How do I make a scary haunted house?

Question

Okay, so I am making a haunted house for my neighbors. They vary in age. But the oldest is 10, and the youngest is 3. I want it to be scary but not as scary for the little ones. Any tips or hints?

Or do you have any ideas for making this scarier for the older ones but not as scary for the younsters?

Answer 1

Simple "pop out" scary stuff would be plenty. Dont use fake blood. Stick with the basics. White sheet ghosts, witches, pumpkins, colored lights, and sound effects. For kids 10 and under, you gotta keep it a "fun" haunted house.

Answer 2

Have dummies or scare crows through out the house, but also have real people dressed the same way. As people walk through, have the real people jump up and scream. (If they scream, it gets to the patrons to scream too!) The people that go through shouldn't be able to tell what dummies are people and what are props, so it will startle them. Otherwise, have people dress up to blend in with the settings and jump out to scare others.

Another thing you could try is have your actors pretend they are animatronic props in a scene. When the patrons walk through, then won't think much of it, but then have them break character to scare the views.

Also, have something in a room that grabs peoples attention, like a well-lit section of a creepy painting so everyone is looking at it. While they are focused on that, sneak up behind them in a scary costume or with a prop weapon!

If you have dark feathers hanging from the ceiling in a dark room that are at a level that will brush into people's faces, it will creep them out as well. Put things near the floor, such as straw or big turkey feathers attached to the wall through door ways or hallways about 3-4 inches off the ground to brush against people's ankles. If it's dark enough, they won't be able to see what's in the room.

Make sure the house is loud too with spooky sounds or loud music. This will add confusion because groups of people won't be able to talk to each other. This will also make it easier to sneak up on people. Flashing lights will also cause confusion and distortion.

If anyone has asthma, avoid smoke machines, but put some dry ice in a bucket of water. This will be easier to breathe as it is just water vapor.

Answer 3

I went to party city last week i was planning to do a haunted house also but the stuff they had were great but there were too much to choose from and kind of expensive but if you have the pocket for it. it won't be a problem.

Answer 4

get some steam or mist a light lots of pumpkins and halloween cookies for the little one

Answer 5

you can always add scary goury noises... it makes the imagination go even more scary when you hear things. it always get my adrenaline working.

Answer 6

heres some help from a website

http://www.scaryguys.com/

Answer 7

Spooky Step #1: Lay the Groundwork.
Get permission from your folks to use your house (preferably the basement) for your Halloween haunted house. Make sure the space is big enough to do everything you want to do.

Spooky Step #2: Make an (Evil) Plan.
Make a diagram of the space available, and figure out which things you want to have in your haunted house (from the list below) and where it might go. Plan an entrance and an exit, so you can lead people in and out without bumping into other people.

Spooky Step #3: Make Gravestones.
Buy large pieces of grey construction paper and cut them into the shape of headstones. Use a black magic marker to write on the headstones, using your creativity. You can do classic epitaphs like "Here lies John Smith, 1902 - 1992", or make them super-creepy, such as "Here lies our child, Died in anguish." Tack or tape them along the bottom of the walls to simulate real gravestones.

Spooky Step #4: Darkness Falls.
Use black plastic garbage bags to cover windows for darkness. Keep the main overhead lights turned off, and provide eerie lighting using lots of black and red candles. Or, you could use small lamps with red or black lightbulbs (available at party stores or drugstores).

Spooky Step #5: Brew the Soundtrack.
Get your friends or family to help you make a tape recording of scary sounds, or buy a "sounds of terror" cd from the local music store. Keep the sounds playing whenever people are inside the house for a weird and frightening sensory experience. Keep scary music going too, as well as scary sounds. There are lots of good Halloween compilation cds available at music stores. Or, put on some Icelandic trance music you've got in your cd collection.

Spooky Step #6: Peel the Eyeballs.
Make a bowl of eyeballs. Buy large grapes at the fruit store and carefully peel off the skins. Put them in a chilled bowl (keep the bowl in the fridge until you begin your haunted house tour). Invite people to touch them. Tell people in a spooky voice, "These are the eyeballs of murdered witches."

Spooky Step #7: Get Ahead (or Two).
Buy Styrofoam heads from a beauty supply house and turn them into monsters or murdered beauty queens to put on display. Make the heads look "once alive" by using Halloween wigs for hair and Halloween makeup for the faces. Stick plastic knives into the heads and pour fake blood around the "wounds." Line the heads up along a table and create a horrible story to tell guests, about the serial killer who murdered these folks and chopped off their heads with an axe. For extra special effect, have the axe there dripping with blood! (A fake axe of course, with fake blood, from a Halloween supply shop).

Spooky Step #8: Special Effects.
Enlist the help of a friend to hide behind a curtain or chair, and spritz visitor's faces with cold water as they walk through the dark. Tell visitors they have been sprayed by deadly spitting black widow spiders.

Spooky Step #9: Give People a Hand.
Create a creepy "dead hand." Start the day before the party. Fill a rubber kitchen glove to the wrist with water turned green with green food coloring. Tie the glove's end tightly with a rubber band or two, make sure it's not leaking, then put it into the freezer. Right before the party, carefully unwrap the frozen hand by slowly peeling off the glove. Fill a clear (plastic or glass) punch bowl with cold, green colored water (food coloring again), and float the frozen "dead" hand in it. Whose hand is it? Maybe your great grandfather's, maybe the innocent victim you slaughtered - it's up to you what to tell people!

Spooky Step #10: Web Work.
Stretch fake spider webbing (available in drugstore Halloween aisles) around the room. Spray it with water from plant mister. Make sure it's placed so people will have to brush it away from their faces as they walk through certain parts of the room.

Spooky Step #11: Arrange for Monsters.
If you're doing a walk-through haunted house, get an adult or a big friend to dress up as a monster (Frankenstein, a serial killer, Dracula, etc.) and hide near the exit. Just before people go out, the "monster" should leap out and scare the daylights out of them!

Spooky Step #12: Is That You Coffin?
If you've having people to stay and party in your haunted house, see if you can convince a friend to play vampire. They should dress in a vampire costume and hide in a certain part of the house where people might go, but not the main party room. (Not the bathroom though!) Guests shouldn't seem them until they are surprise attacked! Or, you can get your vampire friend to lie under a blanket where they are hidden in plain view. The idea is for them to stay perfectly still for ages, then suddenly sit up and scream, scaring the whole room at once!

Spooky Step #13: Bloody Punch.
Create insect blood punch for your thirsty guests. Start the day before the party by preparing the insect ice cubes. Buy a bunch of plastic ants and beetles at a toy store or the drugstore's Halloween section. Wash the bugs (to clean them off) and then put a bug or two in each section of an empty ice tray. Fill the tray with water and pop into the freezer. (Do as many trays at a time as possible). The next day, just before the guests are set to arrive, fill a large punch bowl with red fruit punch. Make it sickly looking by mixing in some blue food coloring. Add the buggy ice cubes (they should be well frozen now) and have plastic cups on hand, so you can offer people a refreshing drink of "Zombie Blood."