When it comes to spooky décor, if you've got it, flaunt haunt it!
Not only did three of our viewers do just that — but they were also kind enough to share some of their spooky tips and tricks so you can trick your house out too this Halloween.
That's right — the creators of Franklin Square Horror, Ridgewood Halloween Maze and Westbury Field of Screams are spilling their guts secrets.
Let's start by taking a look at their famous haunted houses, shall we?
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Okay, so now how do we get in on some of that?
NO. 1: HOW TO MAKE CREEPY EYE POSTERS
Glow-in-the-dark eyes:
1. Purchase a poster of a witch or another creepy Halloween character from a party store.
2. Dip a Q-tip into glow-in-the-dark paint and fill in the eyes of your character.
"When the lights go off, the eyes are going to glow," says Joe, the creator of Franklin Square Horror.
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Eyes that appear to follow you:
1. Purchase any poster or portrait that you want. (Tyler, the creator of the Ridgewood Halloween Maze, actually used a portrait of his dad in the video above.)
2. Cut the eyes out from the poster (preserve them if you want to use them later — you'll see why) and cut a ping pong ball in half. (Cut safely, of course!)
3. On the inside of each ping pong ball half (the concave part), either draw, paint or use the preserved eyes you previously cut out.
4. Tape ping pong ball to the back of the poster (concave side down) where the eyes once were. And voila — the eyeballs will "move" as people walk by!
NO. 2: HOW TO MAKE FAKE BOARDED UP WINDOWS
"Looking at a haunted house, what's the first thing you'll see? The boards on the windows," Joe says.
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1. Purchase 1-inch foam insulation boards from your local home improvement store.
2. Cut the boards on the sidewalk using a 2x4 as a guide and a utility knife.
3. When you paint them, always start with the darkest color first. Use a dark brown acrylic paint first and after it dries, dry brush gray, beige and light brown over the entire piece horizontally, using a dragging brush.
Pro tip: Wiggle the brush as you paint to create a wood graining effect.
4. Dip a nail head in black paint and paint fake holes in strategic places on the boards to look like actual nails in the wood.
5. To attach the boards, use industrial strength Velcro on the back and place them directly on your house or windows.
Watch Joe and Rach make them in the video above.
NO. 3: HOW TO MAKE REUSABLE CARVED PUMPKINS
Although it’s fun to carve real pumpkins each Halloween, you can also use fake foam pumpkins (that you can reuse year after year!) to save time and money.
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1. Purchase foam pumpkins and a carving kit from the craft store.
2. Carve your foam pumpkins.
Pro tip: Laura and Zack, the creators of Westbury Field of Screams, use a box cutter to carve their foam pumpkins.
3. Put glow sticks on the inside and you have your reusable pumpkin!
Pro tip: If they fade over the years, you can always touch them up with a little orange spray paint.
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