How to Make a Haunted House Maze

Haunted mazes are a classic type of Halloween fun for older children who dare to be scared as they make their way through in search of the end and a candy reward. Create a haunted house maze in your own home, garage or other building and let kids be terrified by all that lurks within your walls. Making your own haunted house maze allows you to be creative and play a big part in the celebration of Halloween.

Decide which sections of the house or other facility you want to use for your maze. Draw out a map of the location with measurements included so you can clearly see what you're working with. Plan out your haunted house maze on paper so you can see where the dead ends and confusing or scary jump-out sections should be placed.

Clear out any furnishings or other items that you don't want touched from the area. Cover the windows with black sheets or trash bags.

Hang trash bags or dark, heavy draping to create the walls and sections of your haunted house maze. Trash bags can be hung from the ceiling with thumbtacks. Heavier draping may require hooks or nails. Consider using removable hooks to avoid damaging your walls after the event.

String fake spider webs -- available at novelty shops and departments stores before Halloween -- around the room. Stretch the webbing thin so it looks more realistic. Add fake critters and spooky items such as spiders, bones, bats and tombstones to the webbing.

Hide stereos and speakers to play spooky sound effects and creepy music throughout your maze. You can often find motion-activated spooky sound effects at department and drug stores around Halloween.

Set up black lights if you have white or neon colored items you'd like to feature. Set up strobe lights for a strange and distracting look. Dim your normal lighting and make the house fairly dark for a creepy feel. You can also turn off all the lights so it is pitch black and hang spotlights in various sections to highlight specific features. This gives you more shadowy space to hide people who will jump out and scare visitors. Use colored light bulbs to add to the dim and creepy feel.

Set up mirrors on each wall in one section to create a creepy funhouse mirror room. Ask or hire people to dress up in scary costumes and hide them in various sections throughout the maze where they can jump out and scare people.

Do a test run with a couple of people to see how the maze works and where you can improve sections for a better scare or more shocking reaction. Make adjustments as needed.