Its that time a year again when we think about Halloween and many of us think about how elaborate we can decorate our homes, or in my case our local Haunted House.
Props, and decorations can be expensive and it pays to show around. In this article I wanted to cover some inexpensive ways you can be the hit of the town with affordable decorations.
About a month before Halloween I begin " dumpster diving " going to county dumbsites in search for usable items. I have found glass panes, mirrors, and more that while I would not put it in my own home, the items would fit great into a Halloween Haunt Scene.
You can take old clothes and stuff them with newspaper, top it with a latex mask like you buy at the store stuffed with paper and you have a halfway decent monster. You can take sheets of styrofoam from a home improvement store, score brick lines, words etc into it, shape it, paint it with cheap spray paint to make stones and tombstones. When you score the styrofoam and then paint it with cheap spray paint, the paint will eat away at the styrofoam giving the item an old decaying look.
Another trick I use to make guts etc is a can of expandable foam found in hardware and home improvement stores.
A little searching, a little work, and a whole lot of imagination you can fix you home or haunt into a first class experience for all your victims
When decorating on a budget remember it will be dark when victims come to your home. Your home should be well lit especially pathways but lighting is also important for creating the haunting atmosphere you want.
Finally remember that haunting involves all the senses. Your home or haunt should look, sound, and feel like a haunted house ( or whatever theme you pick ). Go all the way a little money on one or two big items added to many smaller homemade or cheaper props and decorations will go a long way to making your home or haunt the best in town. For ideas, and inexpensive props and costumes visit the site of my haunted house - The House of Pain http://www.hophauntedhouse.com

About the Author
Paul " DragonMaster " Pendragon is senior event co-ordinator for DragonMaster Entertainment, He is Co-Founder and Co-Designer for the House of Pain Haunted House in Middle Tennessee. He has been designing and working in haunted houses since 1977. If you have any questions or comments you can email him at psharp@twlakes.net