Leave the trick-or-treating to the kids. We adults? We’ll be inside celebrating Halloween like the “mature,” face-painted and costumed folks we are. Even if you’ll be shepherding little ones from door to door on the 31st, use the days leading up to it to scare up some adults-only fun that’s sure to create a stir.

One look at this steaming cauldron of Witch’s Brew gives us the creeps, but a sip of the lime-pineapple swig will have us in the spooky spirit (and so will the two cups of vodka in it). A block of dry ice hidden away gives the punch that eerie, bewitched effect.

Once the Witch’s Brew is kaput, shake up another adults-only beverage that will keep the party going strong. Food Network Magazine’s riff on the dark and stormy cocktail, the Dark and Spooky, gets a dose of Halloween fright with a jet-black rim and floating gummy spider.

It’s not a real brain, but it sure looks like one. This frighteningly real-looking edible sushi brain is dinner and a Halloween party trick all in one. Learn how to make it at home with an avocado as the core.

Break out your spooky cookie cutters to make an elegantly eerie appetizer for your Halloween party: toasty Ghostinis with Bloody Murder Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade. Blend sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives and capers together for a tapenade that’s ready as quickly as the bread toasts.

Kids may be down to eat candy and candy alone on Halloween, but we grownups require some real food to get use through the last day of October. Cook up Spicy Juicy Lucy-fer Sliders to sustain your party guests.

Even big kids love a good gift bag. Send guests off with Giada De Laurentiis’ totally purr-fect Black Cat Pops, made with a figgy, nutty core dunked in dark chocolate.

Get even more ways to celebrate the spookiest day of the year right here.