Thread: Simple but effective ideas....

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Most of us go over the top with our halloween decorations but what are some very simple things that make your house or someone elses look creepy?
For me a single jackolantern glowing in a darkened upstairs room is very eerie.

Replacing the chandelier lights in the dining room with those flicker lights does it for me. ...or I run some orange/purple string lights in places and that looks friggin cool.

I agree. There are so meny things that are simple but very effective. The glow of a jack-o-lantern in dark place, fog in just the right place, a few sound effects, and spider webs are just a few of the very7 simple things that go a long way to create a haunt. Some things light just simple lighting, fog, and sound create illusions to the viewer that go a lot farther than so more complex and expensive props.

To me, the scary houses are the ones that look abandoned and neglected... the houses that have peeling paint, boards loose and shutters hanging by a single hinge. Overgrown like nature is slowly swallowing the house...

I wouldn't decorate that way, but that's creepy to me.

Personally, I feel the single easiest, most effective thing is boarding up the windows. Oh! And taking my wifes pretty flower pots down from everywhere!!!! Ooooooo....she gets soooo mad!...lol

Originally Posted by ChangedReality

Replacing the chandelier lights in the dining room with those flicker lights does it for me. .

We do the same thing

Atmosphere can be the biggest creep factor. If someone darkened their entire house, with the exception of some dim lighting coming from one room, played an eerie soundtrack out of a window (wind blowing, some creaking, low moans) it would freak most people out. Darkness is unsettling and disorienting. Some displays rival Christmas in their presentation but those with the right lighting, sound and even just a couple of well placed props can be the most effective.

We don't have a haunt becuase our Apartment owners won't allow it. I do try to do as much as I can with what we're allowed. That is the one thing we do is turn off all the lights in the front, and I have a spooky soundtrack I made myself that I play out the front bedroom window. Then we have a lighted Jack 'O Lantern in the front window. We have a lighted skull doorbell that is the only light that is in our foyer. We have a few candles inside the front door for us to see with. We don't get many TOT'ers unfortuately, but the ones we do say they love our creepy soundtrack.

the most effective I find is to cover your walls with those brick halloween wallpapers...changes the atmosphere of your home completely.

never forget the 3 most important aspects to a good haunt; lighting, calculated positioning for your props and sound (a bit of smoke doesn't hurt either)

We switch all the lights off and just have the television going - it gives a blue glow to the outside world and people just don't know whether to come up the path for trick or treat - or not!

Works every time!

Darkness and candlelight are most evocative indoors, but outside?

A yard and porch may have nothing more than a lit Jack O' Lantern and a colored lightbulb in the porch, but it will be memorable with one addition - the singular call of a Great Horned Owl. It has an immense effect. TOTs look for the bird if you play the sound from an upper window or above a porch, thinking the real thing may be in the area.
One reason the hooting call of an owl works is that no one else uses it. It grabs the attention.