Make a DIY Haunted House That Both Kids and Adults Will Love

Skip the lines and bring the haunted house into your home this year. Don't worry—it doesn't have to be too frightening! Whether you're hosting a Halloween party or setting up a spooky front=yard maze for trick-or-treaters, a haunted house is a festive way to get into the Halloween spirit for all ages.

Start Planning

While it doesn't need to be complex, planning the overall concept of your DIY haunted house will make construction easier later on. Jenny Lex Huizar, owner of Lex and Relle Wreaths and a Halloween fanatic, made her first DIY haunted house for her kids last fall since they couldn't make it to one in person. Huizar advises first planning where your haunted house will be and how scary you want to make it. "Pick an area of the house that you can avoid using for a few weeks, like the dining room, playroom, guest room, entryway, or covered patio if you have decent weather," Huizar says.

Choose a Theme

Before buying any supplies, decide the theme and scare level of your haunted house. For themes, get specific: a paranormal haunted mansion, Frankenstein's scientific lab, a zombie-filled doctor's office, a witch's lair, or a spooky clown circus.

Use the following questions to help guide your theme further. What will be the average age group walking through it? Will there be live actors or just props? Is it all for fun or supposed to get a few screams out of people? If your kids will be taking part in the scaring fun, Huizar suggests taking them to a department store and letting them check out the Halloween props to be sure you don't purchase anything too frightening for them.

Suggested Supplies

Huizar suggests the following supplies to customize your DIY haunted house. Most of the items are optional; add anything that will best fit your theme and scream-factor goals.

• Large cardboard boxes (she used 20 boxes to make a crawlable path through her dining area and entryway)
• Heavy-duty scissors or X-Acto knife
• Heavy-duty duct tape
• Hot glue
• Black trash bags or black gauze fabric to cover walls or cardboard boxes
• Halloween props (the more the merrier!)
• Balloons
• Fake cobwebs
• Flashlights
• Strobe lights
• Fog machine
• Halloween playlist and speaker
• Bowls
• Halloween candy

Most of all, bring your imagination and creativity!

Assemble Your Haunted House

Any haunted house or maze should consist of at least one component: pathways. Guided pathways ensure thrill-seekers can easily and safely find their way through the attraction. The rest is up to you and all of the scary details that you want to add based on your theme.

The Pathways

If your haunted house will be built using cardboard boxes, break down and bend the boxes to form walkways. If it will be constructed as a traditional walkthrough experience, use black drop cloths or trash bags to cover walls and doorways. If it will be an outdoor walk, small poles and ropes can easily form paths; consider using glow-in-the-dark versions.

No matter how you create your walkways, make sure to include a few dead ends along the way. These forced stops will make guests think about their next turn rather than mindlessly wandering. You can also move the paths back and forth multiple times (in a snaking pattern) throughout the space to make your haunted house last longer for guests. Huizar also places bowls of candy at the dead ends to keep guests motivated.

Add Variety

Fill one passageway with something guests will physically touch. Use standard balloons taped to the sides of the walls or tall, twisting balloons taped to the ground and pointing upwards to create more textural variety for guests to walk through. Drape things like faux spiderwebs or spooky signage along the walls and ceiling for visual variety. If you don't want to DIY your Halloween decorations, head to a department or Halloween store to explore all of the options—they're countless!

Make It Spooky (and Fun!)

Ensure there are a few spine-chilling characters throughout your haunted house; it's even better if they are motion-activated to make sound and movement when there's a passerby. To get the best scares, recruit some actors and dress them in festive costumes to jump out at guests, having them hide behind cardboard walls or drop cloths.

Most important are the details—eerie shrieks and thunder echoing through a speaker, fog machines, and strobe lights make all the difference. Happy haunting!