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It's time to take back the night. Not just any night, but that spookiest of nights: All Hallows' Eve.

With its mix of costume drama and gothic symbolism, pagan ritual and bacchanalia, Halloween is the perfect excuse for adult fun.

"The nature of the holiday really lends itself to grown-up parties where the décor becomes stylish, the treats more sexy and the costumes more risqué," says Sebastien Centner, who runs Toronto's event-planning and catering group Eatertainment.

So tonight, tap into your inner party ghoul and pull together a costume fête that will have your guests howling for more. The trick is creating ambience that screams spooky-chic, not "class party." Here are some ways to scare up the right vibe.

DECORATING

Mix stylish investment pieces with dollar-store finds to give your party a grown-up feel. Go monochromatic for best effect: black and shades thereof are ideal. While the pickings are probably slim by now, you may still find some great finds at stores such as Pottery Barn, Indigo and Home Sense. Look for arty metal spider tea light holders, spider web votive holders and black hurricane lanterns. Local party stores often have more creative decorations such as black glitter-encrusted trees, metal haunted-house ornaments and Mexican Day-of-the-Dead-style skeletons.

On the cheaper side of things, keep spider web filament to your home's exterior; indoors it channels a kids' party vibe. Instead, scatter plastic creepy crawlies on your buffet spread, and serve treats in minimalist black plastic Jack-o'-lantern buckets.

Add some flair with a sexy floral arrangement. Dee Gibson, creative director of Toronto's Catering With Style suggests hollowing out a small pumpkin, spray painting it black and using it as a vase for spooky blooms such as blood-red or chocolate-hued dahlias, orchids and calla lilies.

Most importantly, load up on the wax. "Turn off your house lights and mass votive candles in groups on your sideboard or mantel," says Gibson. "The house will glow from the street and feel haunted."

DRINKS

"Ideally you want your theme to carry through to every element of the event," says Centner. His suggestions include these two festive cocktails:

Floating Eyeball Spritzer

What you need

5 oz. sparkling wine or Champagne

1 oz. lychee liqueur

What you do

Mix, and garnish with a full lychee, peeled and stuffed with a black olive and a tiny square of red pepper inside the olive so it looks like an eyeball.

Swamp Goo

What you need

1 oz. vodka

0.5 oz. Asian pear liqueur

3 oz. soda water

what you do

Mix and serve in a martini glass with a black licorice straw.

Catering With Style's Gibson says you can save effort while staying on theme with an easy punch-bowl cocktail like Black Widow (which pairs black Sambuca with cola and vodka), garnishing each glass with a licorice stick, a nice touch for your non-alcoholic bevies as well.

FOOD

Skip the themed tablecloth in favour of black PVC, suggests Gibson. It's sleek — and easy to clean. Or consider using inexpensive rayon in a steely grey. "Use one motif like spiders, skeletons or witches, and use multiples of the same item on the table for a more sophisticated look than a mish-mash of different Halloween novelty items," says Gibson.

Follow this rule for food, Centner notes: "Keep it simple or hire someone else to come in and make it for you." If you are a diehard DIYer, prep what you can in advance and include some room-temperature foods in the mix. "The more time you spend in the kitchen, the less time you have with your guests," he says.

Some easy suggestions he offers are Smashed Bug Sandwiches (minis featuring tomatoes and black olive tapenade), Bone Marrow (spiced peanut-butter sandwich rolls), and French Fried Green Eyeballs (potato balls tossed with relish). If you've got an open kitchen, consider whipping up some Pressed Zombie Skin with White Flakes: crepes with white chocolate shavings, while your coven hangs out with you.

TUNES

Finally, consider the music. Robert Barton, a Vancouver-based film set dresser and Halloween event planner says you should save the over-the-top theme music for kids' parties or for the entrance of your home only. "Halloween songs like Monster Mash can get cheesy. And if you have a conversation area, you don't want screams or rattling chains in the background," he says.

Flare magazine features director Elio Iannacci, of Toronto, agrees: "Try something atmospheric like darker electronica. Goldfrapp, Ladytron, Dragonette and Siouxsie Sioux aren't cookie-cutter pop, but their music is listenable and chic. Not only are they fashionable, they're playful, and not bubblegum," he says.

Special to The Globe and Mail