Halloween fun

As you can imagine, Halloween is my favorite holiday. I'll bet that it is a favorite of yours too! I'm just wondering if anywone has any party ideas to make this a truly special day. Maybe you could just pass along experiences from past Halloween celebrations or share your inspiration.
My friends are planning a victorian themed party this year, so anything along those lines would be great. We have a lot of tentative plans, but nothing set in stone. We are toying with the idea or a murder mystery and or/ seance.
Any suggestions? There will be kids there, so it can't be too scary.