What better way to stay in the Halloween spirit than by turning your buffet table into a party that can almost it turns off your appetites instead of turning them on. Creating a “corpse buffet” will allow them to enjoy what you have prepared and leave a lasting impression when it comes to your party decorating skills. There are many ways to do this. Let’s start with the basic supplies and then move on to the food possibilities.

Supplies:

• 6 foot long table
• Black tablecloth (8 feet or larger)
• Battery Operated Candles and / or Table Lights (Safety First! Battery Operated Please)
• Various sizes of serving plates
• Wig (for the “head” area – optional)
• Old man dress shirt
• Pair of old pants
• Various foods (see below)

The art of creating a corpse buffet lies in the strategic location of the corresponding foods. The goal is to create a delicious buffet of food that resembles a corpse, and additional servings of the creations are placed in front of the body for easy serving. You can start with body accessories: a wig, a large shirt, and pants. The wig is easy, that’s the head. When it comes to the shirt, it should only be buttoned in the “neck” area and covered with the open tablecloth, as an additional decoration (the sleeves are placed on the table). The pants are the same … wear an old pair, leave the button and zipper open, and set a serving plate of whatever you are using for the bowel / stomach section. However, for trouser legs, cut each leg at the center front, just below the crotch, stopping before the hem. Fold and place serving bowls and plates inside. It helps to shred your clothes a bit for an added effect. There are endless ways to vary the buffet and the above is just one example to get your creativity flowing.

When it comes to food, try these options by size:

Head – Eyes, bloody ears and brain matter are the key here. First, however, attach an appropriately sized bowl to a wig. This will be your head. Fill with brain stuff (whether it’s leafy salad, pasta salad, or a special brain snack like a cheese ball made from a “brain mold”) and garnish with your choice of edible eyeball creations. It may be a good idea to make the head area a snack section, so that the actual head has a selection, allowing you to place two additional snacks such as a bowl of Eyeballs (jelly eyeballs, eyeballs of stuffed eggs, etc.) or a platter of Bloody Ears (shrimp “ears” and cocktail sauce).

Neck / Shoulders – There’s not much to do here. If you’re wearing the shirt, you may want to button it over a box and use this area for lighting effects and decorations … like a battery operated flickering candle with some spiders and cobwebs.

Ribs / Chest – Place a serving plate (crock pot, casserole, or skillet) in the rib area and fill with boneless barbecue rib meat. Stack the bone-in ribs on another serving plate at an angle in front of the boneless rib meat to create the body “ribs.” If you prefer, you can get some fake bones from a party supply or order some bones from a butcher that you can simply place as decoration, keeping the center meat on a hot plate.

Stomach / intestines – Inside the torso of the pants, place your crock pot or serving plate filled with things like spaghetti (or any pasta of your choice), bratwurst, or any large sausage … it can really be filled with anything you think intestines or the stomach seems. You can choose to just fill it with sweet and sour chicken (the red sauce is pretty grotesque), or even some fried chicken gizzards with a bit of bloody sauce (Marinara or Red Ranch Dip)

Hands – The actual arms will be under some serving plates, silverware or napkins, but the sleeve cuff can be adjusted to border the bowl or platter where the appetizer “fingers” can be served. There are many types of finger recipes, from shrimp to crackers. It will be your choice here. Make sure to do a display hand and have the actual items in separate bowls. You can even create a hand out of dead finger appetizers and buffalo wings, using the drummette as a puffy, rotten thumb (a light application of BBQ sauce with a little red food coloring works great for this effect).

Legacy– This is the area where you can stuff your pants legs with Breadstick Bones, Tinted Kneecaps, or make them bloody style with some marinara sauce by hand.

Feet – You can create some toes the same way you do, or you can simply reserve this section for condiments and silverware, or other additional dishes and desserts you want to put on the table. Just decorate it with old boots or shoes (wash first!). Slide boots and shoes against the far side of the table (for example, against the wall) and cover them with fake cobwebs, insects, worms, spiders, etc.

All that remains is to set the table. Lay the tablecloth on the table, then arrange the food according to their respective body parts and clothes. Finish off by placing lights and faux spider webs to create the appropriate spooky effect. Since all party sizes are different, use your imagination to organize accessories and make your dead body the life of the party.