How-To Halloween: Fake Blood

For many of us, Halloween is an excuse to get gory! Unfortunately, a lot of modern-day fake blood tubes that you can buy in stores aren’t friendly for sensitive skin, and for those who are afflicted with the curse of allergies, it can be difficult to find a fake blood that works without breaking you out in a rash. There’s a simple answer to it all though: make your own! By doing so, you can control what goes in and still create an awesomely gruesome costume. This recipe comes with an added bonus, the fake blood is sweet and edible, unlike that of which you will find on the high street.

You Will Need:

• Water (300ml will make roughly 900ml of fake blood)
• Golden syrup (600ml will make roughly 900ml of fake blood)
• Red food colouring (a few drops should do)
• Coagulant (you can use chocolate syrup or cornstarch)

Method:

1. To start, you’ll be making the base for the blood. You can do this by mixing together the golden syrup and the water in a small bowl. A good benchmark is roughly 100ml of water for every 200ml of golden syrup. Mix together thoroughly until both ingredients have bonded together. You should end up with a slightly sticky, but still runny liquid.
2. Slowly start adding in drops of red food colouring, stirring constantly. How much you add is entirely up to you; less will create a pinker colour, whereas adding more red will create a dark maroon colour. Don’t worry about getting it perfect at this stage, you can add more food colouring in later.
3. Add your thickener. If you are using chocolate syrup, stir this in slowly, bit by bit, until you are happy with the viscosity of your mixture. For cornstarch, slowly add half-teaspoonfuls until it has reached the viscosity you wish it to be.
4. At this stage, you may want to touch up the colour. If you are unhappy with the colour, add more red until the colour reaches what you want it to be.
5. Leave to sit for ten minutes, as this will allow the mixture to thicken. Once the mixture is thick enough, slap it on!

Tips:

• For deep wounds, you’ll want thicker blood. If you’ve got a gnarly arm injury that you want to decorate with fake blood, ensure that you add a lot of your coagulant, as this will thicken the blood!
• Conversely, if you’re looking for runny fake blood then add less of your coagulant. An easy way to make realistic blood drops on your face is to add a small amount onto the area you wish it to drip from and just allow it to run.
• Be careful when using this fake blood, as it stains easily! Don’t wear clothes that you expect to wear again and cover up any surfaces when making and applying. When removing from your skin, use lots of warm, soapy water.

Special thanks to losing control. and Audrey T for editing!