Halloween 2020 was supposed to be epic. This year Halloween is not only on a Saturday but also on a Full Moon. We don’t have another shot for a Halloween Full moon again until 2039 – much less on a Saturday. The parties and fun would have been amazing.
Sadly, the global pandemic has canceled many of the events that were planned but this doesn’t mean we cannot get together and have some fun. Here are some safe ways we can get together and still have a great Halloween.
Create Your Own Horror Story
One of my most memorable holidays parties was in an old Victorian home. The house made all the noises perfect for a horror movie and the lights even flickered a bit as we all sat around. The lights and power going out became the impetus for creating a horror story. We created a whole story how everyone in the house died that night except one person. The one survivor was telling the tale to others and at the end of the tale, the lights flickered three times and the screen goes black.
What You Need
- A backdrop
- Create a setting for the story to take place. Provide pictures and room descriptions. Look into old role play books if you need some help world building.
- You could use the Clue Board game as a jumping off point. Add in different “weapons”.
- Some basic rules
- Understand who you are creating with and if anyone has specific triggers you should stay away from. A good rule is no sex, religion, or politics.
- Each person has the final say on how they are murdered.
- If someone is going to survive it has to make sense in the story. The one person to survive our story was the only person wearing white.
- Make each murder have a personal touch. In the story we created I had a bookshelf pushed over on to me right after I found out why the killings were happening in an old book. I was and still am a bookworm so it made sense.
- None of the guests is the murderer.
- This makes it more fun and less personal when you are killed.
- Decide if things are able to be overtly paranormal or if they can only be hinted at. This will keep people from being dragged away by vampires and coming back to terrorize the rest of the group. I prefer to not allow the paranormal as it adds to the fear if what is happening could happen in real life.
- A scribe
- You can either assign someone to record the story or do a video recording and have someone write it all up later.
Read/ Dramatize Other Horror/ Gothic Literature
If you do not want to create your own you can fin Gothic poetry and short stories. Ask everyone to show up dressed in their best gothic costumes with virtual backgrounds. Everyone is required to bring one poem or short story to dramatize for the group. If your group is of a literary bent, ask everyone to write their own poetry and vote on whose you like the best.
Plan for at least two hours for each of these, encourage people to dress up and have snacks on hand so they can enjoy the whole party.
Happy Halloween!