How to turn your home into a haunted house in 5 simple steps
Our favourite time of the year is here, with Halloween just around the corner and plenty of fun brewing. Halloween is all about getting dressed up, throwing a fabulous murder mystery party, and enjoying some tasty treats, but organising these things can be overwhelming for any Body!
At Sisters Grimm we work like demons to ensure you have a hassle free party planning experience. Keep reading for our Halloween haunted house hacks to help you throw a party to die for…
Step 1 – Put up a spooky front
While decorating inside is clearly a priority, giving the right first impression from the outside can get people looking at your home as haunted before they walk through the door. The classic pumpkin lined walkway is a favourite for a reason and is one of many excellent ways to decorate a front garden. Also consider cardboard ‘tombstones’ with humorous names and causes of death.
For those without a front garden you can still do a lot just with your front door. A ‘keep out’ sign can set the tone, especially if you add a warning suitable to your theme. For our Monster Mansion murder mystery party, we recommend something along the lines of ‘Lurch Zombie welcomes all Brainiacs.’
Step 2 - lighting
The right lighting will instantly set the mood and there are many ways for you to create the effect that you want. If you are setting up to play one of our many Halloween murder mystery games, you may need to keep a decent level of light so that people can read their to-do lists and examine the evidence. Instead of keeping the bright overhead lights on, strategically placed lamps work best.
Pumpkins with candles inside are a fiend favourite, but all lights don’t have to be dark or scary. Fairy lights work well as glittering stars in the night sky, and are particularly well suited if you are playing Once Upon a Crime, our fairy tale mystery, this year. A red scarf draped right can dim your lights and add a little colour to your party.
Just remember, draping fabric to create mood lighting can be dangerous if you have the wrong kind of bulb or a lack of ventilation. Make sure to check you are using a low watt energy bulb or simply swap out your usual bulb for a red one to create a similar effect.
Step 3 – Decorate prop-erly!
The right props scattered around can really make for an unforgettable atmosphere. Extra points if people want to take selfies with them! Once again it isn’t all about buying up all the expensive decorations you can find. You can repurpose many items you already own, give your furnishings a spooky make-over, and get crafty to create show-stoppers of your own.
Carve yourself a pumpkin wine holder and turn your décor into a handy drink dispenser to get your tricks and treats in one! Cut spiral ghosts out of white paper and hang them from the ceiling along with bats, and for a top tip, stop dusting now for all natural cobwebs!
You won’t need all hands on deck to get your house ship-shape for our pirate murder mystery, just roll up any rugs, dust off anything that can be used as booty and clear plenty of space for you to shake yours as you move onto the right music.
Step 4 – Sounds like a plan
The right playlist can do half the work in setting a spooky crime scene! Each of our murder mystery games comes with a bespoke Spotify playlist to get the party started, with enough songs to keep you going from dusk ‘til dawn. For our pirate themed mystery, think sea shanties and anything that your crew can harmonise to, while our witches and wizards game has hits that are sure to charm.
For a top tip - use an Alexa to great effect by hiding one in a corner and setting it to play creepy sounds like whispering or children giggling.
Step 5 – Get dressed to kill
The best way to make your guests feel at haunted home is to believe it yourself and act accordingly. Get into costume and into character and really sell the theme. Your guests will naturally join in. No Body can resist when you put on an accent or act genuinely terrified of the decorations or the creepy music. Utilise props yourself to add to your outfit and keep you in character, and don’t forget to arm yourself with a tasty cocktail or snack. (Check out our blogs for more tips and tricks!)
However you choose to ring in this Halloween, all that really matters is that you have put some effort in, and that your hordes of family and fiends have a scarily good time. With our murder mystery games we include all you need for a hassle free party so you can have all of the fun without working yourself to death. Click here to hear what the survivors had to say, and happy Halloween from Sisters Grimm…
