Vampires? Zombies? Werewolves? It's either the end of the world as we know it, or it's Halloween, and nothing adds to the frightening thrill of Halloween like lots and lots of sticky, realistic blood! There are as many ways to concoct it as there are to ooze it, ranging from edible blood made from everyday ingredients, to the chillingly realistic blood used in movies. Whatever your preference, here's how to put it together.
Edit Steps
Realistic Syrup Blood (edible)
This mix can get quite sticky and may stain clothes but is easily removed from skin with baby wipes or warm water. It tastes sweet, and looks real—–especially in front of a still camera.
You will need:
Water
Corn syrup (golden syrup)
Red, blue, and green food coloring
Flour, cornstarch, chocolate syrup, or maple syrup.
Make the basic mix. Combine one part water with three parts corn syrup (you can use golden syrup in the UK/Australia/New Zealand).
Add drops red food coloring gradually and mix gently by stirring.
Continue adding drops until the shade resembles that of real blood (always err on the side of adding less, as it's easier to add more).
Add a small amount of blue or green food coloring to achieve a more realistic shade. (Arterial blood is bright red, while venous blood is a dark maroon).
Add a thickener. Suitable thickeners include:
Dry thickener. Add sifted flour or corn starch to your mixture, and whisk or stir it gently until smooth.
If small lumps form, wait about a minute and the lumps will float to the top where you can remove them easily. Note: you can also use glycerine instead.
Wet thickener. Stir in thick chocolate syrup until the desired consistency (and optimal flavor) is reached.
Chocolate syrup adds a realistic deep maroon "venous" color to the blood.
You can also use pancake syrup to add a brown tone and make the blood a bit thicker and stickier. Don't use too much!
Adjust your mix. If it is too pink or orange, add red.
Use blue cautiously Only add blue when you have at least put 3 teaspoons in and 1 drop of blue and you're confident it is still not dark enough and only add blue slowly
If it seems to be too purple, you'll have to start again––unfortunately, you cannot fix it just by adding more red.
If the mix is too transparent, add a little flour.
Let the mixture sit for ten minutes in a warm environment. This will give it some time to thicken and coagulate. And then you can freak people out with the fake blood—–it's a lot of fun!
Note: This recipe yields blood that is very sticky initially. It is good for uses that involve children and possible ingestion, as it's not toxic.
Simple Red Blood (edible)
Get some red food coloring.
Add some water if you want a lot.
Splatter it all over desired area.
Enjoy!
Chocolate blood (edible)
This mixture looks great, smells great, and tastes like chocolate!
You will need:
Corn syrup (or golden syrup)
Red food coloring or cherry Kool Aid powder
Powdered chocolate
Flour or corn starch (optional).
Make the basic mix. Combine light corn syrup with red food dye until you get a shade that closely resembles real blood. You can also use cherry Kool Aid powder instead of red food dye for a yummy chocolate cherry flavor.
Add chocolate. Add a small amount of cocoa powder to the syrup mixture to darken the shade and turn the fake blood opaque, just like real blood.
Perfect the consistency. Either thin the blood by slowly adding water, or thicken it with a couple pinches of flour or cornstarch whisked in gently.
Gelatinous blood (edible)
Use this version of fake blood for large wounds; it will simulate clotting. Splatter it on your walls for a Dexter season premiere party.
You will need:
Three or four bottles of glycerin
Strawberry jelly or red Jell-O
Powdered gelatin
Red, green, and blue food coloring.
Warm up the blood. Microwave three or four bottles of glycerin to warm it up.
Add the gore. Add one tablespoon of strawberry jelly or Jell-O (more, if you're feeling messy), and mix thoroughly.
Add 1/5 of a packet of gelatin.
Add red food coloring. You can add a drop or two of blue or green food coloring for a darker, more realistic blood.
Stir until it's thoroughly mixed. It's ready to use now. Test a small patch of wall if you're planning on splattering it though––it might stain permanently.
Peanut butter blood (edible)
Provided you're not allergic to peanuts, this method is ideal to use in and around the mouth, or on items that may go into the mouth. It should taste much like the peanut butter center of your standard candy peanut butter cup (especially if you add chocolate).
