Be it Hallowe’en or a youtuber’s B horror movie, realistic blood is a must. Nothing wrecks a good costume or film experience like bright red ketchup, red paint, or a simple corn-syrup-and-food-coloring mixture.
It’s got to be dark and somewhat thick to look convincing, and since it’s going to contact people’s clothes and bodies for an extended period of time, it can’t be toxic. For best results, make edible, or at least non-toxic blood – it’s gross but safe. Here are three recipes for homemade blood that won’t make you sick, but might make an onlooker feel a little queasy.
1) Peanut-Buttery Blood
You need: a jar of smooth peanut butter, corn syrup, red food coloring, chocolate sauce, corn starch.
What to do: add the corn syrup to the peanut butter slowly, mixing continually, until you have your desired texture. The food coloring should go in slowly too, to ensure that you won’t over-brighten the blood. The chocolate adds some realistic darkness, and the corn starch – added gradually, in small amounts – promises more thickness. This way of making fake blood has a particularly delicious result.
2) Corn Syrup Blood
You need: one part water to three parts red food coloring, a bit of blue food coloring, and a choice of flour, corn starch, or chocolate syrup.
What to do: mix the water and corn syrup first, then add the red food coloring. If you want thicker blood, use the corn starch or flour, and if you want a runnier blood, use the chocolate syrup. The chocolate and blue coloring should be added sparingly until you achieve the dark, realistic bloody color you’re looking for.
3) Clotty Blood
You need: a few bottles of glycerin, a quarter of a pack of gelatin, red food coloring, and some strawberry jelly.
What to do: microwave the glycerin until it’s hot, but not boiling. Mix it up with the jelly. Add the gelatin, then the food coloring. Stir it all up until it’s mixed thoroughly.
An easy way to make your ingredients into mixtures is with the use of a plastic bottle – just add the ingredients and shake it up – just not too roughly, unless you want a lot of bubbles in the glop.
Edible blood looks realistic, and can be used around or in the mouth, for dripping vampire teeth and sated zombie faces. At a Hallowe’en party, keep a bottle of the blood concealed on you, and take small mouthfuls periodically – then let it leak from your mouth and down your face for a dramatic-looking, and somewhat puzzling, addition to your scary costume.
