A few early scares gave way to plenty of possession and finally a bloodbath as Rangers sliced and diced Motherwell to move four points clear at the top of the Premiership with a 6-1 win.
An early opener from Bevis Mugabi had the visitors spooked but James Tavernier terrorised the Steelmen with a goal and assist before the break while Fashion Sakala bagged a brace.
A Halloween horror show for Motherwell was confirmed when Stephen O'Donnell was shown a second yellow card with 20 minutes to play and a fine strike from Glen Kamara was followed up by Sakala's hat-trick goal.
With Celtic held by Livingston on Saturday the reigning champions solidify their grip on top spot, sending out a warning to the rest of the Premiership in the process.
Steven Gerrard made four changes from the side that drew with Aberdeen, with Fashion Sakala coming in for Kemar Roofe up-front and Allan McGregor returning in goal.
Joe Aribo was guilty of spurning a huge chance after five minutes, heading wide at the back post with the goal gaping, but his blushes were spared by the assistant referee's flag.
Gerrard had spoken before kick-off about Sakala being introduced to unsettle Motherwell with his pace, and Stephen O'Donnell was booked early on for hauling back the forward.
It was the hosts who took the lead though as Rangers once again conceded the first goal.
A previously rock solid defence has been porous this season and it was a simple set piece which proved their undoing here.
The children of Elm Street can tell you about the dangers of falling asleep at crucial moments but it didn't take Freddy Krueger to kill Rangers on the Motherwell corner.
Sondre Johansen was left totally unmarked and while his downward header was well saved by McGregor the veteran couldn't hold it and Mugabi was on hand to fire home from a tight angle.
Any expected onslaught took its time to get going, with a low Aribo shot the only real save of note for Liam Kelly in the first half hour despite plenty of Rangers pressure.
Indeed Motherwell could have doubled their lead had Watt connected more cleanly with a low ball from Jordan Roberts, rather than diverting well wide under pressure from James Tavernier.
Morelos looked to take things into his own hands with a powerful strike from range, but it was close enough to Kelly for the Motherwell goalkeeper to tip it comfortably over.
It was going to take something special and Tavernier, celebrating his 30th birthday came up with it.
A deep cross from Bassey found the captain at the far post and he met with with a stunning sidefoot volley that found the far corner.
Like Michael Myers the right-back was running riot on Halloween, and he twisted the knife just minutes later.
This time Tavernier was the provider as he was allowed too much time to line up a cross and duly picked out Sakala.
The striker met it well from close range to head home and turn the match on its head.
The visitors came out on the front foot in the second half, with Morelos seeing a goal-bound shot blocked and Tavernier whipping in dangerous ball after dangerous ball.
A previously roaring Fir Park had become a quiet place as the home fans watched things unfold, with the soundtrack dominated by a drummer in the Rangers end.
And it was game over just after the hour mark when Sakala added his second of the game.
Using an overlapping run by Bassey to buy himself room to cut inside the Zambian striker fired a right-footed shot which took a nick off Sean Goss and settled in the back of the net.
Motherwell boss Graham Alexander sent on Kevin van Veen to try and rescue the situation but an early incident came back to haunt his side.
Bassey surged past O'Donnell down the flank and the Scotland international was late with his challenge. Having been booked for his foul on Sakala there was only one outcome and the red card duly arrived.
The nightmare only got deeper for Motherwell as Tavernier bagged a second assist of the game.
A short corner routine saw the Englishman work the ball to Glen Kamara, whose rasping shot from range made it 4-1.
Gerrard took the chance to give some of his players a rest, as every pass was greeted with a cheer from the away support.
A lovely ball from Steven Davis deserved special treatment though as the veteran picked out Sakala with a lovely dinked ball and the striker bundled home his third.
It could have been six in stoppage time but Kelly pulled out a stunning save to deny Scott Wright.
The reprieve didn't last long though as, from the resulting corner, Tavernier's cross was headed on an substitute Kemar Roofe tapped home from close range.
A Halloween horror show for Motherwell, and a Rangers performance to send shivers down the spine of the rest of the league.
3 talking points
Terrific Tavernier
There have been complaints about the lack of game time for Nathan Patterson this season, but with his skipper in this kind of form Steven Gerrard just can't leave out Tavernier.
The right-back's goal to open the scoring was a real stunner as he found the far corner with a brilliantly controlled volley.
Tavernier set up the second and fourth, and could have had further assists as he delivered from the right with consistent quality.
That's three goals and seven assists in 10 games for the birthday boy, who continues to perform at the highest level.
Sakala may have got the hat-trick, but it was Tavernier who orchestrated the rout.
Misfiring Motherwell
The hosts were good value for around 20 minutes here but lost their way badly.
Even before that one-two punch before half-time they were affording Rangers too much time to play, with Tony Watt an isolated figure up-front.
As they looked to get back into it in the second half the passing was too often wayward, the movement not intuitive.
Graham Alexander won't have been marking this down as three points, but the Motherwell manager may well feel aggrieved at how his side surrendered the initiative.
O'Donnell's red card felt like it was coming as soon as he picked up that early booking, but the game was already long gone.
Statement of intent
There's been no shortage of criticism for Rangers following their draw with Aberdeen, and you'd have been forgiven for forgetting they went into the weekend top of the league.
Gerrard has been among those calling for his stars to do better, and there's sure to be plenty of analysis at Auchenhowie of the sloppy goal his side conceded.
The way Rangers reacted was a real statement of intent though, overwhelming Motherwell with arguably their best performance since last season.
With a four point lead at the top, if they can maintain this form it will be a nightmare before Christmas for any potential title rivals.
