Each year in the fall, people begin planning for Halloween. From choosing costumes, to putting up spooky decorations, Halloween is a holiday that both kids and adults can enjoy. Each year, Americans spend millions of dollars visiting haunted houses all around the country. If you want to stay closer to home, you can create your own haunted house. Whether creating a haunted house for party guests or for the whole neighborhood to enjoy, there are lots of things you can do to create a spooky haunted house or even a haunted barn if you happen to have such a structure on your property.
Flowery wallpaper and bright paint is not terribly spooky so the first step in creating a haunted house or barn is to cover the walls. You don’t need to paint. Materials such as black tarps or even black trash bags can be used to cover walls and doors.
Lighting is also an important part of creating a spooky atmosphere. Change out bright light bulbs for red or black lights that will create a creepy glow. Strobe lights can also be a fun lighting effect to add to your haunted house. If you don’t want to spend the money on strobe lights, which can be costly, simply hook up your laptop and find a strobe light video to create the same effect.
Creating the right atmosphere is necessary if you want to make a great haunted house. One way to create a graveyard like, spooky atmosphere is to create fog. This can be done a couple of different ways. Dry ice can be used but needs to be used safely and in well ventilated areas. A safer alternative is a smoke or fog machine. If using a machine, it is important to keep an eye on it to make sure that it does not begin to overheat.
A good haunted house often features lots of gore. It can be messy to splatter fake blood so a good place to start is the bathroom which will be fairly easy to clean up. There are several recipes that can be found online for making fake blood, many of which use ingredients that you can find in your pantry. Items such as fake body parts can also be added to create more gore.
A haunted house should feature creepy decorations. There are many household items that can be used to decorate your haunted house. Items can also be purchased in places such as secondhand shops. Old, creepy dolls, for instance would be a great touch for a haunted house. In addition to decorations, you can even have family members or friends play the roles of zombies, and other creepy creatures to really spook your guests.
Another important aspect of a haunted horse or barn is spooky music. While guests are walking through your haunted house, you can add dramatic effect by playing creepy Halloween music.
There are many things you can do to create a haunted space. You can also tailor your ideas to specific age groups, for instance younger kids might be scared of certain decorations or actors which can be excluded. On the other hand, haunted houses meant for adults or older kids can really up the scare factor. Most importantly, you should have fun when decorating and keep safety in mind to ensure that you spook your guests but don’t cause them any injuries.
More Tips For Creating a Haunted House
- Set Up Your Own Scary, Spooky Haunted House
- Build a DIY Haunted House in Your Backyard
- Create Your Own Haunted House For Halloween
- How to make Your Own Haunted House
- Haunted House Halloween Party
- How to Make Your Own Haunted House
- Spooktacular Haunted House Party Ideas
- Halloween How To: DIY Haunted House Tips
