Spooktacular Halloween

You've scheduled a Halloween party but left the decorating until today.

Not to worry, said Jereme Scruggs, store manager for Halloween Express on Gunbarrel Road. Many other people do the same thing.

The serious decorator, he said, "starts kind of early," but those who are simply having a party often wait until the day of the party.

Last-minute Halloween decorators often opt for pumpkin carving kits, Mr. Scruggs said, because carved jack-o'-lanterns set the proper mood. In addition, he said, bags of stretchable cotton provide a spooky spiderweb or cobweb look.

Plastic skeletons, which come in various sizes, also are good for last-minute decorations because they can be hung in appropriate places to surprise guests, he said.

This year, Mr. Scruggs said, purple and orange strobe lights, which offer the sound of thunder and the flash of lightning, have been big sellers. Being battery-powered (three AA batteries), he said, they're also economical and half the price of regular strobe lights.

Fog machines, he said, also have sold well.

LAST-MINUTE IDEAS

* Giant lawn bag ($3.99 for 70-gallon bag) -- Filled with leaves, the bright orange bags resemble jack-o'-lanterns.

* Danger sign ($14.99 for 20-inch wide sign) -- The molded plastic sign with dripping letters and faux spiderwebs may be hung or planted.

* Peep 'n' Peepers ($19.99) -- Three eyes, blinking from the bushes, give guests the impression of a creature staring out at them.

* Spider webs ($2.99 for 130 square feet, $9.99 for 800 square feet) -- Stretchable cotton webs will provide a start to those who walk through it.

* Skeletons ($14.99-$79.99) -- The hanging bones range from "really small" to 16 to 18 feet, though Halloween Express is out of the bigger ones.

* Eerie Acres sign ($29.99) -- Transform your home into a cemetery. Three screaming heads ($29.99) will add to the effect.

* Tombstones ($9.99-$29.99) -- The lawn could become a graveyard.

* Groundbreaker Skeleton ($29.99) -- Stuck in the ground, this skull and arms appears to be rising out of a grave.

* Chains ($11.99, $16.99) -- The chains at left come with a pair of meat hooks. The ones at right are rusty and fearsomely confining.

* Big Kooky ($39.99) -- Small spiders may raise the hair of friends with archnophobia. Big Kooky is friendlier with blinking LED lights and a cartoon-like demeaner.

WHERE TO FIND IT

Halloween Express, 2114 Gunbarrel Road, will be open for last-minute Halloween shoppers 10 a.m.-10 p.m.