A Pattern Book of Frights & Haunted Dwellings

Haunted House Designer

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Plate XLI.Design No. 41.
Principal Floor Plan · Victorian Mansion 051015 ft

Preface to the Builder

How haunted houses work

  1. Hide the scare. A monster you can see from the far end of a long hallway isn't scary. Turns, walls and dark rooms keep surprises hidden.
  2. Scare from the side, not the front. A side or back scare pushes the group forward. A scare from the front sends people running backwards into the group behind them, and the house jams.
  3. Use backstage corridors. Actors in hidden pockets beside the path pop out, vanish and get ready again faster.
  4. Contrast makes people vulnerable. Going from a cramped dark corridor into a big bright room (or the reverse) makes the next scare hit harder.
  5. Hit every sense. Sight, sound, touch and smell. A mirror distraction followed by a scare from elsewhere is a classic.
  6. Pace it. Build up, peak near the end, then give some relief. Non-stop scares numb people. Long empty stretches bore them.
  7. Stay on theme. One off-theme prop breaks the story. Brave visitors also need one big wow moment.

Further watching: How Haunted Houses are Designed, by Art of Engineering

Furniture illustrations and blood splatter designed by Freepik (freepik.com).