DIY Haunted Elevator

Add a haunted elevator to a workplace or school.

Haunted houses are a great way to celebrate Halloween, since they can be made as scary or as cute as you need to suit the audience that is coming to the party. Twist the idea of the haunted house and turn it into a miniature haunted house experience in an elevator. If you're looking for a creepy addition to a large Halloween party at work, a haunted elevator is a great way to surprise visitors and staff. A haunted elevator is also a good addition to a haunted house or a school fair that takes place on several floors. If you're going all out for a child's Halloween party, you can create a pretend haunted elevator out of a large box. Pretend that the children are entering another, scarier dimension.

Things You'll Need

• Elevator liner
• Black cloth
• Halloween decorations
• Halloween costumes
• Halloween music or sounds
• Flashing or glowing lights

Instructions

1. 

   Choose a safe elevator space to decorate

   Choose a space and make it safe. Find a suitable elevator to create a haunted house. Ensure that the elevator can be propped open long enough for people to enter and exit safely when the elevator has been decorated. Choose a person to be the safety coordinator for the elevator. This person can also play the role of the creepy elevator host who introduces people to the haunted elevator. If you work at a school, choose an elevator that is not the main elevator for the building so that students can choose whether or not they want to ride the haunted elevator.

2. Plan the story that your haunted elevator will tell. This might be in the form of a recorded message telling the story of the elevator, a creepy host who invites people on board or visuals that tell the story of the elevator.

3. 

   Line the elevator with dark cloth.

   Line the elevator with padding that is used for moves. This prevents damage to the inside of the elevator when it is decorated. Over top of the padding, place black cloth, silver cloth or a dark cloth with moons and stars. Hang gauze inside the elevator to enhance the scary mood.

4. 

   Use music to set a creepy tone.

   Set the mood inside the elevator with music and sounds. When the elevator opens, those getting on might hear the "Monster Mash" if it is a fun and scary-themed elevator or they might hear creaks, groans and moans for an authentically haunted elevator. Add lights or glowing faces and stars to the top and sides of the elevator to create the feeling that the riders are going into a haunted house. If the elevator has mirrors, use them to create the illusion of a long, haunted tunnel inside the elevator.

5. 

   Add props to make the elevator spooky.

   Place decorations on the ceiling, walls and floor of the elevator. Create an elevator graveyard with hands reaching up from the floor. Create a spooky haunted elevator with mist and lights and voices that come from the walls. Add a cackling head at the top of the elevator.

6. 

   Choose the characters who will ride the elevator.

   Choose live characters to reside in your haunted elevator. These characters might be zombies, ghosts or other scary creatures such as vampires or werewolves. The characters can tell the story of the haunted elevator and can invite those who ride it to take part in various activities on board.

References

• Haunted House: Technical Articles on Haunt Design
• Haunted Illinois: Halloween Props Page

Resources

• Garage of Terror: How to Put An Elevator in Your Garage
• Halloween Monster List: Monster List of Halloween Projects