Frighten and delight youngsters.
It wouldn’t be Halloween without a haunted house for kids to walk through, facing down the deliciously scary sights and trying not to run. Haunted house projects may be even more popular than a bag full of goodies and you can make one in your backyard that will have the trick-or-treaters flocking to your door. With some creativity and a few supplies, your backyard haunted house will frighten and delight youngsters of all ages. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Plan your backyard haunted house by creating a map representing the yard, the entrance, the exit and the path the children will follow. Since fences and sheets attached to a clothesline will serve as walls, plot your project accordingly and incorporate large items already present in your yard. Part of the excitement comes from frequent turns with surprises just around the corner.
2. String clothesline between the house and the back fence (if available) and use long poles inserted into the ground in-between to support the clothesline at least 6 feet high. Pin old sheets onto the line, allowing the edge to touch the ground, forming your walls. Position the sheets to form a long path.
3. Place your surprise attractions just around corners. There are three kinds of haunted house attractions, those that startle the guests, those that create a scary atmosphere and those that gross everyone out. If you plan to use a volunteer in a fake casket, position him just around the corner where he can sit up quickly and startle the kids.
4. Use lighting to accentuate your scary feature items. String outdoor extension cords together and use low-watt colored bulbs to create an eerie glow. Scary items should be barely visible, so resist using bright lights.
5. Purchase, rent or make your own scary props to resemble graveyards, spider webs, caskets, severed limbs. Stuff clothing items to assemble a dead “body.”
6. Play scary music or a soundtrack of Halloween noises with creaking doors, rattling chains and sudden screams.
7. Use volunteers as props. Dress them up with fake blood to create dead bodies or turn them into vampires that reach for unsuspecting guests.
8. Serve spooky treats as the guests exist the haunted house path (see Resources).
Tags: haunted house, just around, those that, your backyard, around corner
