Making Your Own Haunted Halloween House Party

Halloween is heavily associated with the American suburbs, with children walking door to door to get candy from friendly yet momentarily spooky neighbors. The basic appeal for kids — free candy and a time to dress up — is undeniably irresistible but over the last few decades we’ve seen Halloween night morph from a family affair, to a wild college weekend, to even gaining international popularity and becoming a night adults look forward to as well.

For those of us who want to take it to the next level, creating your own haunted house can be a daunting task if you are new to the idea. From hosting neighborhood kids, to throwing an adult-style party, to just celebrating the macabre and embracing the Fall season with some spooky decor, here are some tips to get started on your journey to your ideal haunted house.

Themed rooms

One of the easiest ways to start with any task is to break it down into manageable chunks and approach each of them individually. Same goes for a haunted house of any scale. It is a good idea to follow the flow of your space, let the rooms speak to you, and hear them calling out for decor. But seriously, try to conform the spooky spots to the layout and function of the rooms you already have.

Examples include a large hard-to-move table or kitchen island. Set it up as a haunted dinner scene with abandoned food and broken candles. Use it to tell a story that keeps visitors guessing. What spooked this family to leave dinner unfinished? Maybe it’s been abandoned for a long time. Are things rotting? For children, lay out a pirate’s booty with a chest as a centerpiece, overflowing with gold coins, crossbones, and cobwebs. Bonus points if the coins are edible.

Use a room with a naturally more sterile feeling for a mad scientist’s lab. Tile floors, white walls, and clearing out some moveable furniture will go a long way in setting the scene. Various sized cups and glassware filled with different colored liquids — Gatorade or juice for kids — to create potions of unknown power. This is a place where a little liquid nitrogen can go a long way as well! Remember that science kit you bought your kids a few years back? Use it for additional props. If you are not planning on including children, this is also a great space for a small make-your-own potion cocktail bar using a green liquor like Chartruese.

Use your largest rooms and open spaces as a maze with scares around every corner. This part takes some planning, building, and likely purchasing tarps and other decor, but it can be worth it to slowly build up a collection over the years, expanding as you go. This part is also potentially the most dangerous, and not in a fun Halloween way. Exits need to be clearly marked and unobstructed. If anyone does become disoriented or a little too overwhelmed, make sure the lights can be turned on quickly. Most importantly, understand your local fire codes and ensure you do everything in your power to make it a safe and scary environment, but not a potentially harmful one. For a great beginner guide, check out “How To Operate A Financially Successful Haunted House,” by Philip Morris and Dennis Phillips. Its an older book but even if you are not planning on charging an entrance fee the steps into making a small haunted house are invaluable.

Finally, no one knows your home better than you. Where are the natural blind spots? Tight corners? Unexpected closets? Use those spaces for quick jump-scare-type opportunities. A fake spider hanging from a fishing line, an unexpected pair of eyes, or a well-placed old doll can evoke both sudden gasps and nervous laughs.

Engage all the senses

One of the pitfalls of many beginner haunted houses is failing to engage the senses. Humans use many senses to understand our surroundings and feel out situations. The visuals are very important, no one wants the reaction to be of laughter and smirks at the decorations, but small things like audio, shifts in temperature, and even having someone hidden, silently standing nearby, can all make the hairs on our arms stand up.

One of the first ways to include other senses is through audio. You can always loop a scary movie in the background or play a spooky soundtrack, but the key is to vary the volume. Sudden volume increases make people jump. Subtle sounds barely heard and low frequencies both make people uneasy. To take it to another level, try to have a soundtrack for every space, whether its an occasional witches crackle off a YouTube channel, an old scary movie playing, or nearly inaudible mumbles and murmurs. This is where you can really freak people out.

Another way to make those spooky senses tingle is by using fans to create a breeze. It can be used to make a ghost appear to float or an empty white dress dance through the room, but the sudden lack of any air movement can also signal danger. If you use fans in one room, make the next one dead still. Have a small closet or storage space with a door? Place a personal fan behind an old doll, a hanging spider, or other unexpected object so that it creepily taps the door, prompting people to open it for a surprise.

Photo credit: Peter Hermann, Unsplash

Scent is likely the most unexpected way to draw someone into the moment. The smell of cookies contraposed with a creepy abandoned home scene can make it unsettling. Using herbs — not lit candles — in jars can transform a spooky set-up in multiple ways. Have a graveyard walkthrough outside? Take some fresh potting soil and strategically use it to create an even more realistic scene, complete with that freshly dug smell. Don’t use anything disgusting though, no one wants to smell rotting food even an a haunted house.

Finally, lighting really is king. Make sure decorations are lit up or dimmed properly, that people can see but it is still scary, and that lights can still be turned back on if needed. Unable to dim the lights? Switch some of them out for colored and very dim light bulbs, use blacklights, or bring out old out-of-style lamps that have been sitting in the garage for ages. Using lamps is especially ideal, not just for the antique spooky vibe they can bring, but because it allows you to leave the ceiling lights alone, easily able to be switched on in case the room needs to be lit if someone drops a contact lens or just gets too overwhelmed.

Safety:

It may be the night of the living dead, but even if it “breaks the immersion,” keeping all visitors safe is the top priority. Most of these tips are for true “Haunted Houses” but even house party planners can never be too safe.

• Fire escapes and exits must be clearly noted
• Nothing can obstruct exits
• Need the ability to quickly turn on lights
• No real candles, no real knives! (Even for pumpkin carving)
• Read local fire codes, consult with local government if building a maze

Budget:

Not all haunted houses and theme parties need to break the budget. There are likely plenty of items already laying around that can be used to add some extra flair to a haunted space.

• Empty wine bottles with fake candles can create a low-light creepy atmosphere
• Old serving platters, dishes, various glass containers tucked away in kitchen cabinets can make a mad scientist’s lab, witches’ brew, or haunted dinner scene
• Put scary movies on loop in a dark room, the older the TV the better
• Stacks of old books can be piled up with cobweb decorations

Decor:

There are still some smaller things you can do to either spruce up the spirits or help fill in the details of an intricate ghoulish decor.

• Witch’s Parking: Make a creepy sign for “Witch’s Parking Only” and hang it in a corner. Lean some brooms nearby, and include a mop or vacuum for a little laugh as well.
• Water station: If you plan on serving alcohol or serving dinner, having a water station is crucial. “Disguise” it with a skeleton and a plea to not die of thirst. Or make it a witchy water station, and tempt them to try the potion, complete with apple slices as a snack
• Make it interactive: For kids, and adults who are kids at heart, have a pumkpin painting station. You can use an outdoor space as a “pumpkin patch” for people to choose their living canvas to decorate with small brushes and paints. Inspirations in form of pictures, previously painted pumpkins, and decorations nearby will help. Just dont set up a carving station, no one wants to see real blood on Halloween!