As you hold the flashlight beneath your chin, eerily illuminating your face, you glance around the semi-circle of kids holding onto marshmallows and sticks over the camp fire, and some are intently staring at you with wide eyes, others looking around at their friends for support. Telling ghost stories is one of the oldest pastimes in the world; a way of exorcising our anxieties and deepest fears through a cathartic tale. If you’re looking for another ghost story to tell around a campfire, then here are some suggestions for all different ages and scare levels.

If you have little ones, then you’ll want to get them in the mood for Halloween fun, yet you don’t want to scare them silly with stories about ghosts. Theatrical storyteller Mary Jo Maichack plays guitar and fiddle on her audio CD, while combining folklore and “howlarious” Halloween jokes.

She’ll offer kids a variety of voices, from a Hungarian ghost to a goofy vampire to comprise a funny version of Halloween. The “Ghosthunters series,” by Cornelia Funke, combines humor, illustrations and gross stuff for seven-to-nine-year-olds to enjoy.

“Fungus the Bogeyman,” by Raymond Briggs, is a good picture book stuffed with puns and illustrations that’ll have your little ones roaring with laughter as they follow a monster through his daily routine. “It’s Halloween!,” by Jack Prelutsky, includes thirteen separate poems about Halloween and isn’t really a ghost story, but will certainly gets the kids in the mood. There is also a great collection of audio books and stories at “Surfnetkids Audiobooks Short Stories” that may be suitable for your children.

Tweens in the chapter-book age especially love ghostly stories. If you want an innocuous chapter book to get your child in the mood of Halloween, then try James Howe’s “Bunnicula,” which is a funny story about a little rabbit who sucks the life out of carrots with his fangs.

“Truly Scary Stories For Fearless Kids” will introduce your child to timeless classic stories of the ghosts described by Bram Stoker’s “Dracula’s Guest”, Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and E. Nesbit’s “Wedding,” to name a few. Esteemed author Roald Dah who wrote”The Witches” and “James and the Giant Peach” has sifted through 749 creepy tales before selecting the best for his collection, “Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories,” which provides a collection of stories that’ll “give you the creeps and disturb your thoughts.”

“Halloween Night” by R.L. Stine is a good pick for kids who are well into chapter books. The “Fear Street” series is a bit scarier than the popular “Goosebumps” books, but all offer good writing and carefully unraveled creepy plots that’ll keep your kids turning the pages.

For some people, ghostly stories aren’t enough. Now there is a whole cultural phenomenon surrounding the idea of ghost hunters, as seen on the TV show by the same name. Some avid paranormal enthusiasts use books of ghost stories as launching points for ghost hunting expeditions of their own. They’ll visit Alcatraz, Amityville, The Winchester House, Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery, the Lemp Mansion, the Viscilla Ax Murder House, the Old Slave House on Hickory Hill, Bobby Mackey’s Music World, Myrtles Plantation and Gettysburg.

Are you planning a halloween party. Mike Selvon’s portal has more information about ghost stories. Visit our portal and leave a comment at our halloween monsters blog.

Looking For Cute Halloween Costumes

There are some that would never dream of wearing anything but scary costumes for Halloween. However, that does not mean there are not plenty of them out there. Little girls in particular are always on the lookout for cute, even if they go in another direction on that particular year. Women like cute, and they may want cute Halloween costumes for their youngest children regardless of what sex they may be. These are fun to buy, and can be made with little effort in the home if you know where to buy the right pieces.

Cute Halloween costumes do not have to be the things that you would associate with the word cute. What you may not know is that you can find cute versions of just about any common Halloween costume of which you can think. The witch was meant to be scary, but you can find more benign versions of these costumes for your little girl to wear if that is what she wants. You can also find cute Halloween costumes that feature ghosts, cats, and even scarecrows. Those are all staple ideas for Halloween, and are all great ideas for youngsters. You could try a Indiana Jones Costume

If you want to make cute Halloween costumes, you can see what you can do with paint and some other items. At times, you only have to have some paint that will be used to make up a face, and then the rest of the costume should come to you. Just make sure the paint is not going to irritate your child’s face. You can always just go with a hoodie if you wish, or you can find other things like slippers that might complete the costumes. Cute is everywhere if you take the time to look. You can even find what you want in your own closets.

These Cute Halloween costumes are found everywhere. You can find them in your local department store, or you can even find used ones if you go to a thrift store. There are many great sites online that can give you the things you need to build your own, or you can shop for complete sets that are just what you want. No matter what you use, be sure each is safe for the age group, and be sure that you know you are getting one big enough for your kid. Shop early for the best selection of cute Halloween costumes.

Why not take a look at probably the hottest costume of 2008 the Harry Potter Halloween Costume

Image via WikipediaFive quick easy Halloween Costumes you can whip up in an afternoon!

