Try these screaming themes to see how you can add basic theme party ideas into your haunted hilarity. Here are just a few ideas of how you can turn an ordinary theme into something horrific.

"Boot Hill Haunt," "Terror at Tombstone" or "Halloween Hoedown" * Create "Boot Hill" style tombstones * Instead of using a plain, coiled rope for decor, create a hangman's noose * Pin on a spider instead of a sheriff's star * Arrange dead flowers in a cowboy boot * Use Halloween bandanas as place mats or napkins.

"Hula Halloween" or "Volcanoes and Vampires" * Add spiders to your pineapple beverage containers or on piles of fruit * String dead flowers for leis * Tie "dead" birds to palm trees (or ravens, crows, owls, etc.) * Instead of using colorful paper flowers, use deep purple and black flowers * Dress a vampire or "Lurch" character in a flower shirt.

“Beach Bash Boo!!” * Dress skeletons in torn bathing suits holding a battered surfboard * Paint plastic fish black and float in bowls filled with moldy or dirty water * Put a skeleton wearing a torn hat and old bikini in a beach chair under a sun lamp. * Cover straw beach hats in spider webs and use a knife or scissors to fray the hats. * Break one lens (leaved shattered but in the frame) of sunglasses to give to guests.

“Happy Days Halloween” or “Frightening Fifties” * Add obituaries of '50s icons (James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, etc.) next to their pictures. *Instead of running funny fifties movies, show horror ones of that era like Ed Wood films. *Instead of displaying restored class hot rods (or models), show off ones that have been in crashes or buy some old model cars (or scuff up new ones and splatter with rust and blood red paint.) *Melt plastic 45 records into ugly shapes and hang as motley mobiles. * Add black leather touches like inverted motorcycle hats holding snacks or strips of leather fabric as napkin rings to add doom and gloom to your table decor.

“Scary, Screamin' Sixties” * Instead of happy faces, make your own scowling face posters. * Hang signs that say, "Make Love and War" or "Have a Lousy Day." * Dress your skeleton in hippie clothes. * Instead of hanging beaded curtains, hang ones you've made with spiders. * Faded and broken plastic flowers will make dreadful decorations.

“Danger at the Disco” * Put a "Tony Manero" (Saturday Night Fever) white suit on a mummy. * Cover your disco ball in spider webs. * Dress someone in a typical Cher outfit but with a gray, witch's wig, torn costume and skull, spider and rat tattoos. * Put up black light posters of groups like Black Sabbath or other grotesque rock groups, skulls, etc. * Play a game of "Stayin' Dead or Alive" challenging guests to guess status of names given.

“Frightening Fiesta” * Label refreshments "Terrorific Tacos," "Nice N' Nasty Nachos," "Monster Margaritas" and other plays on Halloween-type words. * Prop a skeleton against a wall in a sleeping position (knees bent and sitting) wearing a sombrero and a serape * Instead of colorful paper flowers, make them in black and deep purple. * Make luminarias out of rusty cans * Hang blackened chili peppers.

“Horror for Hollywood” * Run favorite horror movies as a background effect. * Invite guests to come dressed as their favorite film "Frightener." * Incorporate orange touches with standard black and white decor. * Play a game of Terror Trivia with horror movie facts. * Award skeletons on stands as trophies for best costumes.

“Gambling with Ghouls” * At a poker table, dress a skeleton in a old, dusty tuxedo. * Sit him with his back to the door and holding a "dead man's hand" (Aces and 8s) * Instead of hanging up oversized cards of every suit, use only the Ace of Spades. * Use boxes to make up sets of dice, but paint (or use stickers or clip art) spiders or skulls to replace the dots * Add a garter, eyeshade and vest to a mummy to resemble a croupier * Run a hot Bingo-style game with cards made up with the letters S-C-A-R-Y.

Once you get the basic plan for your familiar theme event, let your imagination run free and weird to add the details that will brand your party as an example of "thememania" at it scariest. It's a "bootiful!" thing.