Have you been possessed by a scary spirit?
With Halloween just around the corner, making a haunted house is a perfect way to celebrate or to spook your guests. To transform your house will take planning, hard work, and creativity.
1. Start by planning a path… either inside your home or outside. Figure out the scale of how big you want to make this. Maybe it will only be the entrance to your home or you could plan a series of small areas or rooms.
2. What is the tone you wish to convey… i.e. funny or scary? Is this mainly for kids or adults?
3. This will take more than one person to pull it off. Enlist family or friends. You may want some of them as actors in costumes making noises or grabbing your guests in unsuspecting corners.
4. Consider the theme. Is this a traditional haunted house, serial killer, graveyard? You will want a story to go along with the theme. Figure out an interesting story to go along with your spooky theme.
5. Pay attention to the light effects. Too much light will disclose the location of your actors too soon. But you need enough light to ensure the safety of your guests. Consider giving your guests flashlights or other light source. Replace light bulbs in lamps to coloured bulbs such as green. Dress up traditional lamps with cob webs and bats on the inside. Ensure the bulb is not touching any of the materials!!! Black bags can be used to cover furniture.
6. Don’t forget the special effects. Strobe lights create a slow motion effect. Fog machines can be used to provide a eerie atmosphere. Black lights and neon paint can be used to create your signage.
7. Noises! A spooky house is not complete without noises. Timing is everything. Have your actors use noisy shakers. Use different spooky music in each area. Silence can also be used just at the right time!
Now you have the basics! Consider the time left to plan, the people that will be helping you, and how much you want to invest in time as well as money.
Happy Halloween season 🙂