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.