July 2008

How to haunt your house on a budget:

With gas prices continuing to rise, I thought it might be helpful to give you some creative tips to turn your home into a spooky haunted house and help you save your money for important purchases (like artwork from our Halloween Artists :) I know it is only July and a lot of you haven't thought about decorating for Halloween yet, but some of these tips require an early start to achieve the full effect.

First of all, you need to have a good looking 'haunted house' exterior. Begin by not mowing your lawn or trimming your bushes - especially the ones close to your house. Over the next few months, you can watch them grow as your house begins to look abandoned. Be sure to tell your neighbors how much money you are saving by not buying gas for your lawn mower!

Don't wash your windows and encourage your kids to cover them with hand and face prints. To heighten the foreboding appearance, position one or two children with frightened expressions at the windows. You may want to wait until Halloween is a bit closer before taking this step -- they tend to expire if left too long! This tip has the added benefit of being good for the environment - no chemicals needed, and you save water!

While we are on the subject of windows, if you have a cat, you can introduce him or her to your curtains - they should be suitably tattered by the time Halloween rolls around - all at NO COST to you! (If you don't have a cat, you can borrow one or two from the nearest barn.)

Another great no cost decorating tip for your lawn is to lash together a few sticks in the shape of crosses. Stick them into the ground and dig holes in front of them -- you now have zombies!! People will instinctively know that the zombies crawled out of these graves and are lurking somewhere near by.

The inside of the house may require a tad more effort to transform. You need to make it look as if the only inhabitants are a bit less on the living side. Dress everybody in black and instruct them to drag their feet as they walk slowly through the house. If you have teenagers, you may already have this in the bag!

Take the sheets off of the beds and drape them over the furniture to give an authentic un-lived in look. This is also an effective solution for cloaking piles of everyday clutter and kids toys. When company comes to visit (if they get past the weeds and zombies) your house will already look neat and tidy - they won't know it's a pile of laundry and not a sofa they are sitting on!!

It is the little things that make a good haunted house great. Gather a few extra spiders - let them loose in your home and in no time, your place will be dripping with creepy cobwebs. Be sure to stop dusting so everything becomes covered in a thick layer of crud. Remember, nothing ruins a haunted house like things that look fake. Why pay for fake when you can have REAL for free anyway? With a little bit of ingenuity, you can trap (without harming) a few rats, bats, and black birds. You now have authentic details to give your guests a truly frightening experience.

Now that your house is looking good and haunted, we need to work on the special effects. Every good haunt uses some type of special effect and it is often where much of the money goes.

These suggestions will surely save you a bundle all while promoting family unity:
STROBE LIGHT -- have family members flick the room lights on and off really fast
FOG MACHINE -- position people who smoke a lot at strategic points and tell them to puff away
CREEPY SOUND TRACK -- Give this job to your spouse - they should be sure to 'creek' loudly when doors are opened or closed. Instruct them in the proper way to issue blood curdling screams as well as manic laughter. (Some spouses may not even need instruction!)
EVIL WIND -- your dog will gladly provide this service!!

Feel free to stop by our blog and share your money saving Halloween tips and pictures of you haunted houses...

Till next time,
Jan

About the Author:
Jan Pierce is a Chester County, Pennsylvania artist who creates one of a kind folk art treasures. Her current and future projects include miniature paintings, paper mache sculpture, lampwork bead jewelry and anything else that happens to capture her interest! She has graciously agreed to contribute a column for us in her "spare time". Visit Jan here on HalloweenArtists.com or on her website at MoonhallowVintage.com.

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