How To Create A Haunted House Have you ever been to one of those
spooktacular haunted houses that people set up in the
neighborhoods during Halloween? I'll bet you have and, if you're
like the rest of us gruesome ghouls, you've been chomping at the
bit to make one for yourself. We'll stop chomping and start
reading because I'm going to take you through the "basics on a
budget" spending as few dollars as possible.
Effect is everything with a Halloween Haunted House And that
effect should begin before the unlucky visitors to your house of
horrors even step foot inside.
Outside Effects Start by making sure that any windows which face
the front of the house have been blacked out from inside. Black
plastic garbage bags work fine. You may have to split them or
double them up but they're cheap enough. Black plastic shower
curtains can often be found in the dollar stores. Grab a lot if
you can find them because we'll be using them later.
Replace your porch and outside lights with blue, red, or orange
bulbs. A black light works great on the porch if you have some
glow-in-the-dark critters or effects you can place nearby. If
your street is well lit then the black light effect is reduced,
so save your money in that case.
Portable spot or flood lights with colored bulbs can be aimed at
your roof or door to add additional lighting effects. If you
have some Tiki Torches left over from the summer then place them
strategically up and down the front walk.
Wal-Mart and the better Dollar Stores have Halloween lights that
are a lot like Christmas lights but have little pumpkins or cats
on each bulb. They're cheap and you can string them around
railings and lay them in bushes. Of course you'll need some
black cats, jack-o'-lanterns and fake spider webs hanging from
the porch.
Decorate your front door to look like a coffin. It's a great
effect. You can also buy the Styrofoam grave stones to put on
your lawn or you can make them yourself out of spare lumber and
some black or grey paint. Don't forget the scary music, wolf
howls plus some moans and groans!
Inside the Front Door When your gory guests first set foot
inside your haunted house, set the tone for the remainder of
their visit by having a body hanging from the inside light
fixture or some other convenient point of death. Stuff a pair of
jeans and an old shirt like you're making a scarecrow. You can
use an empty bleach container for the face and cut out or paint
on the features. Top it off with an old hat. Or, as an
alternative, hang a huge papier-mâché bat instead of the dead
guy. Don't forget plenty of plastic spiders and webs.
If there are rooms or staircases leading from the entryway which
are not part of the tour, cover them with those extra shower
curtains that I told you to get, or use more garbage bags. If
you have a friend who is a cop, see if you can score some crime
scene tape to wrap around off-limit areas. Hey, the local PD
might even donate some if you agree to put up a sign somewhere
thanking them for their assistance. Police Departments have
community outreach officers so they're the ones to call.
The remainder of the house Close off doors to rooms where you
don't want visitors to go. Decorate the doors to look like
coffins, or hang ghoulish effects over them. You can also block
them off using black plastic or shower curtains. Most visitors
won't even know that the doors are there. Doors to off-limit
rooks are also great places to station your human ghoul helpers
who will be jumping out and scaring the dickens out of your
guests. Just make sure that they know to never actually touch
anyone. That can open you up to a lot of legal problems and it
might get them into a fist-fight with a visitor with no sense of
humor.
Create you inside effects by using dark and colored lighting in
each room. Black light sensitive decorations work great inside
but only if you have black light bulbs installed!
Sprinkle gruesome props throughout your rooms. You can make
great bloody hands by filling surgical gloves up with sand,
tying the open end off with a rubber band, and then some "blood"
effects with red paint Dry ice creates great fog effects but it
will burn the skin if touched so don't leave it where guests can
get at it.
Hang creepy things from the ceilings. Wet (not dripping wet)
yarn feels really creepy when it brushes across someone's face
as they are entering a dark room. Spirtz it throughout the night
to keep it wet. Remember that most fishing line will react to
black lights so use black thread instead.
Walk through each room as if you were a visitor. Fill in empty
areas with appropriate props. Re-walk the house several times
until you are 100% happy. Remember that you have a lot of
flammable things in your haunted house. Candles, smoking and
lighted flames of any type are off limits! Keep several a fire
extinguishers handy and spread them around the house. Make sure
that your helpers know how to use them. Also make sure that each
helper has a flashlight and knows where the room's light
switches are in case anyone gets hurt or a young child becomes
too frightened to continue the tour.
That's it. You're on your way to having the dream haunted house
that you've always wanted. Better get busy. It will be Halloween
before you know it.
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