Haunt Your Own Yard in Ten Easy Steps!

1. A Fog Machine-
The first step for haunting your yard is a fog machine to create that eerie atmosphere. As a bonus you could find one to go near your candy bowl that's shaped like something creepy, such as a Beating Heart Fogger.

2. Strategically Placed Strobe Lights-
Combining your fog machine with strategically placed strobe lights is a must in order to get that Haunted House feeling for your yard. Place either one large one next to the fog machine or many small ones around your yard, depending on the size of area you want to cover.

3. Spooky Music-
Spooky Music is a must if you’re going to haunt your own house. You can find the spooky sounds CD's pretty much anywhere that they sell Halloween stuff, I even found some at the Dollar Store today. If you have a multiple CD player, I would suggest getting several, so you don't have to loop just one CD over, and over, and over. (Trust me, it gets annoying after the second hour or so)

4. Skeletons-
Skeletons are a staple of haunted houses and decorators alike. Try to look for ones that aren't just plain, like this Evil Pumpkin, or the Hanging Melting Flesh skeleton. Of course, you could always go for the standard Glow Skeleton, but that's not nearly as much fun.

5. Scary Jack-O-Lantern(s)-
Scary Jack-O-Lanterns are an absolute must have. They can get downright eerie when added to a display or just by themselves. To avoid the wind blowing out your candle (and that black burnt spot on your pumpkin from the heat), grab a pack of LED tea light flickering candles. They won't blow out in the wind and look like the real thing. The only downside is they cost about $3 for a pack of two. (We found ours at Hobby Lobby) But if you think about it, that's pretty cheap since you can use them over and over again, and it will run for 24+ hours before you have to replace the button cell battery.

6. Creepy Cobwebs-
A lot of people discount the 99 cent bags of cobwebs with plastic spiders mixed in them. They're cheap, and stretched over a dead tree or bush, look pretty darn creepy in the dark. Downsides are that it takes a long time to stretch it out to make it look like a web, and it's nearly impossible to get all of it off.

7. A Coffin-
Some of the scariest yards I’ve been to are the ones that have a person lying in a coffin that pops out at random moments. You can either build your own- (one person spray painted a refrigerator box and cut a lid out of it) or buy one, which can get expensive depending on the amount of detail you go into. You could also toss out the coffin and simply jump out at people if you have a convenient location.

8. Ghosts-
I don't care if you say this is too cliché, ghosts can scare the pants off of people if they pop out of nowhere and manage to look unearthly. Cheesecloth makes a great fabric for making ghosts, just make sure you cover any support poles you use so it doesn't look too cheesy. (Ha, ha)

9. Random props-
You can use just about anything to spice your yard up, from tombstones to body parts. Some of my favorites I found are: Eyes, Ears, and Fingers Assortment, Skinned left arm and leg, a heart, Peeled-Off Face, and the Bag O' Bones.

10. A Scary Costume-
Hopefully, this is obvious. I hope that no one would be as dimwitted as to spend so much time on their yard they would forget the most important part of a scary set up. Some of the best (if you’re willing to spend the money) I’ve ever seen are the Creature Reacher collection. Or you can always go as a generic zombie, which can scare the living daylights out of people if you do it properly. (Hint: for that lovely undead look, try combining black and white cream paint, and don't forget the blood!)


In case you’re wondering, I don't have the scariest yard on the block. I'm hoping next year to be able to get a costume website to sponsor an amazing one (By letting them put a giant sign in the yard) Chances are slim that it'll happen this year, but if you’re interested, let me know. All the products featured on this page come from http://www.frightcatalog.com/ if anyone is wondering.


-Mer
Questions, Comments, or have a Story Idea? E-Mail Mer- purplepineappletown@hotmail.com