October is full of tricks, treats, hay, pumpkins, parties, candy, frights and most importantly Halloween. Everyone dresses up to go trick-or-treating, earning tons of candy from walking door-to-door for hours.

However, Halloween is not just celebrated on the 31st. People get into the spirit all month long by going to haunted attractions, baking creepy treats, having monstrous parties, and setting up spooky decorations that will surely give people a fright.

Food: Get into the Halloween spirit by enjoying different treats that are unique to this holiday. Candy corn and popcorn balls are Halloween staples, but there are also a variety of other delicious Halloween treats. For example, Spooky Witches’, Fingers are sugar cookies shaped like fingers, with almonds as the fingernails.

It is also simple to make Creepy Spider Cupcakes, with licorice for legs, Red Hots for eyes, and candy corn for fangs. See allrecipes.com to find more simple yet very festive treats that can make Halloween taste much better. However, you can never go wrong with a bag of candy.

Decorations: What is Halloween without some spooky yard ornaments? Decorating your home is a great way to create a Halloween atmosphere throughout the month. Among the most common accessories are Jack-o-lanterns, fake webs, and scarecrows. Some like to put up even scarier decorations such as skeletons, bats, spiders, coffins, ghouls, and many more horrifying creatures.

Carved pumpkins are probably one of the most popular decorations, because they express creativity and individuality. Designs on pumpkins can be anything from faces and animals to initials and other creations of your imagination. Putting up lights, usually orange, is a very common and simple idea that can literally brighten up your house with Halloween spirit.

Events: Apart from trick-or-treating and parties, Memphis hosts many more Halloween activities. For example, the Haunted Corn Maze at the Agricenter is a well-known attraction. Every Friday and Saturday night of October, you can walk through a maze full of different “ghouls, monsters, and killers” that will have you scared and possibly lost in the corn.

A new haunted attraction is Spooky Nights at Shelby Farms, which features a Haunted Trail, Zombie Laser Tag, and other activities for your family and friends to enjoy every Friday and Saturday night in October. Another family-oriented Halloween event is the Zoo Boo at the Memphis Zoo, which boasts hayrides, candy, magic shows and much more.

Costumes: Having the best costume is essential to a successful Halloween. Many costumes can be found at stores such as Party City, Wal-Mart or Target. Some popular costume ideas this year are Minions from Despicable Me, Miley Cyrus, animals, superheroes, and a Spartan of course.

Some people find more pleasure in making homemade costumes or face painting, rather than buying a costume. YouTube has Do-It-Yourself video tutorials that can help aid you into creating the perfect costume for you.

A costume idea that you can make at home is a bat:

• First get a black jacket, shoes, socks, and pants.
• Paint two paper cones black and attach them to the top of the hood.
• Take a black umbrella or trash bag, though umbrella would be better, and cut it in half.
• Finally, attach the two halves to the back of the jacket and along the sleeves, using tape, staples or thread.