You will need:
Creamy peanut butter
Corn syrup (golden syrup)
Red, blue, and green food coloring
Chocolate sauce (optional)
Corn starch (optional).
Put an appropriate amount of peanut butter in a medium bowl. Creamy peanut butter will give you the best results. Chunky peanut butter will produce a coagulated look, but it's harder to work with.
Make it thick. Slowly mix in corn syrup until the desired consistency is reached. As the mixture ages, it will thicken a bit, providing more realism.
Make it bloody. Slowly add single drops of red food coloring until the mixture is dark red; the darker the better––it will look more like real, drying blood. Adding a little blue or green food coloring will make it even more realistic.
You can add a little bit of chocolate sauce, chocolate fudge, or chocolate powder for a darker color.
If you want a thicker mixture, slowly add corn starch (in very small amounts to ensure even mixing). The solution should thicken in a few minutes.
Note: This mixture may stain clothing, so be sure you don't want to use the clothes for normal wear again.
Congealed barbecue sauce blood (edible)
This recipe is good for inside of fake wounds and places where you want blood to stay without running. You can also use the leftovers for barbecued chicken the next day!
You will need:
Barbecue sauce
Molasses
Chocolate powder.
Make the mix. Pour a bottle of barbecue sauce into a bowl, and add 2 tablespoons of molasses.
Add chocolate. Slowly stir in the sifted chocolate powder until mixture is desired darkness.
Tomato blood (edible)
You will need:
Ketchup
Water
Red food coloring
Corn syrup.
Make the mix. Put three or four tablespoons of ketchup or tomato sauce into a bowl.
Add 3/4 (200ml) of water. Mix in slowly until you reach the desired consistency.
Add a few drops of red food coloring.
Add a teaspoon of corn syrup.
Mix together well, and spoon onto desired area.
Soy sauce blood splatter (edible)
This will deliver a squirt of arterial blood—it stains, so use wisely!
You will need:
Soy sauce
Red food coloring
Plastic tubing, to fit:
Plastic syringe
Push pin.
Make the splatter gun. Take a piece of small plastic tubing about the size of a vein or an artery, and force it onto the end of a syringe. Use tape or glue to make this into an airtight seal.
Make the blood. Pour some soy sauce into a cup or bowl and add the red food dye. Add enough to make the blood dark red.
Load the syringe. Put the end of the tubing in the cup or bowl and pull back the plunge to suck up the blood.
Stop the end. Use a push pin to clog the end of the tube. Make sure it's well clogged.
Prep yourself. Tape the loaded syringe under your costume and push on the plunger to release a spray of blood.
Kool Aid blood (eating not recommended)
You will need:
4-6 packs of cherry Kool Aid
1 egg.
Make the mix.
Put the Kool-Aid into a glass.
Add a teaspoon of egg whites.
Stir it up. Apply as required. It is not recommended that you eat this blood, as the raw egg white may contain bacteria.
Beetroot blood (edible)
This method will always stain and can be very difficult to remove from clothes! However, it's fine if you don't plan on wearing those clothes again. Wear protective gear, such as an apron, when making.
You will need:
Large jar of cut beetroot
Corn starch.
Prep the beet juice. Drain the beetroot, and put the liquid in a saucepan.
Set aside beetroots to eat later.
Make a paste. Mix about 2 tablespoons of corn starch with cold water until you have a thick mixture.
Bring juice to boil. Add the cornstarch paste to the boiling juice.
Continue to cook for about 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and cool. The mixture is ready to use when cooled down—–it will thicken when cool.
If it's not thick enough for your purpose, bring back to boil and add more cornstarch.
Movie blood for splatter and smear (inedible)
This one is messy! Unlike the non-toxic, edible blood, this one won't be sticky. When dribbled from about five feet, this blood will create nice "splatter" patterns, like real blood does. On skin it will flow easily and smear like the real deal. But, be careful how you use it––it can easily get everywhere.
You will need:
Hair gel (alcohol-free, water-soluble)
Motor or radiator lubricant (water-soluble)
Red food coloring
Chocolate syrup
Hand sanitizer.
Make the mix. Pour about three quarters as much alcohol-free, water-soluble hair gel as the amount of blood you want.
