10 Spooky And Fun Halloween Party Ideas For Adults

Growing up, Halloween has always meant dressing up as scary and crazy characters, going trick-or-treating, and eating as much candy as you were allowed to get away with. As an adult, Halloween doesn’t feel the way it used to, but it can still be fun if you want it to be!

Throwing a party for Halloween can be a great way to celebrate the holiday with friends or family, and it can give you a valid excuse to dress up as any type of character that you want, no matter how absurd. Here are 10 adult Halloween party ideas to make your holiday extra exciting.

Be sure to also check out our Halloween Decorating Guide for 2021!

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1. Have a Themed Halloween Party

An adult Halloween party can be extra exciting if it’s based on a theme that the host and the guests will equally enjoy. Whether it’s a theme that requires guests to come in certain types of costumes, a theme surrounding the events of the night, or just a theme that is established through decorations and food, the possibilities are endless.

Always keep your guests in mind and think about what type of party group they are when choosing a theme. After all, they are the ones attending and you want to make sure they have a great time. If you need some inspiration on themes, here are some ideas to get you thinking.

Adult Halloween Party Theme Ideas

Witches and Warlocks Party

Guests can come dressed in either witch or warlock attire. Decorate you house with things such as witch hats, floating broomsticks, and creepy cauldrons. The food and snacks can support the theme as well (example: witch finger cookies and witch hat cupcakes). Play themed games such as flash trivia based on famous witch movies.

Glow-in-the-Dark Party

The concept is that all the lights in the house can be turned off and everything will be illuminated by glow-in-the-dark decorations, cups, straws, plates, etc. To make it even more fun, guests can also come dressed in white t-shirts. You can buy glow-in-the-dark markers and guests can draw on each other’s shirts throughout the night.

Halloween Wine and Cheese Party

If you want to keep it classy and just have small elements of Halloween, this theme is for you. Get creative by decorating wine bottles with cobwebs, placing spider toothpicks in cheese cubes, and playing eery music in the background.

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2. Mix up Spooky Cocktails

No adult Halloween party would be complete without delicious beverages and cocktails to enjoy throughout the night. Take it up a notch by making unique concoctions that not only taste great but also look intriguing.

If you’re having a big party, consider making a large batch of one or two signature Halloween cocktails. But if you’re having a smaller gathering, experiment with a variety of cocktails based on what each of your guests want.

Halloween Cocktail Ideas

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3. Play Halloween and Fall Inspired Games

Fall is filled with traditional activities such as bobbing for apples and trick-or-treating. While these activities can be fun for both kids and adults, putting a unique twist on them will make them even more fun for an adult Halloween party.

You can get as creative with these as you would like, but here are some ideas to get you started:

Boozing For Apples

An adult take on the traditional game of bobbing for apples, this version adds alcohol to the mix. Fill a metal bucket with water and apples, and then toss in several small liquor bottles. Each player bobs for a bottle instead of an apple.

Halloween Charades

Play a Halloween version of charades by making sure all of the topics are either Halloween themes, characters, or movies.

Spooky Scavenger Hunt & Obstacle Course

This game requires a lot of planning and strategy beforehand. First, set up items for the players to look for throughout the house, such as a fake spiders, zombie toys, and other random things. Then, make it more challenging by setting up obstacles with big cobwebs, fog machines, and flashing lights. You can even have people jump out and scare the players throughout the game.

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4. Hold a Halloween Costume Contest

It’s fun to dress up for Halloween at any age, and Halloween costume contests are a great way to motivate your guests to come in their best attire. You can pick a winner by having everyone write their vote on pieces of paper, or you can have a set of judges that choose the winner by the end of the night.

If you’re having a large party, divide the contest into categories so there are multiple winners. You can develop categories based on your own creativity, or based on an ongoing party theme that you already have. Here are some general categories you can use:

• Scariest Costume
• Cutest Costume
• Most Creative Costume
• Best Duo or Group Costume
• Funniest Costume

Make sure you have special prizes to give the winners. Prizes can include bottles of wine, gift cards, or smaller items such as trophies, ribbons, and bags of candy.

5. Hold a Pumpkin Carving Contest

Pumpkin carving contests tend to work best at smaller parties and gatherings, due to the amount of time it can take everyone to create their pumpkins.

