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Southern Living, Oct 2002 by Thompson, Annette

Click or Treat

Halloween sites weave across the corners of the Internet like gossamer spider snares. This month we've lurked around these spooky addresses and chosen the most hospitable ones for dressing up a holiday bash.

Make www.halloween-online.com your first stop. The site serves as a portal to hundreds of other addresses that cheerfully celebrate All Hallows' Eve. To set the mood for your get-together, visit www.pumpkin-carving. corn for a set of instructions on safely carving jack-o'-lanterns. After learning how to select the appropriate pumpkin and patterns, you can click for tips on extending your masterpiece's life or instructions for a proper burial on All Souls' Day.

Scare away the jitters of hosting a Halloween party with ideas from these friendly Web sites.

A Window on the Web

Take a look at www.yardhaunter.com for ideas, gadgets, and silly gore to spookify your lawn. It offers links to a collection of tombstones ($12.95 to $54.95 from www.halloweendirect. com) and skeletons ($18.95 to $79 at www.anatomical.com), as well as the gizmo every decorator needs-The Web Shooter ($89.95 from www.terrorby design.com). This device flings flame-retardant cobwebs with the help of your own electric hand drill. Favored by theatrical designers, movie studios, and major theme parks, the cobwebs are visible without adding dust. Before departing the Yard Haunter, check out the lighting tips.

If you'd like to screen scary movies at your Halloween carnival, pick from the great selection of flicks at www.fearfuffilms.com. You'll find reliable reviews of such favorites as It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and The Nightmare Before Christmas as well as demented slasher movies.

Dress up your computer with a Screamsaver from www.halloweenscreensavers.com. Then go to www. halloween-cards.com and create a party invitation, or choose a script for your own correspondence at www. halloweenfonts.com. The site tempts you with eerie fonts that will even give your printer goose bumps.

All the World's a Stage

The best part of Halloween is the delightful excuse to don a costume. Let the Web help you shop for the perfect masquerade.

If your tastes tend to the lighthearted side, dial up www.theatrical wigs.com for an affordable hairpiece that can transform your looks. You'll uncover varieties of costume wigs from the 1700s to the 1900s as well as themed headdressses inspired by cartoons, animals, and religious characters. And don't forget accessories-- including beards, braids, curls, eyelashes, mustaches, and sideburns. Prices range $5 to $50.

Research the choices at www.angel-mask.com, the home of the Merchant of Venice, for a gallery of fantastic handmade leather masks. Artist Cheryl Mandus uses centuries-old Italian techniques to craft masks that she designs to be worn-even though each one is a signed, named, and dated work of art. Prices range from about $55 for a simple bird mask to $160 for an elaborate guardian angel, and $155 for creatures such as Solaris, a celestial being from Cheryl's Vault of Heaven Collection.

House Party

Bring the sounds of the season inside with eerie music (from $13.50) from www.halloweenplus.com. If you're not constrained by a budget, consider full-size prop statues from movie sets. Bride of Frankenstein only costs $1,020.50, while a C-3PO made from George Lucas' Star Wars movie mold goes for $9,999.99.

Check out the crowd at www.life sizeposters.com. Cardboard character cutouts add celebrity status to your festivities, and each one costs only $24.95. So be brave, and send a creepy invite to Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, and Clint Eastwood. Your friends will be impressed. ANNETTE THOMPSON

Pets on Parade

Enlist your dog or cat as a character in your Halloween act with hilarious costumes designed just for them from www.anniescostumes.com. The sidesplitting selection includes Super Dog and Bat Dog; Top Dog Tuxedos; cheerleader outfits; and even king, queen, and princess outfits. Almost all fashions come in three sizes to fit most pets (about $13 to $26.95).