the bar I work at on a saturday want to do something for Halloween, the bar owner like things that are slightly differant. You also have to realise that he has very high standards and will not tolerate anything tacky or poorly run.

So task for this weekend is as many Halloween type ideas that we can think of.

I am thinking of something along the lines of "carry on screaming" but i am open to suggestions.

Oh I love a challenge! How about buying some face paints and doing a scarey make-over competition.... Hard to think of stuff that isnt tacky...I could give you tons of tacky ideas though!

I thought the idea of Halloween was tacky???? See my pic elsewhere on this website!!

Hmmmmm (I'm thinking)

Spin

wondered what that sound was sin!.... BTW your piccie looks loverly!!

Why thank you maam .......... PS I'm the one in the middle!!

Sin

I expect the bar has regulars and as with most regulars theres always a nutter who is up for anything! Why not enlist his help? I am sure that most regulars like their bar and would like to involved? Just musing really

Music

Was my first thought.

Is the music going to differ much from a normal night?

If SO, then try fancy dress ((expecially if on a theme eg: Characters from Horror films, Rocky Horror Pic show, girls come as victims, boys come as monsters/villains of halloween films.

If NOT..then people are gonna feel a bit stupid, dolled up to the nostrils in face paint, with just "the usual" being emmited from the speakers.


Theres not a great number of Halloween related tunes though. For example:

Michael Jackson - Thriller
Yvonne Gage - Doing' it in a haunted house (same backing music as Thriller!)
Drac's back (I wanna suck your....) (I cant remember the artist, I only play it once a year)
The Haunted House of rap(?)
The House on Amityville hill
The Monster Mash
Anything (everything) from The Rocky Horror Picture show.



Also how about a Horror quiz? if the above tunes are too tacky to play, then have a 10 question - spot the intro quiz...with such classics as "The Twilight Zone", the stabbing noise from the Phsyco shower scene, a party political broadcast of behalf of the ...

I did a halloween party in a pub last year and although you do end up playing the usual stuff most of the night, the punters did actually make the effort... the pub was decorated and loads came in fancy dress... those who did not want to go the whole hog, used face paints. Its not really a question of playing relevant music - its a question of creating the ambience (lets face it - it would be a short night if we only played horror related music that anybody has actually heard of!).

Exactly...Im sure we could JUST about come up with an hours worth of related music, but we'd be into the "Dido: Fang you" and "Beatles: Bat in the USSR" suggestions before too long.

So, theres not going to be enough music to do an entire 3 or 4 hour night of themed music...it would be too dull for words anyway...not enough variety. But maybe 1 themed song every 30 minutes~60 minutes, used as a music bed for a halloween game, or even just an instrumental of "Thriller" running behind any Mic announcements would keep the theme alive (or some zombied state of un-dead).

'Borrow' some of these ideas.

I had quick look at that link, most of the idea's seem a bit pricey...

Vincent Pricey ????



Also, its a shame that they've left the "Days, hours, minutes" counter to halloween, pointing at Halloween 2002, instead of 2003... the countdown is going UP.


Lets try and get a bullet list of things that COULD be used on the night in question. Just like on "Who wants to be a millionaire" I'll suggest something, and you lot start COFFIN, when a good idea comes up...

*) DJ and barstaff dress up in appropriate costumes. (YES/NO)?

*) Themed music ONLY to be used at particular highlights during the night (YES/NO)?

*) Those highlights to include a quiz of "Spot the intro" halloween related tunes...(Oh good, Quasimodo has a Hunch about tune number 3)... (YES/NO)?

*) Bar staff add several drops of tasteless red food colouring to all the draught drinks...(NO/NO or NO)???

Just take Karen with you...

gulp

I cant think of anything!
But one just came to tell you I won a pub comp for best dressed witch! (had a nasty rash on my face from all the makeup though!)

thanks for your input, i was trying to think of a theme slightly differant from the normal,

the few I have are

Scooby doo
Carry On Screaming

also I am looking for some "horror" type entertainment

Harry Potter would be easy to get hold of, as would Lord Of The Rings gear, like the idea of Scooby Doo.

A fun-pub place near here asked me to do a Scooby Doo night, hoping it would be a really great money-spinner.

...and if it hadn't a been for those meddling kids... (just kidding)



I guess the success of a themed evening, is the number of possible ideas that can be sprung from the initial idea...

To be totally honest... the Carry on screaming idea leaves me cold. Really..If I were a punter thinking "ohh a carry on screaming night, what'll be there? what shall I go as? etc" I'd be stuck, and not all that keen on going. Part of this may be from the fact that I've not seen Carry On Screaming for about a decade - and if I'm in that situation, then others could well be too.

The Scooby Doo idea has a lot more potential IMO. Its a cult cartoon with virtually non-stop repeats and has had its interest re-kindlled recently by the Scooby Doo movie of last year.

OK, ignoring the obvious slap-round-the-face as you announce on-air to the ugly bird that just walked in "That dog outfit earns you a scooby snack", you've got plenty of ideas to work from, and so have the punters.

And as for a monsterous(!) "Scooby Doo, how well do you know him" trivia competition, you've got plenty of material to gain questions from. EG: Which hip did Daphne most commonly place her hand on when standing still? What was Shaggys surname? Why did all the "unique/one-episode-only" characters sound like the regular cast putting on voices?

The potential "specials" for bar food are good too.... The Shaggy Grill, the Scooby belly buster burger etc etc