No matter how many cool Halloween props you have in your haunted house, it will not come alive unless you have actors in costumes. When you have people dressed in costumes that go with the theme of the rooms, or scenes within your haunted house; not only does it bring an extra spook element to your haunt, but actors can do many things that you can’t do, even with animated props.
Dressing your actors, or helpers in Halloween costumes is essential for any haunted house, but when they are in costume, they will also have stay in character. This isn’t as important for the home haunter as it is for the pro haunted house, but if you really want to pull of a really great haunted house, the people helping you should try to stick to these rules.
A mummy eating a caramel apple, and giggling with their friends, isn’t going to scare too many people.
I know this is one of the hardest parts about pulling off a good home haunt. Every year this seems to be a problem, as some people don’t want to stay in the rooms they were assigned, or be talking on their cell phones while they are suppose to be scaring the group that is coming through.
I still haven’t been able to completely solve this problem, as you can’t be too choosy who helps with your home haunt when you need all the help you can get. One idea would be to assign those people different tasks. If there are some people helping you that you are fairly sure won’t get into the acting aspect of the project, assign them some other task, maybe putting together the graveyard.
Others that you are pretty sure will be able to stay in character, and keep their costumes on, at least most of the time, go ahead and assign them a place within your haunt. Ensure everyone has a Halloween costume to match the character they will play, and know what they are suppose to be doing on that night.
Remember, you are essentially putting on a miniature live production.