Life sometimes puts way more on our plates than we can manage. Just as you’re recovering from back to school frenzy and are reintegrating driving kids here and there for after school activities, Halloween is upon you before you know it. If you’ve got a few kids to costume up, it can run into some money. If you’re short on time, money or both, here are five quick easy Halloween Costumes you can make yourself in just a couple of hours. A trip to the dollar store for a few nifty accessories and you’ve got some happy trick or treaters. These costumes are a hit with young children.

The quintessential costume is the ghost. Yes, the plain white sheet is the main part of this costume, but your ghost needn’t be a plain Jane or Joe. This is a styled out ghost, cool as can be. Arrange the sheet over the child so that it’s evenly distributed by length and width. Ask the child to point to each eye – they think this is silly and it adds to the fun. Take a marker and draw circles, big enough for clear viewing. Trim the hem as necessary. Pin armhole openings, loose enough to allow easy movement. Remove the sheet. With a glue gun, attach sequins or beads around the eye holes and day-glow stickers everywhere. Stitch the armhole openings. You’re done!

Your little princess will feel like a real Princess in this Halloween Costume. You can find the basic dress at a thrift shop. Look for a special occasion dress. Let your child do the choosing of color and style. A stop at the fabric shop will yield all the trims, lace, appliques and satin flowers you’ll need to make this dress truly special. A rhinestone tiara completes the picture perfect Princess costume.

Little girls invariably want to be an angel at least once! Again, it’s easy to find a white, special occasion dress at thrift shops. The fabric shop supplies more adornments. Use a spray adhesive to make sprinkles of glitter stick, as desired.

SpongeBob Square Pants(TM) is a funny looking guy popular with boys. All you need is a rectangular cardboard box and some acrylic paint. For authenticity, Google an image of this character. Mark the eye and mouth openings and paint away. This quick easy Halloween costume goes faster when your child participates in the painting, which he’ll want to do!

A pair of jeans, a plaid shirt and a few dollar store accessories are all you need for the cowboy or cowgirl costume. With a hat, six-shooter belt and inexpensive boots, your kid is ready to rustle up some treats!

No matter which of these quick easy Halloween costumes you choose, attach reflective, glittery or glow-in-the-dark doo-dads for safety’s sake. A little imagination and a few hours is all you need for a Happy Halloween!

A lot of people think that you can’t teach your toddler how to craft because they are so young, but there are all sorts of free and easy toddler Halloween crafts that you and your little one can do together. You will be teaching your child about all sorts of things when you take the time to craft together. Plus, you are spending time together which is irreplaceable when it comes to your child’s well-being. We were able to find all kinds of free and easy toddler Halloween crafts. Here are a couple you may want to try.

You can make a cute bat from your child’s handprint for a fun and cute keepsake. First, get a paper plate and pour in washable black craft paint. Put your child’s hand in the paint making sure to fully cover the whole hand. On a piece of construction paper or another paper plate, press your child’s hand onto one side with fingers splayed. Turn the paper around, re-coat the child’s hand and press the hand to the paper again with the heels of the hand matching up. Use white paint to make eyes or buy some googly eyes and glue down. Punch a hole in the top and put a string through to hang.

Finally, you can make cute Halloween ornaments from fun foam - our favorite craft supply that we feel everyone should have on hand! Get a few pieces of fun foam in typical Halloween colors - orange, black, white, and green. Draw circles and ovals onto the fun foam and let your toddler practice his or her cutting skills cutting out the shapes with safety scissors, of course! While he or she is doing that, you can cut out shapes from the rest of the fun foam. You can get patterns online for scary cats, witches, ghosts, bats, and much more. Cut out several different ones and then let your toddler glue the figures onto the shapes. Punch a hole in the top and put a string through so you can hang your toddler’s Halloween ornaments all over the house!

Free and easy toddler Halloween crafts can be found in many places on the Internet. There are many web sites dedicated to crafts that are easy for children of all ages, so you will have a lot of different and fun projects to choose from. Remember when you are looking for free and easy toddler Halloween crafts for you and your child to make that the important thing is spending time with your child - that is what counts in the long run!

To find out more about Halloween crafts and arts for the whole family , please visit http://www.halloweeneasycrafts.com

Everyone loves something for free, and when you want to find free Halloween crafts using terra cotta pots, believe me, there are so many choices for you, you may wonder exactly where to start! Terra cotta pots are diverse and can have many, many uses. When we searched for free Halloween crafts using terra cotta pots, we found a lot of very cute and very easy ideas that will make your Halloween decorating easy to do and fun at the same time. Plus, almost all of them can be made by any age which means you can involve your children in your creations.

The terra cotta pot is a great base to make a candy corn candy holder. This is just one of the free Halloween crafts using terra cotta pots that we found, and it is incredibly easy. First, take a terra cotta pot - any size will do. Paint the very bottom of it white. The middle should be painted orange, and the top painted red. Paint a funny face on the orange part in the middle and then fill with candy corn for a cute table decoration for your Halloween party.

Another one of the free Halloween crafts using terra cotta pots we found is to make pumpkins out of them. Turn the pots on their end so that the bottom with the hole in it on top. Paint the entire pot orange. Then use yellow paint to put on funny pumpkin faces on the front. Put a candle in the hole, light it and you have a festive Halloween decoration for your front porch for trick or treaters. Make these of all different size pots to make things look really festive!

