a devilishly good time

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I love a good theme party. I attended one recently at the premiere of True Blood, HBO’s new vampire-themed, Southern Gothic series.

This soulless soiree (I'm referring to the vampires, not the celebrities) can easily be adapted into a pretty awesome Halloween bash with a vampire/monster slant. Here’s what I saw:

• Décor was red, red, red: red lights, red linens, red chairs, red floor.

• Plastic devil heads on tables added a nice creepy touch, as did a fake graveyard, lanterns and tarantula magnets.

• There were plenty of props for guests — including necklaces of plastic garlic, devil masks, plastic fangs and tins of mints labeled with stickers proclaiming: “Suck on this.”

• “Tru Blood” was the drink of the night, made with rum, pineapple juice and cranberry juice and served in glass bottles with red straws.

• Soul food made up the menu, such as ribs, gumbo and cornbread pudding. And for dessert? Red velvet cake, naturally.