If Halloween is your favorite time of the year and you’re looking to host a haunted house that will send your kids and their friends running and screaming in fright, we have 10 tips for a fun and frightful night that will spook just about anyone.

1. Set the Scene

Your yard should let your guests know they are about to enter the spookiest haunted house ever. Here are a few ideas:

• Arrange faux tombstones to create a spooky cemetery.
• Have scary masks looking out from the house windows and ghosts hanging from the trees or shrubs.
• Use fake spider webs and spiders on your patio for the perfect spooky setting, letting guest know they are in for a frightfully good time.

2. Make a Grand Entrance

Any haunted house needs a host. Appoint a family member or friend to be a cackling witch in charge of pointing guests to the different areas of the haunted house—the kitchen for poison apples, the science lab for experiments and the Tunnel of Terror for a good scare!

3. Go All-Out with Decorating

A haunted house should look old and abandoned. To give your home that haunted feel, make sure it is cold. Open up the windows and let the night air in. Cover your furniture and mirrors with sheets, turn off your overhead lights and set up dim lighting or battery-operated candles. Using double-sided tape, attach realistic plastic spiders to the doors. Place plastic mice throughout the house, peeking out from under the furniture.

4. Create Illusions

Make it seem as though your guests are being watched with these glow-in-the-dark eyes made of toilet paper rolls and glow sticks. Or, create a glow-in-the-dark googly eye photo frame and have it sitting in a dark hallway. Fill a mason jar with red juice and fake eyeballs, setting it on a shelf or mantle. Hang witches’ hats from the ceiling with fishing line and leave a broom in the corner. Be as spooky as you’d like! 

5. Build a Tunnel of Terror or a Spooky Maze

A long hallway is the perfect spot for this trick. You can line the Tunnel of Terror with white streamers and spiders, having your guests crawl under and over them. Using cardboard boxes, create a maze marked with glow-in-the-dark duct tape to help guide your guests. Line the boxes with different items to make them feel creepy—bubble wrap, fake bugs, rubber gloves and spooky signs warning them to turn around. A spooky maze can be set up just about anywhere in the house, but it is always a favorite for the kiddos.

More Tips for Hosting Your Haunted House on Page 2...