All Hallows’ Eve is lurking in the shadows just around the corner, which means it’s time to start stocking up on candy, searching for the perfect pumpkin, creating a killer costume and planning an epic Halloween shindig. What better way to celebrate Halloween, then, by sprinkling in some open source tricks and treats? In fact, it’s downright scary how easily you can throw an open source Halloween party, where open source permeates almost every aspect of some people’s worst nightmare: party planning. Here are some of our creepy cool ideas for throwing a frighteningly fun open source Halloween party.
Haunting Open Source Halloween Melodies
Every good party needs a great soundtrack, and there’s no better way to set the spooky mood than with some haunting open source Halloween melodies. Of course, “Monster Mash” and “Thriller” are Halloween staples, but venture outside the norm and consider something more original (and free!) by checking out The Internet Archive for some open source music. Whether you want to create an eerie atmosphere at your party or want some dark, Halloween-inspired dance music to get your party moving, Lifewire has cultivated nine scary good open source Halloween melodies you’d be crazy not to play at your party.
Open Source LED Pumpkins
A classic Halloween party activity is a pumpkin carving contest. Take it up a notch this year by making it more open source oriented, challenging your party-goers to carve their favorite open source logos into their pumpkin. This is a great way to promote a project some people may be unfamiliar with and get others talking about it. Who knows, you might even gain a contributor or two! If you really want to win this contest, go one step further and create an open source LED pumpkin. The Evil Mad Scientist has a simple PCB ideal for a neat, reusable LED pumpkin design, complete with a full kit containing everything you need to light up your open source Halloween party…literally!
Costumes Designed by Open Source
Anyone can go to a Halloween store and buy their own packaged costume. It takes real skill and craftsmanship to create a jaw-dropping costume all your own. Luckily, open source is here to help. OpenKnit is an open source printer that lets you create your own clothes and costumes, complete with Kinetic design software that allows you to conceive, design and ultimately produce a costume, all through the power of open source. Shock your party-goers with how awesome you look in your homemade open source Halloween costume.
Open Source Party Favors
Sure, you could always pass out some candy or have your attendees bob for apples, but it’s hard to argue that there’s any better way to kick back at a party than with a nice, tall, cold glass of open source beer. It may sound too good to be true, but open source brewing is a thing and just begging to be the talk of your open source Halloween party. The beauty of open source is that it welcomes the combined intelligence and experience of a community to create something better and more special than any single individual could create. With that said, don’t scare away your party-goers with discount beer—rather, check out these incredibly tasty open source beer recipes and start brewing up a cauldron of it.
Chilling Open Source Horror Stories
If you really want to leave your attendees howling at the moon in abject terror, dim the lights, gather in a circle and terrify them with your most chill-inducing open source horror stories. It may be painful to recap some of these experiences, but it’s a surefire way to get people talking (and shaking) at your open source Halloween party.
Share your open source Halloween photos with us on Twitter (@vmwopensource) and stay tuned to the Open Source Blog for more content on all things open source.
