute the name of the recipient in the message if it is listed in your address book:

      Personalized SMS distribution for Halloween

      Articles on the topic:

      • “Text for SMS distribution. Writing examples and tips”,
      • “How to make an effective SMS mailing list”.

      How to create a Halloween SMS campaign in SendPulse

      To create an SMS campaign, click on the arrow to the right of the “Create campaign” button and select the desired item. The mailing settings page will open.

      Select the sender’s name – for some mailings, you will need to register it in advance according to our instructions. Type the text, if necessary, personalize with the recipient’s data and select numbers – you can download them as a list or select an address book, where, in addition to email addresses, there are phones. The last step is to choose the time of sending – immediately or postpone.

      Creating a Halloween SMS in SendPulse

      Pay attention to the two checkboxes below the text box. With their help, you can automatically transliterate the text into Latin and add an unsubscribe link from the mailing list. Don’t forget to check how the SMS will look like – the preview window is opened by the button with an arrow to the right of all settings, as in the previous screenshot.

      Please note that SMS is a paid channel. Rates depend on the country of the recipient and the channel through which you will send messages (in the country or abroad). The cost of all options can be found in the “Tariffs” section:

      The cost of sending an SMS

      Checklist for preparing a Halloween mailing campaign

      If you collect all the tips from the article, the Halloween mailing plan will include five steps.

      1. Select an idea to send out: a selection of themed items with discounts, a selection of “non-scary” items, useful Halloween tips, fears or mistakes of customers.
      2. Come up with a creative subject line that reflects the idea of ​​the letter: “terribly big discounts” or “7 terrible mistakes when choosing curtains.” Use puns and other literary devices to stand out in the subscriber’s inbox.
      3. Continue the subject of the newsletter in the body of the letter: subheadings, leads to products.
      4. Choose an appropriate design: don’t hide the product behind pictures – bring it to the fore, take into account the target audience when choosing the design of the letter.
      5. Set up automatic email series in SendPulse.