Cheap, easy scary entrances to your haunted house

Strike fear into your Halloween party guests by building a scary entrance to your haunted house or yard. It's cheap, easy and sometimes free. All you need are a few things you have laying around the house, yard or garden, combined with some inexpensive Halloween store items.

Scary wooden gate

If you have an old door, trellis or fence section in your yard, you can make a scary wooden gate for your Halloween yard. The more your wood is banged up, the better. Use red craft paint to make bloody hand prints. Drip a little down the door. Write a warning on your gate with the "blood" paint as well. Brace the scary haunted house yard entrance gate at an angle, so it looks like the gate is open. You can do this with a couple 2x4 pieces of wood.

Spider's lair

To enter the yard, your guests must first walk through the spiders lair. Create the entrance to the lair using a garden gate bower and spider web. Wrap the bower in web, then stretch it out on each side to form a path. You can do this easily with the use of stakes. As you extend the web, twist it and wrap it around the next stake. Be sure to place a large spider on top of your spiders lair and plenty of small cheap ones along this frightening Halloween entrance.

Curtain of doom

Frame the doorway of your haunted house with a scary curtain of doom. You can buy cheap scary cloth for this or shred an old sheet. Use a cheap craft store scarecrow with a witch mask to hold the curtain open. Place the other arm in a beckoning gesture. Give your witch a cauldron of steaming dry ice for effect and to block the view into the haunted house.

Torch-lit path

Light the way into your Halloween haunted house with torches or candles. Make a "safe" entryway for your guests. Keep the rest of the yard completely dark other than a few highlighted tombstones and spooky monsters. To highlight the monsters and tombstones, place a tiny electric tea light candle at their feet. You can also have one monster holding a lantern. This scary entrance to your haunted house or yard will leave your guests wondering what else you have in store for them.