DIY Scary Halloween Medical Lab

I love to scare kids to death; mine in particular. Over the years I've become an expert at frightening them. Sometimes I go to great lengths to send shivers down their spines but when I want a simple and cheap party gag for a Halloween party that's sure to elicit lots of squeals and horror I create my own haunted medical laboratory and here's how you can do it too.

Oldies but goodies
Let me start this off by bringing up a couple of old Halloween traditions that are pretty common. These are tricks you've probably seen before but completely forgot about because they were so gross that you just wanted to put them out of your mind.

Eyeballs in a bowl - One of my favorite oldies of all times. It's simple...peeled grapes. The best way to get a bunch of eyeballs in a bowl is to buy a bunch of grapes. Color doesn't necessarily matter but if your victims are going to see the eyeballs then go for the green grapes. If they will be blindfolded then buy whichever color grape you want.

To peel your grapes boil a pot of water. Dip each grape in the boiled water for 10 seconds and then dip in ice water. This will loosen the skin and make them easy to peel. If you come across a particularly stubborn grape dip in boiling water for a little longer but no more than 30 seconds.

Prepare a can of Campbell's tomato soup and allow it to sit at room temperature until it is cool to the touch. Add your grapes to the soup and you'll have a nasty bowl of bloody eyeballs.

*Alternative method - Wal-Mart sells disgustingly sticky eyeballs feel unbelievably real. They come with about 10 in the package for $1.97. These are great for floating in punch bowls.

Spaghetti Guts - This is a classic. Boil you up some spaghetti just like its dinner time. Drain and allow spaghetti to cool. Add some blue or red food coloring to the spaghetti. Color doesn't really matter; it's a matter of personal preference. Toss with a little bit of olive oil to keep the pasta from becoming a lump. Don't over do it with the olive oil, too much of it and the food coloring won't work. Dump in a bowl and you now have spaghetti guts.

Not So Old But Definitely Good

Puss - Puss is so easy to make its crazy. Simply mix mayonnaise and chunky green salsa together. Put in a bowl and let the kids run their fingers through that.

Lab Specimens - For lab specimens purchase plastic rats, spiders and body parts at a dollar store or Wal-Mart. Make sure they are small enough to fit into jars. Pour lukewarm water into several different sized clear jars. (Don't you wish you had saved all your old mayo jars now?) Add a few drops of neon green food coloring to the water and stir. Drop one plastic toy in to each jar so that it floats. Write up a nasty looking label and stick to the jar. Set lots of these around your medical laboratory for a creepy mad scientist atmosphere.

You can also purchase gummy body parts candy and put a piece (or two) in the jars but pay attention that you don't make up your specimen jars too soon or the candy will start to deteriorate which depending on how bad it is can be a good thing.

Try adding some shredded cabbage to your specimen jars for that extra creepy look.

Bleeding Brains - To make brains you will need some sort of roundish mold. I find it best to buy a brain mold which can't be found any other time of year than Halloween except online. Make a box of Jello, preferably a red flavor and pour into the brain mold. Throw in a few canned peaches and chill in the refrigerator. Before the party, remove the bowl from the fridge allow Jello to reach room temperature. Bleeding brains are best felt when the Jello Mold has been broken up into pieces so you can feel the peaches inside. Try adding a few pieces of a blood orange for added effect.

Tongues - To make a bowl of tongues you will need a couple cans of halved peaches in heavy syrup and some red food coloring. Dump them all in a bowl and food coloring. The longer they sit at room temperature the grosser they get.

Vomit - Dump a couple cans of creamed corn in a bowl. Add a can of drained peas and a few popcorn kernels.

Flesh - Slice up the inside of a watermelon or cantaloupe very thinly; chunks work best. Let it sit for several hours until warm. Lay pieces in a bowl or set on a plate. The longer the fruit sits the more it will feel like pieces of human flesh.

Lab Babies - This works about the same way specimen jars work. Pour warm water into any clear see through container that has a lid. Add a few drops of blue or neon green food coloring. Drop in a very small doll and top with lid. Viola, you have lab babies.

Tips For Setting Up Your Lab

When you set up your lab use an old white sheet or tablecloth. Splatter red food coloring all over the cloth so that it resembles blood.

Use old paint cans or boxes beneath the cloth to create different levels for your specimen jars and other décor.

Anything that will be handled, such as the eyeballs, should be warm and room temperature.

To make your tablecloth glow in the dark soak it in RIT whitener and hang to dry before splattering with red food coloring. It won't glow unless you use a black light during your party which is always recommended for Halloween parties.

You can also make props like the eyeballs glow with clear glow in the dark spray paint sold in craft stores.