Creating a neighborhood haunted house can be a fun and rewarding project. With a little money, a little time, and a whole lot of creativity, you can transform your house, garage or yard using a few basic items. You can keep it simple or make it elaborate; the possibilities are endless!
Begin by deciding where you will build your haunt. Think about the climate, the space available and the target audience. You can build a nice maze in a garage or a haunted walkway in your yard. Number one rule to remember: safety first. Whether it is children or adults who will be experiencing the spooks, you want to ensure that everyone not only has fun, but also stays safe. Clear any rocks or other objects from the ground and be sure there is adequate lighting. It is a good idea to clearly post rules for participating and be sure each person reads them before entering.
Now that you have decided on an area, the easiest way to maximize space is by designing your pathways. Imagine the queue lines at an amusement park. They wind back and forth in a zigzag-type pattern and create the longest walk possible using the shortest actual space. One way to set up this type of path is to use your garage. Using chalk, mark out a walkway on the floor starting at the entrance point and winding back around so that your guests will be zigzagging back and forth rather than walking in a straight line. This will make the experience in the haunted house last much longer. Once you have your lines marked, you will need to hang your walls. You can use blankets or sheets but the preferred material is heavy black plastic sheeting, which can be purchased at any home improvement center. Staple the plastic from the ceiling, making sure it just touches the ground but doesn’t drag. This is a safety measure to ensure no one trips on the sheeting, and also creates an instant barrier. Continue hanging your walls by following your pathway, creating a maze similar to those queue lines. If you’d like, you can incorporate small pockets of “rooms” inside to place spooky items or ghosts. Once your path is completed, be sure to clearly mark the direction you’d like your guests to walk by using glow-in-the-dark paint or tape. Your path should be a one-way tour, which lessens the possibility of guests bumping into each other.
If you prefer to do a haunted walkway in your yard, you can use the same queue design and build your walls from the ground up. You might use plywood set on a heavy base or thick Styrofoam. If you’d like your guests to be able to view a set, such as a graveyard, simply place tall stakes in the ground and attach rope between each stake to mark your walk. Again, be sure you have adequate lighting in this particular setting and a smooth pathway.
A haunted house can be as elaborate as you’d like it to be. It can be a “fun” spooky walk for younger children or a truly scream-inducing fright for older ones. Keep your audience in mind and plan to have a quick escape available if someone is truly scared and needs to leave this experience behind. Happy haunting!
