Building a haunted house in your garage for the neighborhood kids? It probably uses more electricity than you think.
Sure, you could build a “modest” haunted house in your garage for relatively no money consuming very little energy — but Halloween isn’t a holiday known for its modesty.
While there are of course countless approaches (and products) to build your haunted house with, we’ve taken 9 of the most popular items found in haunted houses and estimated a weekly cost to providing them with electricity.
Thunder and Lighting Effects
Nothing sets the mood quite like a gloomy, unpredictable thunderstorm. While you can?t control the weather, you can give haunted house victims the same creepy atmosphere that will have the hairs on their neck standing straight up, with the Perfect Storm thunder and lightning special effects machine. Put this machine outside your haunted house to get the mood set before your visitors ever step inside. They will be jumping and squirming with every crack of thunder, just waiting to see what other scares await them inside.
Thunder and Lightning Audio Machine Kit with Speakers, 2056 watts, $31.09 per week
Outdoor Lighting
While your guests may want to find excuses to stay away from your haunted house, make sure that they always know where the terror lies. Set up some halogen lights outside to make sure your guests know where to go, but don?t stop there. Shine these bold and bright lights on some of your favorite props from rotting corpses to possessed killers hanging around your lawn so your guests know what inside the horror will only worsen.
Fostoria Set of Four Halogen Lights, 2000 watts, $30.24 per week
Special Effects Projector
Nothing is scarier than the fear of the unknown, so why not start drumming up some fear in your victims with some haunting special effects. Using a special effects projector and some sound effects you can make it seem as though there are already victims trapped inside your home, just crawling at the windows to get out. Blood splatters and wails from your victims are sure to amp up the chill factor. With these life-like effects any person daring to come inside is sure to second-guess their choice.
BenQ Projector 1080P, 1070 watts, $25.70 per week
Sound Effects Machine
You know you have created the right visual scares for your haunted house victims, but sometimes hearing the things that go bump in the night can lead to even more screams. Outfit your haunted house with the sound effects that will make their skin crawl with a whole home speaker set that will let them hear the roar of a chainsaw and the screams of other victims echoing through the house.
Theater Soultions Indoor/Outdoor Speakers plus Audio Amplifier- 2300 watts, $34.78 per week
Black Light
Set the mood in your haunted house and bring in the creepy factor with some black lighting. This dim lighting will give your home a creepy iridescent glow. Put your guests on edge so you can spring your latest death-defying monster on them, just when they think they are safe.
Screw in Anywhere Black Light Bulb, 75 watts each, Household Set of 50, $56.70 per week
Fog Machine
When a haunted house is full of creepy, billowy smoke, it only means there are more places for monsters and ghouls to hide. Create a fog storm that will have victims lost in a haze and in the perfect position for a monster to POP out and attack. The more fog you create the scarier what lies beneath is sure to be.
FogStorm 1700HD Fog Machine, 1700 watts, $25.70 per week
Strobe Lights
Fog is great for keeping your victims in the dark about what terrors lie ahead, but if you really want to set them up for some scares, outfit your entire house in strobe lights. As the lights flash, they won?t be able to see the monsters you set on them until they are just ready to attack!
Screw in Anywhere Strobe Light, 5 watts per bulb, Household set of 50, $37.80 per week
Spark Fences
If you want to really make haunted housers jump, then a spark fence is just what you need to have guests jumping out of their skin. Wait until your victims think it?s safe and your house is nice and quiet, then then run the handheld wand against the fence for a JOLT of sound and sparks. This piece will create a sparking sound so loud and terrifying your guests may be too shocked to run.
Spark Fence Replacement Wand and Power Source, 1000 watts, $15.12 per week
Animatronic Monsters
If you need a little extra help striking fear into the eyes of your victims, then make sure you fill your haunted house with animatronic monsters. Just when your visitors think they are safe around these faux monsters, have your creatures come to life for some real pulse-pounding excitement. Whether you want them spooked by screaming zombies or scared by crawling corpses, the right animatronic monsters are the perfect way to scare haunted housers right at the moment they think they?re safe.
Crawling Zombie Halloween Animation Prop, 1600 watts, $24.19 per week
If you add all these scares and terrors to your haunted house, your own person chamber of horrors will cost an extra $281.32 per week. With spine tingling prices like this, you better plan to really thrill and terrify your visitors to keep them coming back for more?.that is if they can make it out alive.
*Prices based on 9 cents per kWh rates