Haunted house walk-through

What it is

A homemade haunted attraction. A garage, hallway or a series of rooms is turned into a dark, fog-filled route with scenes and volunteers who jump out. Guests go through in small groups. It is a lot of effort but the most talked-about Halloween party of the year.

Plan ahead

• Two weeks before: pick a story (abandoned hospital, haunted circus, witch’s cabin) and map the route: an entrance, 4-5 scenes and an exit.
• One week before: buy a fog machine, creepy cloth, cobwebs, red and green lights and a few animated props. Recruit 3-4 scare actors.
• The day before: build the route with black plastic sheeting or dark sheets taped to the ceiling to make corridors. Test the lights and fog.

How to build the scenes

1. Entrance: a creepy greeter gives rules: “don’t touch the actors, they won’t touch you”.
2. Dark corridor: hanging creepy cloth and strips of bin bag that brush faces.
3. The lab or kitchen: a table with “body parts” (rubber gloves filled with water, spaghetti brains) and an actor who sits still like a dummy, then moves.
4. Strobe room: a strobe light and a figure that seems to jump between positions.
5. Final scare: a chainsaw sound (no blade) or an actor bursting out as guests reach the exit.

Set the scene outside

Carved pumpkins on the path, gravestones on the lawn, and a smoke machine at the door. Play a spooky soundscape on a loop.

Food and drink

• “Witches’ fingers” (breadsticks with an almond nail)
• Mummy hot dogs (wrapped in pastry strips)
• Bloody punch (red juice with a frozen rubber glove of ice floating in it)
• A graveyard cake: chocolate cake with cookie crumb soil and biscuit gravestones

Tips

• Keep a lights-on “chicken exit” for anyone who wants out, and a safe word.
• No real tripping hazards; tape cables down and keep the floor clear.
• Tone it down for younger siblings with a “lights on” daytime tour.