The Wizard’s Den: A Halloween Party Venue
by Kassadee Marie, HSM team writer
If you like personal spaces that are eerie and unusual, I recommend the Wizard’s Den to you. The space is dark and moody and makes a wonderful location for a small Halloween party. Pick your date and hours, send out the invitations well ahead of time and be sure to say costumes are a must! By the way, Halloween falls on a Monday this year.
With a few accessories, including six chilling pictures or splashes of blood from Dead Island, or perhaps cobwebs with spiders from the furniture store, a game or two and some music, you’re all ready for an entertaining evening of fun, fantasy, and Halloween bewitching. The Brimstone Poker table, with skeleton hands dealing the cards is perhaps, the most perfect game for this space. The VeeMee pool table or dart game with the skull would be fun here, too. If you have it, the Cauldron of the Sunless Kingdom by Lockwood (from October last year, available again this year) will give your guests a few Halloween prizes, as party favors. While the spooky new party pack coming from nDreams may be the best choice for accessories, there is a plethora to choose from.
When you first arrive at the Wizard’s Den, you are met by the sight of a large golden cauldron and three giant arches adorned with dragon lanterns. Seeing the mammoth stone walls, it’s easy to imagine that you are high up in the Wizard’s Tower of an ancient castle in a land of mystery and magic. From here you can look up to the semi-domed ceiling high above, with an opening to the cloudy sky. Large flags hang here to add to the castle-like atmosphere. This might be where you would want to great your guests with music or creepy sound effects.
The large Singe from the Dragon’s Lair (Digital Leisure) would look great here or a few of the dragon statues from SCE bundle, to continue the dragon theme. Or add those golden dragon statues you received as a guest at the mansion. I suggest placing some orange and brown furniture here (such as the Playground couches). Or perhaps you might choose the tall Visari chair, toadstool stools, pumpkin chairs, guillotine or skull chairs. Add a few eldritch artifacts to set the atmosphere. I propose the zombie head reward from Dead Island or the skull candle from Midway. The mysterious present from the cauldron game would look good here, also.
On either side of the entrance, two staircases lead up to the second floor, an open-centered circular space. Here eleven mullioned stained glass windows let in very little light. You might have skeletons greet your guests at the top of the steps – such as the new one in a cage – from the AAA Alice Cooper collection. Or perhaps place the miniature dragon in a cage here if you have it.
Across from the stairs you will find a small area, poorly lit by two dragon lantern pillars. This would make a great place for a couch and a few chairs for your guests to relax and converse. You can even place the cauldron game here for the guests to play.
There is also a well-sized room near the stairs, on this level that would make a perfect game/poker room. Just add some couches, two more spooky pictures and a few unusual items for people to view. With only two active items possible at a time you might want to give your guests the choice of poker or other games that you might have, such as darts or pool or the cauldron game at different times during the evening.
As with many social activities, interesting conversation is essential. I recommend asking everyone to turn the lights off at their homes, turn down their gamma video setting on Home if it is bright, and sit in a circle and tell ghost stories. You also might want to suggest a word game or a topic of conversation should any slow point occur in the evening. You could always ask your guests if they know the meaning of triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13) and start a conversation about superstitions such as:
- It’s unlucky to wear opals, unless you were born in October.
- The seventh son of a seventh son is believed to be a vampire in Romanian legend.
- Bad luck will follow the spilling of salt unless a pinch is thrown over the left shoulder into the face of the devil waiting there.
- Demons are chased away by the sound of bells, because they’re afraid of loud noises.
- It is bad luck to kill a ladybug.
- It means that someone is walking over your grave, if you get an unexplained chill up your back or goosebumps.
- Changing bed linens on a Friday will bring bad dreams when you sleep on them.
- Breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck.
- If you leave a rocking chair rocking when it’s empty, it will invite evil spirits to come into your house and sit in that rocking chair.
- Rosemary planted by the doorstep will keep witches away.
- Someone saying, “God bless you” drives the devil away, who can enter your body through your mouth when you sneeze.
Picking out your own costume, planning the party activities for your guests and decorating your Wizard’s Den can and should be a lot of fun, but the best part of a Halloween party will be being with your friends. So, relax, enjoy and remember to have fun yourself!
October 29th, 2011 by Kassadee Marie | 3 comments
Home is endlessly entertaining to this California girl. Kassadee has been in Home for about four years, and loves almost everything about it (with a few notable exceptions). She spends way too much money there, and perhaps too much time... Someday she will travel the world and write about the people she meets and the places she sees.
I really like the look of those orange Playground couches. Very nice!
i redecorate entirely this space for halloween, circles rooms are a nightmare to decorate!!! ^^
nice article Kassadee!
This is one of my favorite spaces. It’s like my personal “man cave.” You’ve given a ton of useful holiday suggestions here, and I also like your writing style. Great article!