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Outdoor Halloween Pranks for Trick-or-Treaters

Every year, you give out candy to all the adorable neighborhood brats: all they have to do is ask for it. They get a sweet deal, while you have to drop a lot of money on pre-packaged goodies. Likely, you get nothing in return but the occasional "Thanks!" from a costumed mummy or ghost as it runs away from your door.

The following tricks are quick to execute and inexpensive to set up. You don't need to spend a hundred dollars on a robotic, voice-activated, life-sized werewolf, purchase CDs of scary music, or spend hours preparing for a few good scares. Just be creative! Simple household items can make wonderful props for giving the local trick-or-treaters a fright along with their candy, as is shown in the following five plans.

1. Night of the Living Dummy

This one's a classic. One of the neatest ways to spookily decorate the front of a home for Halloween is by adding a stuffed dummy to the lawn or porch stairs. It's easy to do: take some old clothes, shoes and gloves, stuff them with fallen leaves, put them together, and make a head out of a scary Halloween mask or a Jack-o-Lantern.

Several twists can make this more fun. The easiest way is by creating marionette dummy. Place your dummy on the front stair, and sit on a lawn chair on the front porch with your bowl of candy for the trick-or-treaters. Tie a thin string or long strand of fishing line to an arm, and thread the string over the porch railing or through a plant-hanger hook, and keep the other end of the string in your hand. Pull the string as costumed children approach for a good jump, or even a scream, when the dummy waves!

A more difficult, more effective way to do this is by dressing up as a dummy yourself. Choose the loosest old clothing you can find, and once you're wearing it, stuff it with leaves or other bunched-up items of clothing. Cover every square inch of skin with socks, shoes, gloves, a mask, and a hat or hood. Be sure to let some leaves poke out of your sleeves, collar, and pant legs.

Sit on the porch stairs or front lawn as awkwardly as possible: you're trying to look like a haphazard, nonliving dummy. If the front of your home is to be lit, keep it somewhat dim. When kids approach, jump up and roar for a huge startling surprise! Because this trick is intense, it's a good idea to leave the younger children alone, and focus on scaring the preteens. They'll have to get past you to reach the candy by your door!

2. The Booby Trapped Candy Bowl

Find a large, cheap bowl of weak plastic or foil, and cut a hole out of the bottom, just large enough to fit a hand through. Take a plastic or rubber glove, like one for washing dishes, and paint or decorate it however you like (long, pointed red finger nails are likely to be super effective). Put on the glove, put it through the bottom of the bowl, and fill the bowl with large pieces of candy - larger portions are less likely to fall out the bottom of the bowl.

When trick or treaters come to the door, present them with the bowl of candy while your hand is hidden in it, with the bowl top tipped forward to conceal the hole in the bottom, and try to keep a straight face. When a child reaches in, poke or loosely grab his or her hand!

A variation of this trick involves a covered box. Paint a cardboard box black, cover the top with a black garbage bag, and cut a hand-sized slit in the bag. Fill the box with whatever yucky things you want, like rubber snakes, peeled grapes, or cooked spaghetti. Also include some wrapped candy, and when the kids arrive, tell them the candy's in the box. They'll have to dig around in the mysterious muck in order to get a treat.

Keep a bowl of safe, simple candy nearby too, just in case you run into a child too small to handle either prank.

3. A Shocking Surprise

Take a clue from the Internet. A short while back, a trick involving a still photo of scenery and instructions to search for a hidden ghost made its way from computer to computer. After about thirty seconds, the photo would change to a ghoulish face, and the computer speakers would emit a blood-curdling scream, scaring the trick's victims half to death.

You can do this with your front window, if you have the right materials. Fill the inside of the window with a dark background (a few flattened garbage bags, taped together, should do the trick), and keep the lights off. Have an accomplice dress up in a scary costume, with an ugly mask, and crouch beneath the window, inside the house.

Tell trick-or-treaters (with a serious air) that you think your house is haunted, and that you're sure only children can see the ghost - you want them to confirm it for you. While they're looking in the window, encourage them to keep staring, and after a few seconds, have your accomplice jump up and roar or scream. If the accomplice points a flashlight up at his or her face, this will work even better.

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