Make sure you have enough supplies for each person including a pumpkin, carving tools, spoons, bags for the pumpkin “guts”, and newspapers to lay down on the tables.

Your guests can pair up into teams or compete individually based on the amount of people you have. You can set as many guidelines as you would like, such as a time limit and a general theme, or you can have no rules at all.

You can have a voting team choose the winning pumpkin, or you can post the carved pumpkin pictures to Facebook and the one who receives the most ‘likes’ is the winner.

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6. Set up A Silly or Scary Photo Booth

Make your adult Halloween party even more fun by adding a “child-like” activity into the mix. Photo booths technically have no age limit, but adding in silly props, masks, and hats will spark a sense of childlike excitement.

If you want your photo booth to have a humorous theme, set up props such as wacky glasses, fake mustaches on sticks, big floppy hats, funny signs, and silly jackets.

For a more spooky photo booth, opt for witch hats, Halloween masks, fake chainsaws, creepy dolls, and horror themed backgrounds.

You can hire a photo booth company, or you can create your own photo booth by setting up a background of your choosing. If you want to do your own, designate different people throughout the night to take the pictures or have each guest set it up themselves. Then, make sure each guest writes down his or her email so you can send them their photo later. You can also use a Polaroid camera for instant pictures that your guests can take home.

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7. Have a Classic Horror Movie Marathon

For a smaller and more relaxed crowd, a casual horror movie night can be a great choice.

Set the creepy mood by turning the lights off, lighting some candles, and displaying some lighted Halloween decorations. Hand out blankets, pillows, and other comforting items so everyone feels warm and cozy while watching the movies.

Set up a fun popcorn bar with freshly popped kernels, popcorn seasonings, bowls of candy, and beverages. You can also include finger sandwiches and other appetizers that are easy to eat while sitting on the couch.

If the weather allows for it and you have a big backyard, take the movie party outside and project the movies onto a large white sheet against your house. Have your guests sit on lawn chairs, blankets, or towels to get comfortable.

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8. Host a Halloween Potluck Party

Making food for a large party can be intimidating and exhausting. To make it easier, turn your Halloween party into a potluck party.

For a more fun and unique party, require that all guests bring Halloween themed foods or foods that match your specific party theme.

Make sure to stay organized by delegating who should bring which types of items. You want to make sure that you will have enough appetizers, snacks, main dishes, side dishes, and desserts to go around for everyone.

You can even hold a contest for most creative food. Throughout the night, have your party guests vote on their favorite themed creation and give a prize to the winner. This will encourage people to truly stick with the theme and provide a better party experience.

9. Get Creatively Creepy With Decorations

You can’t have a Halloween party without Halloween decorations. The setting and environment of the party can make or break the experience that your party guests have.

Make some of your own decorations if you are crafty. People will appreciate your creativity and originality, and the hard work will be worth everyone’s while.

Easy DIY Halloween Decoration Ideas

• Cut out paper bats and tape them all over your walls.
• Turn your doors into mummies by wrapping them up in toilet paper and sticking on large googly eyes.
• Create hanging ghosts. Take small white garbage bags and cut circles for the eyes and mouth. Then, place each bag over a black or orange balloon, tie a string to the top, and hang them from your ceiling.

After setting up some homemade decorations, you can intersperse some more unique store bought indoor Halloween decor. This combination of decor will fully adorn your house in the Halloween theme.

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10. Create Haunted Rooms Within Your House

There are many different ways to set up a haunted house for your adult Halloween party, but it depends on the size of your house, how many guests you are having, and what type of supplies you can get. Haunted houses are a fun idea for adults who enjoy the scary side of Halloween.

If you have a lot of rooms in your house, a spooky idea is to determine a theme for each room. For instance, one room can be a haunted dollhouse, another can be a crazy clown carnival, and one can be a ghostly graveyard.

If you have a basement, you can simply dedicate that entire space to be the haunted house. You can block off sections for people to walk through by hanging up sheets and spider webs and have the different themes appear in each section.

If you have a smaller house or very limited space, you can get creative with the way you set up a haunted house or room. Make your kitchen the main haunted area, or set up a scary surprise in the bathroom. Your guests will surely be frightened with whatever you decide.

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Are you looking for more spooky Halloween inspiration for your party? Check out our selection of Halloween Decorations and more, for ways to make your house scary and festive!