Halloween is fast approaching, and it only means one thing -- it's that time of the year when every one of your friends is going to try and come up with a new way to be a jerk to you to scare you. But not if you get to them first!

Tired of letting your friends get away with it? Looking for a neat and simple way to have your revenge without having to spend lots of money and/or time on a prank? Look no further. We've got what you need, and we're ready to share our Halloween wisdom with you.

Scare Them With a Popup Video

Imagine, you're sitting in your room on a quiet afternoon/evening. You have some spare time in between studying/working/doing some chores around the house, and you go to check your Facebook. You quickly skim through the new messages and stumble on something that catches your attention -- a friend who forwarded you a link accompanied by a simple comment "this is a MUST watch".

Chances are, you forget everything else and opt for a few minutes of free entertainment. Maybe you even click to watch the video without even thinking about it.

The video starts playing. You're watching a quiet dark room, maybe a bedroom, with some random objects like clothes laying around, a bed, and a rocking chair. Nothing disturbs this silence except a small noise that you can't quite make out, so you turn up the sound on your speakers. Nothing's happening, and you begin feeling bored thinking you've just wasted a few minutes of your life.

Nothing's happening, and you begin feeling bored thinking you've just wasted a few minutes of your life. That's exactly when you notice the chair starting to rock, you see something swift moving forward and ARGH! A scary ghost-looking face that came out of nowhere made you jump in your seat. Now you'll never watch another video your friend recommends to you again.

Or maybe you're so used to the popup screamer videos phenomena, you were ready to see what was coming, and even had the light in your room dimmed and the headphones on. Whether you want to scare the daylights out of your friends or give them a good laugh (or both), send them a screamer video to get them into the Halloween spirit.

Create a Screamer Video Yourself

They say the best gifts are the ones you make with your own hands. Luckily, you can create your own scary popup movie in 5 easy steps.

1. Find the Right Picture to Use as a Popup

This might be the most important bit. Find the image that will scare the pants off the viewer. Look for a clear head shot from a famous horror movie, any kind of a zombie's face, or maybe even use your own face from a last year's Halloween picture. Use a picture with a dark background for a better popup effect.

2. Find a Short Lead-In Video

Sadly, today you won't properly scare anyone with a dark bedroom and a rocking chair. Remember, screamers have been around for some years now, so you'll have to be creative to get your "victim" to concentrate. Some good options would be optical illusion videos, spot the difference, eye tests, even movie trailers. Anything you can think of that will get your friend close to the screen.

3. Use the Right Audio

Find the screaming or roaring sound that you'll use to make them jump in their seat. It's best to keep the rest of the video's audio relatively or completely quiet. Don't go for a build-up effect, it will kill your grand finale.

4. Put It All Together

The lead-in video goes first to get the viewer's concentration, then insert the scary pop up with the scream anywhere between 30 seconds and one minute. Finalize and put it up online. Time to send that special friend a link!

5. Be Creative

As we mentioned before, these have been out for a while now, and many know what to expect from this kind of video. Therefore, don't ask the viewer to turn up the sound, wear headphones, or get close to the screen -- choose the right video and make them do it instead, the fewer hints the better.

Best Screamer Popups

Don't have the energy or inspiration for making screamer videos of your own? No worries. Thankfully, there are plenty to choose from out there. Here are some of the best classic scary popups that we've found online.

Creepy Car Commercial

A perfect example of a quality screamer. There's a background story in the beginning that makes the viewer concentrate on reading first, and paying attention to detail later. There's a peaceful scenery that will subconsciously make you relax a little. And just when you do... well, watch it and find out how this one ends.

Man in the Mirror

Our next pick is Man in the Mirror. Let's face it, mirrors are creepy. After all, they're used in so many horror movies for a reason. That shouldn't stop you from watching this masterpiece. This screamer is a good example of a video in which there isn't much of an intrigue. But although you know to expect something, the video still makes you jump.

If This Doesn't Make You Jump, Nothing Will

Pretty self-explanatory. Perfect for that friend with ophidiophobia. Once again, you know something IS coming, but you just can't stop watching it until it's too late.

Follow the Red Dot Series

Follow the Red Dot was one of the first scare popups that went viral, thanks to its clever disguise. The viewer is lured into the maze with a red dot moving forward. You're eager to find out what's in the end of the maze, and that's how they keep your concentration on a maximum level.

The video got so popular, it was remade and improved numerous times by the fans. Watch Follow The Red Dot Vol. 3 to see what it's all about.

Creepy Non-Screamer to Make Them Scream

In light of recent remake of Stephen King's It being released, we've decided to include one more creepy video to this list. It's a 1960s commercial of a breakfast cereal, but with a bit of a nightmare feel in the center of it: a creepy It-style clown.

This video doesn't have any unnatural popups or surprising screams, but we can guarantee that you won't forget that clown's face very easily.

What Do You Do After the Fright?

If you decide to send your friends a screamer, whether your own one or one from the internet, be warned that it might not end all jolly. You should probably have a backup strategy in case some of your friends get scared by your popup and decide to not talk to you ever again.

We recommend showing up on their doorstep with some pizza and a list of scary video content that will make both of you jump and scream in terror.