The UK's new favourite holiday?

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HOW TO MAKE A HALLOWEEN HAUNTED HOUSE

Halloween. A time of bats and broomsticks, blood and bugs – and, of course, big-time partying. Halloween used to be something of an American thing, but no more: according to Caroline Creasey, owner of the award-winning internet based joke and party shop, SillyJokes (www.sillyjokes.co.uk ), Halloween is fast-becoming the busiest time of the year.

" We've noticed a growing trend for people to go the whole hog with Halloween," said Caroline. "The latest craze is to turn your home into a "haunted house" which kids (and adults!) can be led through when they come to the party. This is great fun for everyone involved, and it's actually much easier to do than you'd think.

And Caroline, of course, knows all about creating perfect parties: as one of the UK's leading retailers of party supplies, she's in the business of making sure that parties go with a swing – here are SillyJokes' tips on making your very own haunted house:

1. Don't let your door let you down!
Halloween starts as soon as you hear the first knock on the door from trick or treaters or party guests. Make sure the door they're knocking on is more Shrieking Shack than Suburban semi with a special door covering which replaces your boring old door with something guaranteed to give your guest chills. SillyJokes sell them for only £3.50 each, or if you're feeling creative, you can make your own with a few sheets of cardboard or tins of paint.

2. Set the scene
"Scene-setters are a fabulous way to transform your entire home without spending much time or money on it," says Caroline. These huge wall coverings (some are up to 50 foot long) instantly turn your home into a horror set with pictures of graves, pumpkins and other suitably chilling images. At only £2.95 each, you can afford to cover the whole house, and SillyJoke's range also include window coverings and floor coverings, to let you complete the effect. Tile and laminate floors look great covered with a selection of images on clear plastic which create the illusion of a skeleton climbing up from a manhole, or a swarm of bugs on the floor.

3. Spooky sounds make spooky houses
You can buy an inexpensive Halloween CD from SillyJokes for only £5.95: the screaming, breathing, clanking, creaking, feeding, slashing and manic laughing goes on continuously over a backdrop of a steadily beating heart, which speeds up as the night goes on, helping to raise the tension. Alternatively, record your own with a blank tape a few short, sharp screams!
4. Light it right
Nothing spoils a spooky atmosphere quicker than a 100 watt bulb. Try coloured bulbs or special "fright lights" instead, for a house of gloom…
5. The scariest prop of all – yourself!
As All Hallows Eve falls, across the UK, the usually reserved Brits start exchanging their stiff upper-lips for blood-curdling vampire masks, and their office clothes for elaborate costumes. SillyJokes carry a huge costume range, from children's clothes from under £10, to beautifully made adult costumes ranging from witches to werewolves: by mid-August the entire range will be flying out of the shop like broomsticks, and new stock will be coming in. "People just love dressing up at Halloween," explains Caroline. "If you can persuade a few of your friends to station themselves around your haunted house and jump out at passers-by, it can be very effective – and a lot of fun, too!"

6. Gruesome Games
Make trick or treaters earn their pay by playing this gruesome guessing game: blindfold your guest, lead them to a table filled with jars, and invite them to guess what’s in the jar. Baked beans make great "brains" and custard or jelly are fabulous as "gore". You can use old elastic bands or pieces of string as "spiders legs" and cold, cooked spaghetti as "worms". Pickled onions make excellent "eyeballs" and dried apricots feel just like tongues. Just make sure no one eats the food afterwards!

SillyJokes' Halloween Do's and Don'ts:
Do: Make sure that children who enter your haunted house are accompanied at all times as they take the tour
Don't: Allow random trick or treaters to enter the house unless they're accompanied by their parents or another responsible adult.
Do: Keep an eye on very young or sensitive children to make sure they're not too frightened – even your own home can seem frightening to a child when it's darkly lit and filled with frightening props!
Don't: Force anyone to take part in your games if they'd rather sit it out.
Do: Try to have something "spooky" in each room of the haunted house – an ordinary hall or bathroom can spoil the effect!
Don't: Forget the garden shed or garage – with a few scene setters and some spooky lighting it makes a great "abandoned house". Use a sticker on the window so that anyone peeking in sees a skeleton peeking out!

Ends

Notes to Editors:
SillyJokes is an online joke and party shop – browse the huge collection of costumes, props, pranks and accessories at www.sillyjokes.co.uk or view the special Halloween selection, including all of the items mentioned in this article, at http://www.sillyjokes.co.uk/halloween

The business was named National Best Rural E-Business and Community in October 2004. They also won the "Best Use of Broadband" category in the East Midlands Region Ecommerce awards, and were highly commended in the E Trading and E Business categories. For more information on SillyJokes' awards, please visit: http://www.sillyjokes.co.uk/about-us/e-commerce-awards.html

For more information, please contact Caroline Creasey direct on 0870 7700224