Add water-soluble motor or radiator lubricant, any brand. This should be semi-opaque and slightly thicker than water. Start off with a very small amount and mix with the gel until it turns watery.
Add color. Mix in about half as much red food coloring as there is liquid. Preferably, buy a "super strength" type at a bulk foods store to save money, and skip the cheap, 1 oz (29.5ml) bottles; they look too pink.
Thicken it up. Add small amounts of chocolate syrup to make the blood browner, and improve the thickness. It shouldn't be too much like water, but still very dribble-like.
Add small amounts of hand sanitizer if you're having trouble with a nice, drippy consistency. Be warned, this easily weakens the mixture.
Check the mix. The final mix should be a little bit thicker than water, deep brownish-red, and about the opacity of milk.
Artist supply blood (inedible)
This one is simple and easy—just don't eat it.
You will need:
Elmer's Squeeze Paint Tubes.
Mix the color. Choose the colors in orange and pink (they don't come with red) and mix the Elmer's paint to make the color you want.
Note: this paint is usually very runny.
Squeeze paint onto the desired area.
Maple syrup blood (edible)
You will need:
Maple syrup
Blue Gatorade
Red and green food coloring.
Make the mix. Put maple syrup in a bowl and add one drop of green food coloring.
Add bloody redness. Add the red food coloring and add a little blue Gatorade until the mixture is a semi-dark reddish brown (spoon up a little and let it fall back into the bowl to check color and consistency.
Enjoy your fake blood!
Finished.
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Edit Tips
Real human blood is thick and dark. Fake blood that looks thin and transparent will look, well, fake. But don't go overboard on the syrup; real blood isn't that sticky either. Instead, condensed milk can help make the mixture less transparent.
When using fake blood for filming, make sure the blood is even darker than real blood. Otherwise it'll look fake.
If the blood is going to be applied on the face, or on a child, use the non-toxic version. Save the movie blood for sets or outside use.
For vampires and zombies, take a big swig of edible blood and hold it in your mouth. Slowly let the mixture ooze out of your mouth (at the corners for vampires, all over for zombies). Tilt your head back to let it run down the front of your neck, or just let it drip straight onto your shirt or chest. Wait five minutes before touching "blood" trails.
When using the inedible movie blood, make potential stains on clothing less permanent by adding a good dose of liquid Dawn (or similar) dish washing detergent. Adjust other ingredients to balance it out.
Using a toothpick or the back of a pen is great for applying the blood to specific locations (such as in wounds).
Although sometimes too runny, Kool Aid blood is always reliable. Just get the Kool Aid packet of sugar and add minimal water. Very realistic if you can get just the right amount of water.
Although sometimes a little bit sweet smelling, you can squirt mio onto undead limbs.
Edit Warnings
Fake blood may also stain concrete, so be careful!
Do not use the peanut butter blood on Halloween night when out trick-or-treating. Use it only when you're at a party and you are 100 percent positive that no one at the party is allergic to peanuts. Some people are highly allergic to nuts and nut products, particularly peanut products.
All variations may stain clothes permanently. The corn syrup blood will likely stain white or light-colored clothes, but usually washes out of denim and dark clothes.
Edible fake blood should be used immediately or refrigerated. You want to look like you're wounded or dead, but you probably don't want to smell like you're dead (or taste rotten fake blood). The corn syrup recipe is an exception to this.
You can use the "movie blood" for wounds and gashes, but it often ends up on your hands or face. It's better to use the non-toxic, edible versions for clothes or sets only and use the edible blood for makeup effects.
For the "art supply blood" step, you may not want to go overboard with squeezing the paint. It may drip off and make a mess, or drip onto clothing, causing a stain.
Edit Related wikiHows
How to Make Blood Capsules
How to Thin Blood
How to Look Like a Zombie
How to Make Fake Guts for a Halloween Dummy
How to Apply Corpsepaint
How to Make Fake Rings Under Your Eyes
How to Make Fake Eyes
How to Thicken Fake Blood
Edit Sources and Citations
http://www.exposure.co.uk/eejit/blood/blood.html Eejit's Guide to Blood - research source for jelly blood recipe.
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