What makes a Haunted House SpoOoOoOky?

vs.


sure, both could be haunted...but which one is more likely?


This leads me to my ultimate Monster Bash Blog question:

What makes a haunted house so spoOoOoky?

Well, there are many factors.

I'd also like to consider this post as a "what you need to make the most rockin' and scary haunted house on the block for your very own Monster Bash 2008!" (of course your party will not be named Monster Bash 2008, because I already claimed it...and you're not really throwing your own party, because you will be too busy having the scariest time of your life at MB08, right? right.


But, here we go:


1. Lighting. make it dim, make it dark, make it terrifying and uncomfortable for your visitor. the more light, the less scary. For example, look at the lighting:
and you know how scary that movie was...


but i digress...that's for another MB blog.

2. Sounds. creaking, screaming, drowning, fake vomiting, violent thunderstorms, cauldrons bubbling, witches cackling, wind howling, monsters in the basement. all are good. Todd Gallant knows what I'm talking about:





3. Age. for some reason, we associate old houses with haunting and scariness. probably because "something bad happened here in 1857" or "ghosts have been here for 188 years! ooooo!" put white sheets over the furniture, add some fake/real dust, cobwebs, old furniture...you get the idea. someone has been waiting here a long, loooong time for you.


4. Creepy Pictures. "are the eyes in that old portrait following me?" you'd better believe it. (now for your own home use, they sell things called "goretraits", like these from frightcatalog.com):

oh, what a nice old picture....

AHHH!!!!

5. Hidden Rooms. see that strange doorknob? where does it go?....whoa! where are we? can we get out alive? where does this take us? (this is probably really hard to do with your own home...)

6. The Basement. what lives down there? why is it so cold and damp? why is the door locked....?

7. The Attic. Sure, basement and attic are simliar in their oddness and in their creepy location. but both can be used in different ways. basement is more dark and damp, attic is more of a holder of all things lost in time....get it?

8. But most importantly, it's all about what you put INSIDE the house. got some creepy spiderwebs? put them out! got some fogging cauldrons? add that water! got a 6 foot tall jason voorhees figure that you bought on ebay and waited patiently for weeks for? get him by that window chasing away those trick-or-treaters! Remember, be creative, be devious....and be SpOoOoOoOky!!

127 days until Monster Bash 2008/the greatest day of the year!!!