Gross Food Ideas for a Halloween Party

Halloween parties just aren't complete without one or two gross-out dishes that look more at home in a horror flick than on the kitchen table. Attention to detail can take any party from OK to outstanding. Next time it's your turn to host a Halloween party, try one of these gross food ideas that all the witches and warlocks will be cackling about for years.

Insect invasion

Waiter, there's a fly in my punch! Make some creepy crawly ice cubes for your guests' drinks by placing small plastic bugs (or gummy bugs, if you prefer) in your filled ice cube trays before you freeze them. To avoid a choking hazard, gummy bugs are best for kids' beverages. If you're truly daring, you can add some real creepy crawlies to your table by ordering a few cricket and larva lollipops -- suckers with an actual bug embedded in them that sell for about $1.75 each.

Severed fingers

This twist on pigs in a blanket is sure to be a gross Halloween food hit with both young and old party guests. To make them, you'll need a package of cocktail wieners, some ready-bake crescent roll dough, chopped white or yellow onions, ketchup and a paring knife. Roll the ends of the cocktail wieners in a little bit of the crescent roll dough for a "bandage." Use the knife to cut a square "nail-bed" at the end of the wiener that pokes out of the roll. Bake as you normally would for pigs in a blanket, and then use the ketchup (barbeque sauce would work, too) to attach a sliver of chopped onion into the nail bed that you cut previously. Drizzle extra ketchup for a deliciously disgusting bloody effect.

Jell-O brains

In the fall, stores fill up with tools designed to help you have the grossest Halloween party ever. If you can find a brain-shaped Jell-O mold, you'll have the perfect centerpiece for your gross food spread. Jell-O is the perfect food for replicating a brain, since its jiggly, translucent nature makes it seem much more realistic than you might imagine.

Next time it's your turn to scare your friends with a Halloween get-together, complete the spooky atmosphere with one of these gross food ideas. For a Halloween party of epic proportions, try all three!