It’s time to throw a creepy celebration to get into the Halloween spirit. Keep it simple and have a couple of friends over for a few tasty cocktails or go all out and turn your apartment into a ravished haunted house. Host a pre-cursor to an evening of party hopping or prepare to have the event of the season. No matter the magnitude, a few simple tips will make sure to keep guests thrilled.

Freaky festivities 101:

Keep your night undead with a few simple tricks. There are easy ways to turn a house into a dungeon of doom.

Keep the lights on low — light the room with candles or stick to Halloween-colored light strands if there will be a crowd. Replace a porch light or lamp with a black light bulb to add an even eerier effect. To go all out, pick up a cheap strobe light at a party store.

Once you get the lighting right, there are plenty of other ways to add to a scary Halloween party. Spirit, a seasonal Halloween costume and supply store, offers an online catalog of Halloween articles that help with generating ideas for decorations. The articles can be found at www.spirithalloween.com, and you can visit the physical store in Northgate.

The Spirit Web site states that every sense has to be used in order to create the most realistic atmosphere. Yes, it should look spooky — but it should also smell, feel, sound and taste spooky.

Fog machines are a great way to add a creepy dampness to the air, and playing scary soundtracks in the background and showing a classic horror film on silent will instantly put people into the Halloween spirit.

Spooky sweets and

other treats:

No party would be complete without munchies to eat and scary cauldrons of unknown drinks. there are a number of ways to keep tummies full while maintaining the mood.

The experts at ShindigZ, an online party supply store, suggest keeping things simple, but scary by changing up just a few things. The Web site said Halloween is the perfect time to make frightfully easy and delicious treats for all your guests.

They suggest making a hearty stew, garlic dip and crackers (to keep vampires away), toasted pumpkin seeds and other simple foods. To spice it up, just put them in decorative bowls.

The most important thing at a party is to have plenty of food and drinks on hand.

This year, Halloween offers a full weekend of fun and entertainment that brings you all the way through to Oct. 31. There are so many things to discover and the hardest option may be narrowing it down to the best. Luckily, that hard part is done for you. Here is your guide to the best of the best Halloween events in the greater Seattle.

Trick or treat:

You’re not a kid any more, but that doesn’t mean you can’t trick or treat like one. You have big-kid plans for Halloween night and no time to go door-to-door for bite sized treats. Good news — many places in Seattle offer daytime or early evening trick-or-treating and won’t mind handing out candy to a cute pirate. U. Village will be giving away sweet treats on Halloween from 4 to 6 p.m. For a more festive approach, check out the Seattle Waterfront’s Halloween spectacular, complete with J.P. Patches and the Seafair Pirates. The fun starts at 9 a.m. and continues until 5 p.m.

Costume party

Pirates and “Thriller” are key ingredients to a good time. With the Haunted Harbor Halloween party at Pier 66 on the Seattle Waterfront, you get both. The event features the Seafair Pirates, music, drinks, costume contests, a haunted ship and a party-wide reenactment of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” It all goes down this Saturday from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center. Tickets are $21 for this 21+ event.

“Untamed,” the Showbox’ sixth-annual Halloween costume bash is this Saturday. More than $4,000 in cash prizes will be handed out to the “Sexiest Female,” “Scariest,” “Best Group” and so on.

The costume-clad participants will be entertained with a live performance by Cool-Ade, a Seattle band famous for its high-energy dance music. Tickets are $29.95, and it is a 21+ event.

[Reach reporter Tina Abrams at features@thedaily.washington.edu.]