Transform your ordinary home into a haunted house filled with cobwebs, blood and scream worthy sights. Your house will be the talk of the neighborhood as brave and eager kids align the entire block awaiting entrance.
With much anticipation building and the fateful day of Halloween approaching, it’s time to start planning!
Step 1: Creating a Path
Consider your house layout and what parts you want to include in the haunted house. Draw it out or mark the areas with tape. Consider areas with open space and without breakables or fragile items. So, probably not the room where you keep your finest china dishes.
Create this like a maze. You can do a confusing maze with dead ends so guests get lost and have to find their way out. One easy way to make it is by stacking boxes and covering them with black cloth so they look like walls. Fill the maze with creepy decorations of your choosing.
Step 2: The Theme
Do you want a house that will send chills down someone’s spine or that will make them laugh? Some ideas are Dracula’s mansion, Victor Frankenstein's science lab, an Amityville Horror-style house with evil spirits lurking the grounds or a haunted insane asylum.
Dracula’s mansion should feature blood, of course, a few caskets and fangs everywhere.
Victor Frankenstein’s lab might have chemical positions, lab equipment and of course, Frankenstein. Recruit a tall friend for that role!
Amityville Horror house should have sinister things going on. Screams from all corners of the house at different times. Creepy dolls everywhere. Plates being safely thrown out as if it is from a ghost. A rocking chair moving on it’s own, and more.
An insane asylum should obviously have a few deranged patients lurking around the halls. Some flickering bright erie lights work great as well. A few blood splatters here and there and doctors… Being tortured.
Step 3: Actors
Along with the decor comes actors. Recruit friends or family members to replicate the horrific creatures or beings you want in your Haunted House. They should be skilled in jump-scares so that they can pop out at any time to induce fear and shock in visitors.
Step 4: Story Set-Up
Every group of guests should be greeted into the haunted house with a warning or story that lets them know what they can expect. Create a story for an even better haunted house effect and it will make it easier when planning out the different areas of the house.
All stories have a build-up or anticipation of some sort. Design your house in the same fashion. Assign characters roles according to the plot.
Step 5: Special Effects
Confuse visitors with mirrors, blacklights, smoke, sound effects and more. Friends and helpers can assist with this. You will need random screams, bangs on doors and monster-like noise effects. Some creepy music will help as well.
My personal recommendation is ‘Tiptoe Through The Window’ by Tiny Tim.
Turn down the lighting or switch it up to make it even spookier. Overall, you want to keep your lights dim and as dark as possible so visitors have no idea what is coming next.
Step 6: Escape Plan
Ensure you have a plan for any visitors who wish to leave the house at any point. While some might love the exhilaration and fear of haunted houses others might get overwhelmed by it. So, give visitors a whistle that they can blow if they want to leave the haunted house.
Step 7: Haunted House Time
Get spoooooky! Have fun with your haunted house project and get as creative and creepy as possible.
Happy Halloween!
