How to Make a Haunted House for Children

A haunted house is a way to involve children in a safe environment at Halloween.

Making a haunted house in your home or yard is a safe way to get the neighborhood kids involved in a family-friendly Halloween activity. Keep in mind that when you plan your haunted house, lean toward the fun instead of the scary. Planning in advance and setting things up early will leave time to check everything to make sure it's all running smoothly and everyone will have a spooky time.

Things You'll Need

• Costumes
• Food items such as grapes, gelatin, noodles
• Party food for guests
• Treat bags
• Props
• Music
• Lights
• Fog machine
• Decorations
• Craft supplies
• Parent/older child volunteers to help

Instructions

1. 

   A haunted house for kids should be fun, not too scary.

   Pick a location for the haunted house. Having it indoors offers more space and opportunities to plug in more things and add more to the atmosphere. An outdoor haunted house could be more time-consuming with having to build sets. Decide what age group you are gearing your house to. Are most of the kids coming elementary age, or younger? Buy props geared toward that age group and make sure nothing is too realistic or too frightening for younger kids.

2. 

   Young trick or treaters will love hearing a spooky story.

   Decorate your space. Turn each room into a different "theme." Have one room where an older child or parent in a costume reads a spooky story. Turn on some Halloween music and have candles lit. Have the storyteller read with lots of expression and act out the character's voices. Use glow sticks in the dark decorations to add mystery to the room. Provide snacks for kids such as caramel apples and mini treat bags filled with Halloween candy.

3. 

   Having kids "examine" a body can be frightfully creepy!

   Create a laboratory where a "mad scientist" (parent dressed in white or scrubs) does an autopsy on a "body" (a dummy underneath a sheet.) Have bowls underneath the sheet. One can be full of cold, cooked noodles and be "brains", one can be full of gelatin and feel like "guts." The third one can be "eyeballs" made of peeled grapes. You can get fake skeleton bones and put those on the table too. Let the kids feel the body parts under the sheet without looking. Add a fog machine for extra effect.

4. 

   Have a mom pose as a gypsy and read kids' fortunes.

   Include a fortune teller. Have a friend or parent dress up like a gypsy, sit behind a magical crystal ball and read the children's palms. The fortunes can be funny or spooky and more Halloween-oriented. Decorate the area with twinkling lights and have tarot cards and mystical items to add authenticity. Let them ask the gypsy questions about their "future." All the fortunes should be good, of course.

5. 

   A craft station will get kids involved in the fun, and they can take home their creation.

   Set up a craft space. Have Halloween craft items or one particular project that the kids can work on. Some examples could be: a ghost made from tissues and lollipops, cut out pumpkins and decorate them with jack 'o lantern faces, decorating Halloween cookies with orange and black icing or color sheets laid out with crayons. Games could be included such as bobbing for apples or a bean bag toss.

References

• Moms Who Think: Haunted House Ideas
• Enchanted Learning: Halloween Crafts and Activities