Dreadfully sophisticated and shockingly fun, a bouquet infested with insects gets Halloween off to a screaming start.

Step aside, pumpkins -- playful daikon radishes and turnips can be an unexpected and inviting accent for the dinner table.

Let a towering glitter-pumpkin centerpiece preside over the dining room of your haunted manor.

Pale as the moonlight, white pumpkins are arguably the most magical in a patch. Why not enjoy their otherworldly beauty indoors? Big, round 'Lumina' pumpkins bring a ghostly glow to a dining room. Place them directly on the table or on serving stands and platters. Interspersing them with ashen 'Crystal Apple' cucumbers and mini 'Baby Boo' pumpkins will add shades of seasonal pallor to a festive feast.

Add a touch of the macabre to your Halloween table by using dog-chew toys as napkin rings.

Plain candlesticks look positively creepy in critter-covered cobwebs. Cut a length of cheesecloth, and gently pull to make it look tattered. Drape cloth over candlesticks and mantel; add plastic spiders and leaves. Top candlesticks with bobeches -- collars that catch drips -- and insert tapers.

A floral arrangement becomes positively frightening when covered in creepy cobwebs. To make the webs, cut a 5-inch section from inexpensive or damaged white panty hose, and pull apart until it becomes wispy and resembles cobwebs. Stretch the material over a cluster of dark blooms (we used crimson roses and dahlias, as well as some fiddlehead ferns). Set on a sideboard, or on a dining table as a centerpiece.

Cast a sinister glow over any setting with a cluster of white tapers dripping with "blood" (actually red candle wax). Fill a cup or a small pail with sand, and plant white candles inside so they stand upright. Light a red candle and tip it over the white candles so the wax drips down the tops and sides, being careful not to burn yourself. Let wax cool completely before removing candles from sand.

Cluster several pumpkins as a centerpiece and embellish them with marbled-paper leaves and wire tendrils.

This poetic array of green pumpkins serves a practical purpose, offering richly veined cheeses, crudites, and more. A carved-out cabbage acts as a bowl for vegetable dip.

Who says Halloween dinner parties need to be macabre? If you're throwing an elegant fall party, spray paint miniature pumpkins in gold and add place cards written in gold ink. A block-printed napkin and tablecloth and the marbleized plate add patterned richness, while a mix of mismatched contemporary glassware and classic flatware keep the feeling clean and modern.

Show dinner guests to their seats with cemetery-themed place cards that double as treat holders.

These playful pumpkins open their mouths to let candlelight stream through. To make lantern, download and print lantern clip art; then glue black paper onto the back and cut out. Use a utility knife to cut out eyes, noses, and mouths, and craft glue to affix orange tissue paper or vellum behind the cutouts. Fold lantern on dotted lines, and secure tab with glue to close. Place over a votive candle in a glass holder.

These stunning centerpieces add instant sophistication to a Halloween table.

If that spooky, hundred-year-old dusty look doesn't come naturally, fake it with hot-glue cobwebs; we "spun" them over realistic-looking stuffed birds.

Fill this vessel with dry ice for a smoldering display, or use it to serve punch (omitting the dry ice).

A basket carved from a pumpkin is perfect for holding striking sprays of dark blossoms and leaves.

Only brave party guests dare disturb the tasty contents of these graves. The candy-filled headstones are mini black paper bags placed in a tray filled with black sand.

Here are some of Martha's favorite glittery, eerie, somewhat macabre ideas for the Halloween table. 

Set the stage, and the table, for Halloween with these strange creatures -- half bat, half pumpkin.

Scare up some Halloween spirit by turning an ordinary wine bottle into a delightfully sinister mummy.

These decorations bring sparkle to tables and serving areas -- and they last far longer than jack-o'-lanterns.

These friendly jack-o'-lantern candy holders make festive table decorations and centerpieces.

Invite some great minds to your next gathering. Dried cockscomb looks like brains, making this ingenious display easy to create. Find dried blooms online, or dry fresh ones by hanging them upside down for 2 weeks. Plan to use 6 to 8 stems per brain. Cut blooms off stems. With hot glue, affix flowers together, creating half of a brain. Make 2 halves; hot-glue together. Print and cut out paper labels; skewer on hat pins, and insert. Display brains in jars or under glass cloches.

These glow-in-the-dark cocktail labels are a hint of the lethal libations inside.

Creative labels turn wine into Queasy Riesling and Murky Merlot.

These shimmering hurricanes create a glowing effect behind the spider's web.

A gothic design carved into a glowing pumpkin creates a chilling effect when placed on Halloween tables.

Customize plain paper goods to add a festive flair to your Halloween party. Just use decorative-edge shears and cut around the edges of the plates and cups, then stack the items to create your own unique look.

Want to cover windows with cobwebs on Halloween but remove them without a trace the next day? Glass cleaner completely erases stamp-pad ink from glass surfaces, so you can safely use sinister stamps -- such as bats, skeletons, and witches -- to decorate everyday glassware. A candleholder crawling with spiders is particularly creepy. Or cast an eerie glow over dinner with a stamped votive holder at each place.

Gleaming favors are illuminated by flickering candles set inside hollowed-out sugar pumpkins and topped with hurricane glasses.

This festive tablecloth is made of layered crepe paper and polka dots cut from streamers.

Thrill Halloween party guests with a tablecloth covered in a ribbon spider web -- complete with eerie white pom-pom spiders.