Glowing skull made with laundry detergent and a stencil

Looking to add some flair and extra scare to your Halloween? Want to try a cool science experiment at the same time? Whether you want decorations that will be the best on the block, a costume to scare everyone’s pants off, or just have frightful fun, these thirteen projects are guaranteed for the spooks you need.

Spooky Yet Simple

You don’t have to break your back or the bank in order to make this Halloween stand out. Try these easy tricks for your October 31 fun.

1. Bloody handprints make a nice addition to your haunted home. You’ll need Goldenrod paper (most office supply stores carry it), ammonia, washing soda and a spray bottle (find these at cleaning supply stores). Mix ammonia with water in the spray bottle and mix the washing soda with water in a bowl. To get a bloody handprint, spray the ammonia mixture on your hand (it’s non toxic) and slap your hand on the paper. Using a cotton ball, wipe the washing soda mixture over the handprint and it will stay red to spook party guests or trick-or-treaters.

2. Stage blood is notoriously expensive, so why not make your own? The recipe is simple and edible, but it makes a large amount, so pare it down to suit your needs.

Blacklight BOO

A blacklight is a good way to set the mood at your Halloween party, because it will make white or neon colors glow. But you can also spook up the evening with some glowing drinks and décor.

3. Did you know that tonic water glows under ultraviolet light? If tonic water is not to your taste, make tonic water ice cubes for the same effect.

4. If you want something slightly more complicated and creepy, try this hand of doom punch. To get the smoking effect, you’ll need dry ice. If your local grocery store doesn’t have it, find dry ice at a store near you at this website. The result will be a hand rising from the eerie, smoky depths. For a bloody effect, dribble red food coloring (or fake blood) on the frozen hand.

5. This skull decoration is simple as a stencil and a sponge. If you have more stencils or artistic flair, you can fill a whole room with different designs. Once Halloween is over, just wash the detergent off with a wet rag or sponge.

6. Making slime is easy, but if you use tonic water in your recipe, you can make slime that glows! This is a goopy, fun activity to do with kids, because you can rinse the slime off with warm water.

Specimen Jars

Adding a few specimen jars of unknown origin will raise the bar on your home’s creep-o-meter. Gross out your guests, and use up some leftover glass jars!

7. The simplest is this made-at-home lava lamp. These are easy and fun, and you can switch them up by making them all different colors.

8.  Another easy scare is to fill a jar with shriveled alien eyeballs suspended in green ooze, a great addition to any mad scientist’s laboratory. 

9. Making Witches’ Brew is slightly more complicated, but can still be done with items you probably have at home. Be careful – this one is bubbly and a bit messy.

10. If you really want to wow your friends and try your hand at engineering, you can make bubbling specimen jars with the help of an aquarium. Get a pump with two airflow outlets. You’ll also need four glass jars, tubing, two T-valves, food coloring and specimens for your jars. Fill the jars with water, food coloring and any fake bugs or body parts you have – you can even use your jar of shriveled alien eyeballs. Attach a length of tube to one end of the pump, then a T-valve, then another length of tube to each remaining free end of the T-valve. Repeat with the other side of the pump. Place the ends of each tube in the jar, and turn on the pump.

Hail the Pumpkin King

Of course, no Halloween is complete without jack-o’-lanterns, but using fire or lights can get boring. First, make your jack-o’-lantern, then make your pumpkins pop.

11. If you’ve already bought dry ice for your Halloween festivities, using dry ice in your jack o’ lantern is an easy step for a smoking pumpkin. Remember that dry ice fog sinks, so for the best effect make your jack-o’-lantern’s mouth low and small. 

12. A step up from plain orange fire is green fire in your jack-o’-lantern. This way, your pumpkin will cast an eerie glow at night.

13. If you really want to push your pumpkin to the extreme, make a bonfire out of it. This flame-thrower pumpkin is safe – but don’t get too close.

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