How to Create a Haunted Halloween Forest for Adults

Who ever said Halloween fright-fests were just for kids? We like an excuse to have a little senseless adrenaline-pumping fun, too, right? Creating a haunted Halloween forest in your own backyard for adult party guests is a great way to add excitement and holiday spirit to an otherwise generic yearly get-together, and you don't have to own ten acres of land to do it. All you really need is to know how to manipulate the blanket of darkness on Halloween night in your favor, and let the surprises and the unknown do the rest. Use the following tips to make a frightening haunted forest for all of your over-twenty one guests this year that will keep them screaming in terror until Christmas.

First, let's get the technicalities out of the way. You'll have to create a path, and that path will have to be completely clear and free of any real danger. Sticks, pinecones, rocks, etc, must all be cleared away both in advance and just hours prior to your Halloween party. Remember that your more easily frightened guests will be likely to run, jump, and turn back flips in terror. They'll need the proper amount of room, and they'll need to be able to react with stepping into a hole or tripping over stick.

Next, create the necessary lighting for safety and direction. Of course, too much light will spoil the effect, but not enough light could cause confusion about boundaries. To keep your Halloween haunted forest participants from ending up your neighbor's pool house, carefully line your path with black solar lights that give off a green glow. They'll keep the effect icy and eerie, while at the same time lighting the way just enough for safety.

On that note, add a few sporadically placed black lights throughout your haunted forest path that go out intermittently (you can purchase lights with controlled settings that turn off and on at your pre-specified requirements). The effect here is the false promise of a little extra light in a dark path that is suddenly taken away for no explainable reason. Guests will be left in the dark in terror for several seconds.

During these dark moments, have hired, professional, costumed Halloween characters come out to "play" with your party guests. Jason and Freddie are typical appearances to be expected, but most guests will anticipate seeing your chosen ghouls ahead of time. Having them sneak up quietly behind party-goers during the sudden darkness or letting them follow guests around the rest of the path until they notice is quite a different story. On the other hand, they don't have to be quiet at all. Having characters jump out and make random appearances with chains saws and axes has been done, but it works every time. Do be sure to hire professionals if possible rather than having friends and family members play the parts, as voice and body shape recognition are always haunted Halloween forest spoilers. Not knowing the person behind the mask is always much more scary, even for the most stoical guest.

Be sure to set the scene for your adult haunted forest as well. Keep in mind that going overboard with fake blood, spiders, and other typical Halloween props can make your haunted forest look more childish than frightening. Consider setting up a real graveyard scene by ordering small pet grave markers online complete with the names of your most well known guests on them (these are quite inexpensive and the real stone look and personalization is much more frightening than a cardboard cutout). Build a life size guillotine with an artificial blade that actually drops(it's easier than you might think). Place dry ice and small spotlights in front of each scene to add to the effect. Props are very important, but they absolutely must be life-like in order to work. Start your preparations a few weeks in advance.

Next, consider having voice activated props throughout your entire forest as well. We've all come close to hyperventilating in the middle of a supermarket when a voice activated witch started cackling as we walked by. Use these props more appropriately for an adult's haunted forest by actually hiding them in the shadows. While adult Halloween party guests aren't likely to be frightened by a fake skeleton, they'll jump out of their shoes if something talks to them in the dark that they absolutely cannot see.

Finally, mark the entrance and exit to your path clearly without making them visible from the opposing end. In other words, while both sides should be marked with a glowing sign or some other appropriate prop, guests shouldn't be able to see the "exit" sign until they are very close to it. Keep things exciting, use the unknown, and create an adult's haunted Halloween forest your party guests won't soon forget.