Spooky season is just around the corner. Nothing makes kids and adults come alive with the magic of Halloween like a haunted house. Whether it’s a spare room or an outdoor shed, if you’re lucky there is often a neighbor who puts in the extra effort to give trick-or-treaters a night to remember.
If you’d love to give the gift of enchantment and fright to your neighbors this year, check out the steps below to see how easy it is to create a haunted house.
Creating a Haunted House in Your Backyard
If you’re wondering how to make a haunted house in your backyard, you may be surprised how simple it is when you have a backyard shed! While sheds make a great place for storage on a daily basis, they can actually transform into the perfect spooky spot for friends and family on Halloween.
Use a Shed
A garden shed is the ideal setup for a haunted house. Even better, is a porch shed, which gives the look and feel of a real house. Porch sheds offer a nice covered outdoor space. Here you can set up creepy rocking chairs with skeletons, or create a scary entrance filled with cobwebs.
Not only will you have more space to decorate, but the traditional look of a porch shed will be a lot more convincing to your older visitors looking for a fright.
Add Spooky Elements
The most fun part of creating your haunted house is the decor. Details like red-painted “bloody” handprints, ghosts, bats, scary props, fog machines, and dangling spiders are a fun way to give a fright.
You’ll also want to ensure the lights are dim during the experience for a maximum scary effect. Try out black lights or colored lights in purple, orange, or red to make the ambience extra eerie.
Try Mount Speakers
No horror film is as scary when the sound is off. Sound is one of the most important details to include in your haunted house.
Creaking doors and chimes can create a surprise when someone enters the shed. You can also install mount speakers to play ghoulish screams and creepy whispers on a timer to give your guests a jump!
Create a Path
Don’t let the experience start and end just at the shed. Ramp up the fun by creating a decorative pathway with Halloween-themed lights leading to the haunted house.
This can help extend the fun, especially if you have a smaller shed. You’ll also have the advantage of creating even more surprising spooks along a darker pathway or hidden in nearby greenery.
Set up a Candy Station
Lastly, you can’t forget the most important part – the candy! Reward your visitors with a Jack -o’-lantern or cauldron filled with sweet treats near the exit of the shed.
If possible, you can surround the area with fog or dry ice so your guests can mysteriously reach into the candy bowl. By creating your own haunted house, your home will be on the top of the list to visit and create many lasting memories for everyone involved.