How to Create a Super Spooky Haunted House

Making your own haunted house takes a lot of hard work, but it's really rewarding and can be lots of fun. With the right materials, actors and Halloween spirit, you can create a house that's scary, spooky and even clever. The following tips will help get you started on your project, and if you're lucky you will create a haunted house that becomes an annual tradition for years to come.

Instructions

1. Decide how many rooms you're going to use in making the haunted house. If you're staging the spooks in your own home, be sure you to leave you and your family enough room to eat and sleep during your hours off.

2. Determine a specific maturity level for your scenes. Hacked up bodies and screaming torture victims aren't appropriate for visitors of all ages, so make sure your props and scenes match your target demographic.

3. Get plenty of actors involved. All other things being equal, people are usually more afraid of living things than inanimate props. There's nothing creepier than a spook-house denizen who reaches out to grab passers-by.

4. Work with your home's architecture and landscaping. Long corridors, creaking doors, dense thickets and rickety sheds all enhance a haunted house's character. Use what you've got to your advantage.

5. Create an overall theme for the house. Some houses feature a string of seemingly random scenes, but you'll make yours look more professional by connecting each room with a general theme or idea.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't let your actors touch or grab your visitors without warning them first. Many people don't like physical contact in haunted houses, although it definitely spices things up.