The impact that ‘Star Wars’ had on its release was far-reaching and not just restricted to the world of film. It has affected many things over the last thirty-two years since its first appearance in cinemas. Not only is just about everyone on earth familiar with such characters as Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, C3PO and Obi-Wan Kenobi but a huge amount of the population could give you actual facts and figures to do with the characters.

With the release of the original Star Wars film we were witness to a sort of mass hysteria. All of a sudden it was everywhere that you went. It was the first chain of movies to create a gigantic franchise in its wake. The excitement over this ground-breaking film was not just restricted to children; many adults were also caught up in it all as well. The film seemed to hit upon a nerve in many people. Essentially it is a fairy-tale set in space but it contains many other elements within it as well. Romance and adventure are present as you would expect them to be but there is more to it than just that.

There are very clear distinctions between good and evil, light and dark. It is full of religious references and influences. ‘The Force’ in itself is something that is clearly of a spiritual nature. The teachings of Yoda, a Jedi Master, in the later Star Wars films are obviously very Buddhist in their style and content.

Nowadays the genre has been encapsulated within the general
halloween fancy dress sector.

When it comes to film themed Halloween costumes for men, you are spoilt for choice. One of the most original fancy dress costumes around has to be a Beetlejuice outfit. This comprises a black and white striped jacket and trousers, a huge spiky white wig and authentically scary mask. The film Beetlejuice is about a young couple who die in a car crash and become ghosts haunting their own house. When an unpleasant family move into the house, the couple enlist the help of a devious and malevolent “bio-exorcist” to scare away the new inhabitants. In equal measures scary and funny, Beetlejuice became something of a cult figure. He will certainly cause a stir at any Halloween party!

Another famous horror film character is Jason Voorhees, the serial killer of the Friday the 13th series of movies. Dressed in this Halloween costume, you can make a slashing entrance to any party - don’t forget to bring along some fake blood for extra scary effects! A Jason Voorhees costume consists of a green patterned shirt with a tattered effect, matching trousers and vinyl hockey face mask. You can purchase special latex Jason Voorhees hands to match your costume and these come complete with exposed bone. You can even buy a bloodstained fake chrome effect machete with haunting sound effects. The Friday the 13th horror franchise includes twelve films and revolves around the evil Jason Voorhees, who drowned in a lake and wreaks his revenge on the community that failed to save him, by returning from the dead to commit a series of horrific murders.

One of the pleasures of halloween is that we can use it as an excuse to throw a Halloween fancy dress party. One of the traditions the early settlers took to America was the Halloween traditions.So now that you have decided to throw a party here are some good ideas to get you on track.
Kids are not left out with halloween costumes freely available.

The date.

Of course you know the date is 31st October.But the problem is this usually falls on a weekday. In order to make your party work best pick a Saturday directly before or after the day. Don’t neglect to tell you guests well in advance so they can prepare. Four weeks would be good notice.

Costume

You want to encourage as many people as possible to come dressed up as ghouls and ghosts and vampires because Halloween is known as the day of the year when all the departed are meant to return for the evening. This is why the whole tone of Halloween is macabre. With ample notice, people now have the time to either make their own costume or to buy one from an online store.Another reason to plan in advance is because shops tend to book out their most popular characters well before the big day. There are many reasons why you might want to create your own. One is you have will have no concerns about damaging it.It won’t cost you anything.The other is you can generally use more lavish fabrics than any store could possibly offer . You also have the added pleasure of shopping around stores to add to your overall effect and you will certainly come up with some good ideas.

Decorations
Have you been into party shop recently? The products available have grown and improved immensely over the years. Cobwebs and slime are freely available. One big effect you can carry out is to change some of your bulbs in your house into green or red. This immediately changes the atmosphere.

Food
Pumpkins are now available in most supermarkets and if you take a look at some of the designs on line there is no limit to what you could do.  A little colorant changes even basic foodstuffs into something evil looking.

It is that time of year again when everyone can get dressed up in Halloween fancy dress and be as scary as possible. Fancy dress outfits are always great fun, but at this time of the year they are an absolute scream (no pun intended).

The only thing that you need to help you, when it comes down to choosing an outfit, is your imagination. There are literally hundreds of different things to dress up as for a fancy dress party at this time of year. You can choose Halloween fancy dress costumes from one of the traditional selections or you could think of a well known horror film and base your outfit on a character from that. If imagination is something that comes to you easily then you could dream up your very own scary outfit.

