Anyone can decorate their house and yard with Halloween decorations, but if you want to take it to the next level, why not turn your garage into a haunted house? With a few steps you can turn your ordinary garage into a small but effective haunted house. And who knows, maybe this is the perfect motivator to finally get that garage cleaned for fall?
The first step is safety and security. Remove any sharp object or tools. Make sure if an object is hanging, it is hanging securely, and could survive being yanked. If not, remove it. If this haunted house will be open to the neighborhood, remove any items you don’t want stolen. Supervision is key for both safety and security.
Now that the space is safe and secure, you’ll want to light it properly. You want it dim enough to be spooky, but not so dim people are crashing into your decorations. Buy a red or blue bulb to replace your ordinary garage light, or use electric candles or electric torches. Avoid using real candles or fire for obvious reasons.
Choose your atmosphere. Is this is a science-fiction haunted house, with aliens, or a classic one with the usual cast of monsters? You can mix themes, but it might help you choose decorations if you know the overall look.
You can easily build walls from stacked cardboard boxes (available at any liquor store), or unfolded large appliance boxes. A big part of the scares from a haunted house is not knowing what’s around the next corner. Give your garage lots of corners!
Not all decorations have to be expensive. Use black crepe paper strands to create ‘curtains’ that people can’t see through. Spiderwebs are easily made from pulled cotton. If you have access to them, dried corn stalks are also inherently kind of creepy. If you can, close your garage door halfway to limit outside light, and create a naturally low door.
No haunted house is complete without monsters, so have fun with your costume, and anyone you’ve recruited to help out. Again, think of the overall tone of your haunted house when you’re choosing a costume. Is this for kids of all ages, or are you looking to send even the hardiest older kid screaming into the night?
Once you’re ready to go, remember the general rule of haunted houses (if yours is open to the public): no touching or grabbing anyone. Keep the scares hands-off.
