How to Make a Spook Trail
Halloween is a holiday with roots that stem from the Gaelic festival known as "Samhain." In Gaelic culture, this day was a celebration for the end of harvest season. Today, Halloween is celebrated by dressing up as ghouls, ghosts and goblins, and passing out candy and treats. Other modern Halloween celebration activities include haunted houses and spook trails. Spook trails generally are located on a common farm or ranch, typically over old horse or hiking trails. Making a spook trail for Halloween can be done with little difficulty. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Farm, ranch or personal property trail (approx. 1 mile in length)
- Plywood (for entrance sign)
- Halloween decorations (ghosts, spider webs or whatever you prefer)
- Candle bags or other lighting system
- Jack-o-lanterns
- Cardboard boxes (for making coffins)
Instructions
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Locate a secluded trail on a ranch or farm, or use trails on your own property if large enough. Ask permission from a ranch landowner to make a trail. Select a route approximately one mile long that leads through a wooded area, if possible.
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Set up an entrance sign at the beginning of the trail. Any simple sign made of plywood will suffice. Write or paint "Haunted Trail," "Spook Trail" or "Ghost Trail" on the sign, or "Beware" whichever you prefer, in red or black paint.
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Line the trail with candle bags or other lighting every 10 feet or so on either side. This will keep the trail visible and add a ghostly ambiance. You can place jack-o-lanterns along the trail if you prefer.
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Set up a stereo and speaker system within earshot of the trail. Play spooky sounding music during the time the spook trail is being traveled.
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Place hanging ghosts and spider webs or your favorite scary Halloween decor in trees or near posts close to the trail. Place open or closed coffins along the trail as well if available. A simple coffin can be made out of cardboard boxes, then decorated.
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Hire or ask a few friends to participate in the spook trail. Have your friends dress up in costumes and come out at random to scare the trail travelers. A good idea is to have a few people positioned at different points along the trail, near bottle necks or narrow curves in the trail and at the end for a final scare.
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Tips & Warnings
You can also hire or rent a tractor and hay-trailer, or horse and trailer to take loads of people down the trail.
Ensure that everyone on the trail is safe and has permission to complete the trail.
Do not use real knives, axes or chainsaws if these items are part of the costume.
Only allow children accompanied by adults on the trail.
Turn away any visitor who appears intoxicated from the trail.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images