So, if you are opting for a traditional look, you will need to choose from the usual group of suspects. The most popular character for Halloween fancy dress has to be Dracula. The lord of the undead is always a great choice when it comes to parties. Alternatively, for female guests, there is the option of the ’sexy vampiress’ or one of Draculas’ many ghostly brides. Whilst we are on the subject of the living dead, Zombies always go down an absolute treat at this type of function.

Other characters that are a popular include Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Ghoul and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. These are all classic characters and you will have no difficulty whatsoever when it comes to finding them in a selection of fancy dress outfits. Going to a ‘Halloween fancy dress party’ dressed up as an alien is another good option, but try to make it as scary as possible. Some interstellar travellers tend to look a bit on the cute side. This is not going to be very effective on All Hallows Eve; think along the lines of ‘Predator’ rather than ‘E.T.’.

The room or rooms in which most of the games are to be played should be decorated as grotesquely as possible with Jack-o’-lanterns made from apples, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, etc., with incisions made for eyes, nose and mouth and a lighted candle placed within.

Jack-o’-lanterns for the gas jets may be made of paste board boxes about the size of a shoe box. Cut holes for eyes, nose and mouth in all four sides of the box and cover the holes with red or green tissue
paper. A black box with the openings covered with red tissue paper or vice versa or white and green make good combinations.

Cut a hole in the bottom of the box just large enough to fit over the gas jet, turning the gas low enough to not burn the box.

In addition to this Jack-o’-lanterns made from pumpkins, etc., should be placed around on tables, mantles, corners, etc.

A skull and cross bones placed over the door entering the house would be very appropriate. The hall should be in total darkness except for the light coming from the Jack-o’-lanterns of all shapes and sizes in various places.

Autumn leaves, green branches, apples, tomatoes and corn should also play an important part in the decorations. Black and yellow cheese cloth or crepe paper makes very effective and inexpensive decorations.
The dining-room should be decorated with autumn leaves, golden rod, yellow chrysanthemums, strings of cranberries, etc. For a table center piece a large pumpkin could be used with the top cut off and partly filled with water in which a large bunch of yellow chrysanthemums or golden-rod could be placed. Bay leaves can be scattered over the table.

Another idea for a center piece is a large pumpkin Jack-o’-lantern, the top cut in large points with small chocolate mice in the notches and scampering down the sides of the pumpkin (held in place by long pins or a little glue) and over the table.

Place cards representing pumpkins, black cats, witches’ hats, witches, brownies, etc., are appropriate.

If one is not an artist in water color painting, some of the cards could be cut from colored bristol board or heavy paper. The witches’ hats of black or brown paper with a red ribbon band; the cats of black paper showing a back view may have a red or yellow ribbon necktie; the pumpkins of yellow paper with the sections traced in ink or notched a trifle and black thread drawn between the notches.

Any of these designs could be used for an invitation for a children’s party, by writing on the reverse side: “Will you please come to my party on Wednesday, October 31st” with the name and address of the little host or hostess, using white ink on black paper.

The dining-room should also be in total darkness, except for the light given by the Jack-o’-lanterns, until the guests are seated, when they should unmask. The supper could be served in this dim light or the lights turned up and the room made brilliant. After the supper is over and while the guests are still seated a splendid idea would be to extinguish all the lights and to have one or more of the party tell
ghost stories.

Have a large pumpkin on a stand or table from which hang as many ribbons as there are guests. Have one end of the ribbon attached to a small card in the pumpkin on which may be a little water color sketch of pumpkin, apples, witch, ghost or other appropriate design together
with a number. Have red ribbon for the girls and yellow ribbon for the boys, with corresponding numbers. Let each guest draw a ribbon from the pumpkin and find their partner by number.

Another suggestion is to have the hall totally dark with the door ajar and no one in sight to welcome the guests. As they step in they are surprised to be greeted by some one dressed as a ghost who extends his hand which is covered with wet salt.

The following games and tests of fate and fortune will furnish entertainment for children small and children of a larger growth. Of course, prying into the future with these tests at any other time,
they may not prove infallible, but on the Eve of All Saint’s Day, when all the elves, the fairies, goblins and hobgoblins are at large playing pranks and teasing and pleasing, why should they not “come
true.”