Photo Courtesy of Carolyn Ryans
Ahh Halloween! A time of year when the ghouls, goblins, freaks, vampires, werewolves, monsters and other creepy crawlies come out to scare and play. Many people like to get involved and some Halloween enthusiasts love to build their own Haunted Houses in the local neighborhood to scare and entertain trick-or-treaters. This week, Toolbarn plans to give you some great ideas not only on how to build a proper haunted house, but provide some tips and tricks to scare all of those who dare to enter your haunted domain.
Today, Toolbarn looks at how to plan and build a proper haunted house.
Photo Courtesy of Celebrations and Wired Magazine
Step 1: Come up with a Theme!
Photo Courtesy of Haunt World
Before you start buying any supplies or tools, it’s important to think up a theme. What’s the backstory behind your haunted house? Why is it haunted? More importantly, make sure your theme makes sense. If your house is being made up like a haunted jail or insane asylum…it wouldn’t make much sense for Dracula to pop out. Afterall, why would the King of the Vampires be at a jail? (Maybe he’s serving time?) Regardless, think up a theme and make sure your scares are geared towards that.
Step 2: Plan Your Layout!
Photo Courtesy of Wired Magazine
Now that you have chosen a theme, get out your pen and pad. Just like an architect plans out a building, you should plan out your haunted house. It’s important to take some time to plan what exactly you want to do. Your plan doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, but it should give you an idea what you want to accomplish. Also, consider how much space you plan to use. There is no such things as too large or too small. Just make sure your haunted house fits into what you want and also fits your budget. Keep in mind that twists and turns help not only from an atmosphere perspective, but can also hide surprises.
Step 3: Get help! Literally!
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Putting a haunted house together is hard work and try as you might to do all the work yourself, you won’t be able to…trust us. Get some friends or family members to help you. They can be monsters, doorkeepers, guides, or gophers to help get whatever task you need done. Remember, the more people who help you, the more pressure gets taken off of you.
Step 4: When Building…Build It to Last
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You use any materials you want for your haunted house. You can use plywood, drywall or other material. Just make sure it’s safe for your guests. Also, if you build walls for your house, make sure they’re sturdy. Last thing you want is to have someone get scared and crashing through your wall. It spoils the show and you have to cover up the hole before other people notice. Make it solid and make it wide enough for people to get through without bottlenecking people around the corners. Treat it like a normal construction project and your haunted house will be in great shape.
Step 5: Create an Eerie Atmosphere
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Once you have your haunted area built, the next thing you need to do is add some atmosphere. Now, you can spend as much as you want or go as big or small as you want. Adding fog is always good and helps create a moody atmosphere. If you can’t afford a fog machine, dry ice is a good substitute. Just make sure no one touches it! Also, make sure your lighting is dimmed to give your house that “spooky” feel. Obviously, you want to make sure your guests have enough lighting to see, but it should be dimmed to deaden their senses a little bit. Spooky noises are also good too.
Step 6: Have Fun!
Photos courtesy of Guff
Remember the most important thing is to have fun. I know it’s a lot of hard work, but once you see people running out of your house in horror…you’ll know it was worth it. Next blog, we’ll give you some tips and let you know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to making your haunted house. See you next time!
