Witches, ghosts, and goblins may be the official faces of Halloween, but they don't hold a monopoly on spookiness. Consider, for instance, the creepiness of certain bug-eyed clowns or the understated menace of a carnival barker. This party makes the most of them, turning a fun house into a haunted house, with a spinning game wheel, distorted mirrors, and crowd-pleasing food and photo ops. With some common party supplies and our clip art, you can put on the greatest show in town. Now, everyone, step right up! Step right up!

A few key pieces set the scene: giant balloons (tie together the marquise-shaped ones to form spiky clusters), hula hoops wrapped in electrical tape, and the glowing "Fun House" sign created from our clip art. Replace lightbulbs around the house with red and blue ones for a moody atmosphere -- and an even more circuslike setting.

A bit of black food coloring in the candy gives these carnival sweets a dark twist. To serve them, insert wooden sticks, and slide black-and-white straws over them.

Set up your own version of the classic midway game with a cluster of glass bottles labeled with clip-art stickers to indicate points (optional: massive-stuffed-animal prizes).

Download the Ring Toss Labels

Peanuts take a sinister turn when sprayed with diluted black food coloring and toasted in the oven.

Offer a distorted view of reality: Gently curve a couple of inexpensive mirrors (concave for a skinny look, convex for a fat one), and secure them to foam board.

Mini Dot shirt, by Little Marc Jacobs, $122, marcjacobs.com.

For kids, try a twist on a Shirley Temple, made with blood-orange syrup, maraschino cherries, and seltzer; for grown-ups, whip up a more potent mix of black vodka, lime juice, and black-cherry soda.

Get the Blood-Orange Soda Recipe

Get the Black-Cherry Zombie Recipe

Spray-paint a flock of rubber ducks inky black, and stick stars on the bottoms of a few to indicate winners. Float them in a tub of water, and have guests pick.

It's just like the yummy stuff you'd gladly wait in line for, but better: spicy sesame popcorn, far left, and cinnamon caramel corn (dyed red), left.

Get the Spicy Sesame Popcorn Recipe

Get the Cinnamon Caramel Corn Recipe

Download the Popcorn Labels

Create a carnival photo booth, and supply cartoonish (template) card stock accessories such as glasses, a mustache, a barbell, a pipe, and a monocle. For a real photo-booth feel, download the Pocketbooth app to your phone, tablet, or computer.

Murillo 918 paper (for templates), 27 1/2" by 39", in Black, $10.25 per sheet, aifriedman.com. On boy: Classic crewneck sweater, in Gray, $44, benetton.com. Gingham shirt, in Red, $71, petitbateau.us. Coco bow, in Gray Houndstooth, $125, markmcnairy.com. On girl: Lurex-and-vinyl jacket, in Black, and radzimir-and-satin skirt, marcjacobs.com. Pearl necklaces, in White and Gunmetal, $80 each, by Kenneth Jay Lane, 877-953-5265.

Download the Photo Booth Prop Clip Art

Turn the maniacal clown that nightmares are made of into a fun party game. Download clip art, paste it onto foam board, and attach balloons along the edges and for the eyes and nose. Then mount it to a lazy Susan, give it a spin, and take dead aim. (Hang it where you won't mind stray darts hitting.)