Haunted House Stories Archives - Page 17 of 30

Add A Haunted Mirror To Your Scary Halloween Decorations

Posted by Thrillvania in Haunted House Stories on April 3rd, 2014

At Thrillvania Haunted House Park we take great pride in the fact that our attractions cause even the bravest of souls to run screaming in terror. We’re not permitted to allow our guests a behind-the-scenes look due to safety concerns, but we are able to pass along a few trade secrets. One our best kept secrets is how to make a haunted mirror.

Since the dawn of Time, haunted mirrors have been a central fixture in horror movies, from the absence of the Count’s reflection in “Dracula” to the evil mirror in “Poltergeist” and even the possessed mirror in this year’s blockbuster, “Oculus”, there’s a demonic reflective device tucked into the scenery in every horror movie.

It makes perfect sense, too. There’s a mirror in every bathroom, bedroom, hallway and foyer in America. What better way to instill lasting fear in an audience than to make an object of abject terror out of something so seemingly innocent and so common you can’t possibly avoid it?

Which is exactly why you need to include a haunted mirror in your Halloween decorations this year: So you can scare the bejeezus out of your guests so deliciously they’ll still be trembling when they make that midnight trek to the bathroom weeks after your party!

How to Make a Haunted Mirror

What you’ll need:

Any mirror: New or old, hand mirror, makeup mirror or an antique monstrosity that hangs ominously on the wall.

Steel wool, or paint remover and a cloth
Clean, lint-free cloth for buffing
Picture of something evil: An evil clown, Freddy Krueger, or your aunt without her makeup – any picture will do as long as it’s something scary.
Clear or disappearing adhesive tape

Basic Directions

Turn the mirror over so you’re working on the back, or silver, side. If it has cardboard backing, remove it so you can get directly at the silver coating.

To use steel wool: Begin in the center of the mirror and work outward, using the steel wool to scratch off the silver coating.

To use paint remover: Apply a small amount of paint remover to your cloth and again, begin in the center of the mirror and work outward to remove the silver coating.

After you’ve removed the silver use the clear adhesive tape to anchor your picture to the backside of the mirror with the image facing out through the glass.

Making Your Mirror Scary

The amount of silver you want to remove will depend on the size of the picture you’re going to use. Start with removing just a small area of silver in the middle of the mirror and gradually widen the area until it’s a little over half the size and shape of the picture you’re going to use.

Then, ease up on the pressure and continue enlarging the area until it’s about an inch smaller, all the way around, then your picture. You don’t want your guests to look in the mirror and see that they’re just looking at a picture behind a clear piece of glass so don’t remove all the silver at this point. Leave enough around the edges of the picture to make it look cloudy.

Use the clear adhesive tape to tape your scary picture to the glass with the image facing out through the mirror. Use as little tape as possible and try to place it where you haven’t removed any of the silver coating so it won’t be noticed through the mirror.

Now, look for strategic locations for your mirror. The best place is in a room like the bathroom, a room where the lights are generally off until someone enters and it’s small enough that no matter where they’re standing when they turn on the lights they’ll immediately see the image in the mirror.

You can also hang your haunted mirror just around the corner in the hallway so they bump into it on their way to the kitchen, or inside a cupboard door so they see it when they reach for a glass. Turn an antique hand mirror into a haunted prop for your Halloween costume or place a haunted mirror in the middle of your séance table.

The possibilities are endless but one thing’s for certain: When you include a haunted mirror in your Halloween decorations your guests will remember your party for a long, long time.

Carnival Freak Show: This Year’s Hottest Halloween Party Theme

Posted by Thrillvania in Haunted House Stories on March 27th, 2014
Tags: American Horror Story, Carnival, Freak Show, Sideshow

Here at Thrillvania we’re ecstatic over the news that American Horror Story Season 4 will revolve around a carnival freak show. A haunted house? An asylum with an evil Nazi doctor? A coven of witches with super powers? They’ve all been done before. But, what could be more deliciously terrifying than a Halloween party filled with sideshow freaks and not-so-human monstrosities?

The best, scariest Halloween party and costume ideas are those which are rooted in reality and even though we’re pretty sure AHS will stretch credulity to the snapping point, carnival freaks were real and they were big attractions in the late 1800s and early 1900s. While none were particularly scary and all were to be admired for their courage and tenacity, these early circus sideshow freaks can be a good starting-point for putting together a truly gruesome Halloween costume.

For example, consider Myrtle Corbin, a successful sideshow performer who had 4 legs. Weng, the Human Unicorn, had a 14-inch horn-like spire growing from the back of his head. Perhaps the most famous of all, Joseph Merrick, so horribly deformed he was nicknamed “The Elephant Man.” And the contemporary sideshow performers, The Spider Sisters, conjoined twins who share four arms and three legs.

On your invitations this year, tell your guests they need to “Go big, or go home!” It’s safe to assume that series creator Ryan Murphy will be unleashing unimaginable human atrocities that will make even the most terrifying chainsaw-wielding clown look like a 4-year-old in a cuddly bunny costume and your Halloween Freak Show party should be equally as terrifying.

A good Halloween party only starts with the costumes. Let’s not forget the endless possibilities for your carnival freak show decor. Put up a dingy, dimly lit circus tent in your backyard. And right down the center aisle be sure to set up a shelf full of traditional, old-time circus oddities – jars filled with eyeballs, brains, and other assorted organs and body parts, all soaking in formaldehyde. Turn on the creepy calliope music and let the party begin!

Let’s Play ‘Ghost in the Graveyard’

Posted by Thrillvania in Haunted House Stories on March 20th, 2014
Tags: Ghost in the Graveyard, Ghosts

Ahhh, it’s finally Spring. Time to put down that video game controller, go outside and have some fun. What’s that you say? You don’t have anything to do? Playing outside is boring? Gather all your friends and let’s have a rousing game of “Ghost in the Graveyard!”

Hundreds of years ago when you parents were just kids, everybody played outside all the time. There were no video games, all televisions were black and white and there were only 3 channels to choose from. Way back then (in The Dark Ages), kids had to make their own fun and they played games like Tag and Hide ‘n Seek. But the best game of all is Ghost in the Graveyard.

So, gather up all your friends – the more the merrier – and head outdoors!

Set the boundaries for your game. Your playing field can cover your own backyard, a few neighboring yards, or better yet – the graveyard across the street.

Choose a home base that’s big enough for all the players to touch or stand on at the same time. It can be a large spooky tree, your swing-set, the back porch, – or maybe a large tombstone?

Choose the first person to be the Ghost. Use any method you like – Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo, or My Mother Told Me, or Rock, Paper, Scissors.

The Ghost is “It” in this game and everyone else is a Ghost Hunter. The object of the game is for the Ghost Hunters to find the Ghost, warn all the other players, and try to make it back to home base before the Ghost catches them.

Here’s how you play:

All Ghost Hunters stand on home base and count to 50 (or 100 if you’re playing field is larger).

While everyone is counting, the player who’s the Ghost runs and hides.

When the Ghost Hunters are done counting, everyone shouts, “Star light, star bright, I hope I don’t see a ghost tonight!”

Then all the Hunters move out in search of the Ghost.

The first Hunter to find the Ghost shouts, “Ghost in the Graveyard!” to warn all the other Hunters, then everyone rushes for home base.

If the Ghost catches you before you reach home base, then you’re the next Ghost!

(Hint: Smart Ghosts hide well and wait until all the players have moved past him before springing out to try to tag someone.)

Of course, it’s always possible that the Ghost will catch more than one person. When that happens, all the people he catches become the next Ghost and they all hide together to catch the next wave of Ghost Hunters.