How to Build an At-Home Haunted House

DIY Halloween Ideas for the Ultimate Scare Experience

“Halloween is a spooktacular time to bond the family with creativity! Transform a portion of your home, like a cozy corner, into a creepy corridor or your garage into a full-blown fright fest to delight the neighborhood. Soon enough you’ll live in a house full of ghosts, with kids grown and moved out, so use Halloween as a time to put down the devices, and create something that looks great, makes you feel good, and brings enjoyment and memories that will last in the crypt of your mind for all of eternity,” says Kathryn Emery, Home Improvement & Lifestyle Expert and Founder at Be The Best Home.

According to Emery, the key is to start with a vision that will spark the story. Every memorable haunted house needs a story! “The most memorable haunted houses aren’t the biggest or most elaborate, they are the ones that make you feel something. Choose a theme to start the story of your haunted house. The best part of the experience, for our family, is creating a narrative that is alluring for all and leaning into that and watching it come to life. You can start with something simple from the famous Halloween characters – such as Skeletons, Witches, Pumpkins, Clowns and dial up or down your level of horro. Or you could find a decoration somewhere that inspires you, an animatronic, and build the theme around them. We bought a scarecrow animatronic named Zardy from Home Depot in 2021 and created Zardy’s Corn Maze. This year, we are bringing him back, with new friends to create Twisted Maze. The most fun is having my son, Dylan, write the story and draw a poster for the Haunted House. Once you have the story and theme, not only does it become part of your story, but you can also connect with your family throughout the season when you see creativity in line with yours out there in so many ways, for example there are a lot of scarecrows out there, and Dylan and I love them all. We are coming Universal Horror!” Emery.

Start Small: A Cozy Haunted Corner

This doesn’t have to be a “go big or go home” type project. For people with smaller spaces, and even budgets, or just wanting to try this out, a cozy corner in your living space, or even a hallway will do just fine (think creepy corner or haunted hall!).

Some easy ideas include:

• Repurposing items you already have at home such as art supplies and paper to decorate the floors, walls, and area. If you have some neon markets and a black light it creates magic at night.
• Flickering LED candles, or smart lighting that changes color for an eerie effect. Can be as simple as putting a smart or remote control A19 LED light bulb into a lamp and making it red, purple, or orange.
• Grab a Halloween character, one you have, like a plastic skeleton, or create one using rubber bands, old clothes and something to stuff the body like amazon packaging, newspaper or other clothes. Think a DIY scarecrow with things in your home! Position your character in a normal pose in the space, for example a skeleton reading a book on the couch or sitting in the hallway waving as you walk by high fiving on the way to the bathroom.
• Grab a blue tooth speaker and make a playlist of sounds to match your vibe. For younger kids Spooky Scary Skeleton is a banger!

For kid friendly – incorporate a game into the space, Dylan Emery, Kid-trepreneur and TV Personality shares, “We used Crayola Color Whirls with neon markets on the floor, that was lined with butcher paper, to create a cobweb looking effect but had so much fun doing it! I would challenge my friends when they came over, and the minute they walked into my Creepy Corridor they were blown away.”

Going Big: Turning Your Garage Into a Haunted House

If you’re ready to create a larger attraction, the garage is often the perfect place to build your temporary new home. The key is getting organized, says Emery. “In order to create an artist needs a blank canvas first. The garage is the canvas to a large haunted house. First get everything off the floors and into cabinets or wall storage solutions. There can be absolutely no clutter in the haunted house or it can detract from the space itself, and it can be unsafe. Remove loose cords, tripping hazards, make sure there is a clear path in and out of your haunted house. Once the space is empty, it’s a lot easer to watch your masterpiece come to life,” explains Emery.

Step 1: Get Organized

Before decorating begins:

• Remove vehicles and loose items around the garage that will be in the area you are trying to create the haunted house. Sorry dad, you’re parking in the driveway for the month.
• Create designated pathways for visitors, this is helpful using plastic trash bags hung from the ceilings or walls, with simple push pins. Creating a designated space people cannot go out of ensures the house is a house, and your guests stay safe.
• Identify electrical outlets for lighting and animatronics, use extension cords if needed but be sure to tape the cord down so people do not trip over them.
• Decide where guests will enter and exit – make sure it is easy to see and people know where to go with no obstacles. Handmade signs are helpful, and fun to make as a family. Do not have a scare at the exit, so people can get out safely without tripping and becoming a permanent member of your haunted house.

Step 2: Clean the Space

A clean garage makes decorating easier and safer.

• Sweep floors thoroughly
• Remove excessive dust and cobwebs
• Organize storage shelves
• Secure loose cords and tools
• Check lighting and electrical connections

Step 3: Choose a Theme

Picking a theme helps every decoration work together. It also is the best part of the storytelling experience. Be sure to go to the big box retailers as field trips for inspiration, physically seeing everything in one place working is just fun to do. And check your local listing for other haunted houses near you for some fun activities to do together.
Popular haunted house themes include:

• Ghoulish Graveyard – bones, cobwebs, tombstones, spiders
• Creepy Carnival – clowns, skeleton animals, did I mention clowns!
• Chilling Corn Maze – scarecrows, corn stalks (you can get at pumpkin patches), crows, ghouls, spiders
• Witches Covenant – Witches, Weegee, supernatural, evil eye, spells, black cats
• Abandoned Asylum – think empty warehouse skeleton, ghosts, zombies, mummies
• Armageddon – zombie apocalypse, skulls, gas masks, green slime
• Sinister Buccaneers – ghastly pirates, skeletons, cursed ships,

