How to Set Up a Haunted Walkway

Use more than jack-o'-lanterns to frighten trick-or-treaters this Halloween.

When you step outside on Halloween night, you'll probably see plenty of costumed children, jack-o'-lanterns and cobwebs, but a haunted walkway really stands out. If you want to step into the role of creative Halloween genius this year, set up your own unique walkway for the trick-or-treaters. You can find most of the supplies at a craft store or even around your own house.

Things You'll Need

• Wooden stakes
• Cardboard
• Staple gun
• Black garbage bags
• Scissors
• Utility knife
• Fake cobweb
• Plastic insects and spiders
• Glow-in-the-dark paint
• Shoes
• Printer and paper
• Picture frames
• Double-stick tape
• Mirrors
• Skeleton bones
• Full-sized skeleton
• Chair
• Dress
• Wig
• Creepy sounds CD
• Stereo

Instructions

1. Insert several wooden stakes -- each at least 6 feet tall -- into the ground on either side of your walkway. Keep about a foot of distance between each stake on one side. Make sure the stakes opposite each other run parallel.

2. Staple some pieces of cardboard to the stakes until you have created two walls on either side of the walkway.

3. Cut up some garbage bags to create flat sheets of plastic. Staple these sheets to the cardboard walls to cover them completely. Double up the plastic on top of the cardboard to create a ceiling.

4. Cut holes into the cardboard walls so that you can fit your arms through. As the trick-or-treaters walk through the walkway, you can stick your arms through and frighten them.

5. Use fake cobweb to cover the "walls" of your haunted walkway. Place black spiders and other insects onto the cobweb.

6. Dip the soles of a pair of shoes into white glow-in-the-dark paint. Place the soles onto the walkway to create a shoe print. Alternate the shoes to make it look like a ghost has already walked up the path and has left behind his footprints.

7. Print out some early 1900s photographs of creepy-looking people and place them in lightweight frames. Hang these from the cardboard walls using double-stick tape.

8. Tape a few lightweight mirrors to the walls. In one mirror, write "Help me" in red glow-in-the-dark paint.

9. Scatter skulls and bones near the walls of the walkway to give your guests a chill. If you have enough room, sit a full skeleton down on a chair near the entrance of the walkway. Cover it in cobwebs, and if you like, and dresss the skeleton in a wig and a dress.

10. Play creepy sounds throughout the night as people pass through the walkway. Set up the speakers in the middle of the walkway and hide them using more black plastic bags.

References

• The Fun Times Guide: Halloween Yard Decor
• Kinder Art: Halloween Decorations