Fun Haunted House Right in Your Backyard

As the summer is quickly coming to an end I’ve started to think about the next fun holiday that my kids enjoy and that is Halloween.

Everyone knows that haunted houses are a great part of the entire Halloween season and I’m a big fan of Halloween :), but often times they can be frightening for young children, or just too expensive or time consuming to create. But, it’s definitely possible to create a fun display right in your own backyard that will capture the magic of the holiday but not be too scary for the little ones, or too costly to construct either. Just remember to make the “house” big enough so that adults and kids can explore together, helping the children to feel extra safe.

It’s easy to create a simple, haunted maze with a few ordinary bed sheets, a plain clothesline, and some cardboard boxes. The design of the maze itself doesn’t have to be anything elaborate as even a few small twists or turns will be enough to create the illusion of surprise. If you happen to have access to a few bales of hay, add those to the maze for some obstacles for the kids to navigate.

It’s easy to decorate your backyard haunted house with some non-toxic paints painted onto the cardboard boxes that will glow in the dark when exposed to a black light. Get the kids to help painting some scary signs such as, “Enter At Your Own Risk” or “Turn Back Now!” A few strategically placed black light bulbs will cast an eerie glow through the paint on the haunted maze and make it look really awesome.

Besides the black lights, lighting is another important part of the whole haunted house experience as you want people to see where to go and to be able to walk around safely, but you also don’t want it to be too bright so the anticipation of what’s around the next corner is ruined. In addition to all of the Halloween themed lights to choose from, strands of ordinary Christmas lights will also work well. Or, consider renting a fog machine or a few strobe lights for an extra spooky effect.

Using fishing line or thin pieces of string, hang rubber spiders, bugs, and bats throughout the maze so people will brush by them as they try to make their way through. Enlist the help of a few friends to dress up in costumes to wait in the maze for their “victims.” If you’ll be hosting younger children, let them see your friend get into their costume first so they’ll be able to understand that it isn’t a real “monster.”

Have all of the neighborhood’s trick-or-treaters walk through the haunted house as they collect treats from the ghouls hiding inside the maze. This is sure to make your house a most favorite stop for all the little goblins on Halloween night.

While you’re planning the actual layout of your haunted house, be sure to keep safety concerns at the forefront of your mind. During the daylight hours, look all around for things that might cause someone to trip and fall in the dark, such as rocks, sticks, or tree roots that are sticking up from the ground. As long as you let your creativity take over and remember to stay safe, your backyard haunted house is sure to be the talk of the town!

photo credit: eyeliam