A skeleton-themed haunted house is an easy and affordable option because skeletons can fit into almost any spooky scene. “Skeletons are my absolute favorite Halloween character in a haunted house because they can be anything you want them to be. You can buy a Halloween costume for them and dress them in any theme you want, or use clothes around your house. They can be terrifying, funny, elegant, or on trend, they are the quintessential host of any haunted house. Last year we disco mirror balled our skeletons, and created the Nuclear Disco where they were Studio 54 style partying, a nuclear explosion happened and the middle part of the house was repurposed dark decorations like spiders, ghouls, scarecrows, with green nuclear lighting; and the end was a glow in the darn, neon, disco dancing experience. That was of course, hosted by the skeletons in polyester suits! Burn baby burn,” says Kathryn Emery.

Step 4: Create the Walls

Temporary walls help transform an open garage into a spooky maze.
Budget-Friendly Option

• Use heavy-duty black trash bags. Make sure they are PRO quality.
• Attach them with push pins, staples, or removable hooks, use a sturdy ladder.
• Layer bags with slits in them to get the professional effects the major players of haunted houses have to divert attention before the next scare.

Upgraded Option: Create richer textures and a more professional look

• Install permanent curtain rods as high as you can
• Hang black curtains or theater drapes
• Easily pull to the side or remove curtains and store everything

Step 5: Focus on Lighting

Lighting may be the most important design element.
Consider using:

• Color-changing Wi-Fi smart bulbs
• LED floodlights
• Black lights
• Battery-powered lanterns
• Flickering candle effects
• Try color combinations such as:
  o Purple and green for a classic haunted feel
  o Red for a creepy blood drenched feel
  o Blue and white for a ghostly atmosphere
  o Orange and purple for a family-friendly Halloween display

“People often spend too much on decorations and not enough on lighting. Lighting, next to creating the story, is EVERYTHING! I have always been the queen of lighting from my two decades in-house at Home Depot storytelling in public relations. Great lighting makes simple decorations look spectacular. Smart lighting these days offers so many colors, you can install today, and use various shades of white, and then change the color based on the season can go from Easter to Independence Day to Halloween to Christmas and always be on theme, with smart indoor and outdoor options. Some lighting can even flicker or dance to the music, so for example download ghouls haunting sounds and turn the lighting to flicker as their voices fluctuate. It is the easiest and most effective décor to have in your home,” Emery explains.

Add Sound and Music

The right soundtrack instantly elevates a haunted house.
Ideas include:

• Thunderstorms
• Ghostly whispers
• Organ music
• Creaking doors
• Footsteps
• Halloween-themed playlists
  Keep speakers hidden throughout the space to create immersive sound effects.

Mix Large Animatronics with Small Details
Many homeowners focus only on large decorations, but a successful haunted house combines big scares with subtle surprises.
Large Impact Pieces

• Giant animated skeletons
• Jump-scare animatronics
• Animated / talking clowns, ghosts, zombies, scarecrows, witches
• Fog machines – even log for a fog and bubble machine combo, that fill bubbles with fog

Small Finishing Touches

• Small skeleton animals
• Smaller moving animatronics like a haunted little girl riding a bike, burlap dolls with creepy eyes, or friendly folks like Jack the Skeleton
• Flickering candles
• Antique or broken-down looking items, half a chair, a broken mirror
• Spider webs, creepy cloth, black sheer fabric
• Glowing eyes hidden in dark corners
• Can even paint a repurposed a cardboard box as a coffin

Dylan Emery, Creative Director at Be The Best Home, says the little surprises often create the biggest reactions.
“Everyone notices the giant attention-grabbing animatronics, but people really jump when they suddenly spot glowing eyes watching them from a corner. Or you create the perfect jump scare in a dark corner. Planning the jump scares is one of my favorite parts, because it’s always fun to see how many people you can get to scream,” says Dylan.
He also recommends adding interactive moments.
“My favorite haunted houses have something to discover in every room. Even a small decoration can make people stop and look twice.”

Making It Fun for Everyone

Remember that not every visitor enjoys the same level of fright.
Consider:

• Creating a family-friendly version during daylight hours
• Offering a scarier nighttime experience
• Keeping paths well-lit for safety
• Clearly marking exits
• Adjusting sound and lighting levels for younger children

“Will this project feel like work, yes absolutely it will. That’s why you should keep it fun with the story and theme, take lots of breaks, and realize it does not have to be perfect. The Haunted Mansion wasn’t built in a day, or even season, so just have fun with it, and start early!” says Emery. “The wizardry of haunted house comes from creativity, not budget. When the theme, lighting, details work and more important, family work together, even the simplest setup can create a spell that will keep you enchanted for years to come.”

The Emery’s haunted houses started in 2020 because of the pandemic and not wanting to miss the celebratory spirit of Halloween. They have created together: Jack Peterson’s Abandoned Factory (20), Zardy’s Corn Maze (21), Kreepy Karn-evil (22), Skeleton Swaray (23), Nuclear Disco (24), Nighty Nightmare (25) and this year creating Twisted Maze (26). To see more visit @KathrynEmeryTV and @MrDylanEmery or visit www.mrdylanemery.com or www.bethebesthome.com

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