We found another web site giving free Halloween crafts using terra cotta pots that combines Halloween decorating along with your gardening expertise. Use a regular terra cotta pot and paint it entirely white. Once the white paint is dry, draw on a spooky black ghost face and let it dry too. Then, plant some miniature daisies or any other white flowers you want in the pot and watch them grow. If you are lucky enough to find some type of black flower, that would be even better to bring in the real nature of Halloween.

There are many places on the Internet where you can find free Halloween crafts using terra cotta pots. Some of our favorites include:

www.halloweeneasycrafts.com
www.allfreecrafts.com
www.familyfun.go.com
www.enchantedlearning.com

Of course, there are many other places where you can find free Halloween crafts using terra cotta pots, but perhaps the best place to look is inside your own mind. Use your creativity and see what you can come up with on your own. You might even surprise yourself!

To find out more about Halloween crafts and arts for the whole family, please visit http://www.halloweeneasycrafts.com

Sometimes, it is hard to find Halloween crafts for older kids to make. Often, older kids will find the traditional crafts too easy and “baby-like” for them to even try, but you can find some Halloween crafts for older kids as long as you are willing to let them express themselves and create some amazing decorations. The key for having Halloween crafts for older kids is to adapt the crafts means for younger kids and then let the older kids go wild. I don’t care how old you are, once you get starting crafting, it’s going to be fun - even for the older kids!

Here’s a great way to introduce Halloween crafts for older kids. Encourage them to use their creativity and express themselves in any way they want. Then provide a lot of encouragement as they carry out their crafts and even make some suggestions as to how they can make their crafts even better. Why don’t you try these Halloween crafts for older kids - intended for the younger set, but adapted for the older ones.

Get some white foam meat trays from your local grocery store. You can use ones you get with the meat you buy at the store, but make sure that they are very clean and sanitized. With older kids, the bigger you can get, the better you are. Have them draw a ghost shape in the tray with a pencil or a pen. Then, they can cut it out and be sure that they cut out a face, either scary or funny. Make a small hole at the top of the ghost and another one at the bottom. Cut two lengths of yarn, one for the top that allows you to hang the ghost, and one for the bottom to which you will attach a bell. These are great to make and attach to trees outside so they can jingle in the wind. Make several and decorate to your heart’s content!

When you are looking for Halloween crafts for older kids, have them try their hand at your own scary zombie sitting on your front porch. Gather together some old clothes and have your child stuff the clothes with either newspaper or straw. It should be full enough to look like a real person. A great touch is to have a scary mask for the head. A way to make this even more fun is to encourage your older child to unstuff the figure on Halloween night and dress in the same clothes. Then, when trick or treaters come to your house, he or she can jump up and scare the unsuspecting victims!

Don’t be discouraged when looking for Halloween crafts for older kids. There are lots and lots of possibilities if you take the time to adapt crafts for younger kids and even ask your older child for ideas of their own. But above all, have fun making fun crafts for Halloween!

To find out more about Halloween crafts and arts for the whole family, please visit http://www.halloweeneasycrafts.com

Easy Halloween Crafts

There are some crafts that can take hours and even days to complete. These are great for adults who love the creative release of making something with their hands. If they are making something for Halloween, they may start weeks ahead of time to be sure their creation is ready when the day arrives. For children, however, you may want to cut way down on the time and find some easy Halloween crafts that they can do all in one sitting - and that sitting should not be much longer than an hour. That does depend on your children though, as some have more patience than others.

Perhaps some of the simplest easy Halloween crafts are ones that require little more than paper, crayons, and perhaps a little glue. Construction paper is often a favorite, as the colors are already on the paper. You can go with the obvious Halloween themes for children like pumpkins, ghosts, and witches. You can also go with more fall flavored themes if you don’t want to work with the spooky side of Halloween for whatever reasons that you have. You can find some great ideas for these easy Halloween crafts just about anywhere you shop.

If you want to go a little more complicated while still keeping it relatively easy, you can go with things that have to have a little work involved. Go with 3D. That means they kids will not be making a flat picture. Perhaps you could find a way to use strips of orange construction paper for an easy Halloween crafts project to make some pumpkins that sit up on their own. Tissue paper could be used to make ghosts with flowing tails, or perhaps easy Halloween crafts could involve making invitations to a Halloween party.

Easy Halloween crafts can include just about anything you would use to build. Clay, Styrofoam, and plaster are all fun, and though they can make a mess, that is part of the fun. The best part about these crafts is that you don’t necessarily have to come up with your own easy Halloween crafts. You can present the kids with the supplies that you wanted to get, and then have them decide on their own what they would like to do. You may be surprised with what they can come up with on their own. Just be standing by for help and perhaps some guidance if they are not sure how to do what they have dreamed up in their minds.

Some more Halloween articles and information including Halloween Costumes especially the hottest costume of 2008 the Batman Halloween Costume