Tips for beginning haunters.

You don't need a ton of experience to produce some spooky entertainment...

Haunt!
Don't Tackle Too Much
Haunt Safe!
Atmosphere
Additional Resources
Related Pages

Haunt!

In some circles, I can admit to being a "haunter". Other times, this gets a blank stare. Then I get to explain how I decorate for Halloween, and I make it big and elaborate. Like a "haunted house". And if I'm taking my regular house, and making it seem haunted, then I am the "haunter".

But in most cases, it's just easier to say that I'm into "extreme Halloween decorating." People understand that.

Since you managed to find this web site, I suspect that you get a thrill ... when autumn winds send fallen leaves swirling across your path ... when you walk alone in the still of the night, with no companion but the full moon casting stark shadows all around ... when your every step echoes with the crunch of dried leaves ... when the days grow shorter and all of nature prepares for the sleep of winter ... when cold winds blow a chill up your spine.

I think you have what it takes to haunt. Join me!

Don't Tackle Too Much

As a beginning haunter, I would caution you against attempting to do too much the first time.

Try something small first. What worked well, and what didn't? Did you even like the extreme Halloween decorating?

Then next time you have experience. You have some supplies and equipment. And you have a good track record - when you ask friends, parents, or spouse to help - they will be more willing to do so.

The quickest way to burn out is to make huge plans, work yourself to death, and not get it all done.

Haunt Safe!

Make sure that your extreme Halloween is safe - both for yourself and for those enjoying your work.

Never attempt a "hanging".
Never use real guns as props.
Be careful with electric wiring.
Don't leave stuff around where it can trip people.
Don't leave slippery stuff on the ground.
Don't use real fire.
Don't use PVC pipe for compressed air.

As in any field of human endeavor, you will be faced with numerous choices. Should I do it this way, or that way? If one way is safer than another - choose that way. If the "safer" way isn't completely safe - don't do it at all.

Atmosphere

There are many things that you can do to make a spooky atmosphere, turning an everyday setting into something dark and sinister.

Dim The Lights

Everything looks more spooky in dim light.

In bright light, everything looks sharp and clean and detailed - not scary.
In the dark, you can't see anything - perhaps a little spooky.
In dim light, you can see the creepy decorations and props intended to scare you.

And, as a bonus - small imperfections and mistakes in your props are less visible!

Add Black Light

Black light makes fluorescent stuff glow as long as it is near the black light. Phosphorescent stuff glows in the dark after exposure to bright light - and glows brightly under black light.

Glowing things can be very spooky! Use glow on ghosts or "magical" things.

Add Fog

Fog can help make a creepy, dismal atmosphere.

For the most part, the famous dry ice fog is impractical. I suggest that you avoid it.

For small, enclosed areas, like a witch's cauldron, an ultrasonic mister is probably the best thing to use.

For larger areas a water-based (glycol) fogger is probably a good choice.

Make sure that you get a fogger that comes with a timer, or buy a timer that fits the fogger. With a timer, you can set the fog machine up, and then go do other things. Without the timer, you must hang around, pushing a button whenever you want a bit of fog.
You have to buy fog fluid to go with the machine. Don't try running it on water.
Look at the wattage of the fogger. If it's not written in big letters on the box, look for a spot that talks about power requirements. A fogger with a low-wattage heater must stop and warm up between bursts of fog. The more watts, the more time you can spend fogging and the less time waiting. I would avoid anything under 600 Watts. There are cheap plenty of fog machines for sale that are 300W or 200W. I think you'll be disappointed in one of those.
The fog from one of these machines is hot, like steam. And "hot air rises". The fog from these machines comes out and up. It gives a London pea-soup fog effect. If you want a fog effect that hugs the ground, you must build a fog chiller.

Strobes

Strobe lights provide regularly timed flashes of bright white light.

Some people like to flash these lights at the people they are trying to scare. I prefer not to.

I like flashing the strobe on a prop that I want to call sudden attention to. We have several props that pop up and startle people. We have them set up so that the strobe flashes on them only when the thing pops up.

If you leave the strobe on all the time, it loses its startle value.

There is one really good place where you would want to leave strobe on all the time. This is when you are attenpting to disorient or confuse somebody - as in a dot room.

Strobe lights are easily found near Halloween at Wal-Mart, and year-around at novelty stores like Spencer Gifts.

Additional Resources

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