Zombies and Dummies

• Zombies and dummies can be made by sewing up old clothes and stuffing them with paper or cloth in a similar style to making a scarecrow. If a whole zombie seems like too much to handle, make just the arms or legs and place them into a grave or behind a coffin to mimic a zombie trying to escape from underground. The face of the zombie can be made from an old mask or paper mache and painted to replicate the dead with a makeup kit from your local craft store. This prop can also be replicated in real life by using a friend who is willing to dress up and participate in the haunt and is far more effective in scaring customers.
  
  

Mummy

• No haunted house is complete without a good mummy prop. A mummy can be made from a cardboard cut out, newspaper and a cut-up old bed sheet. Make the sheet look old, authentic and distressed by adding some motor oil and dirt. Place your mummy in a crypt, coffin or on a slab to replicate a traditional Egyptian burial. Mummy props are typically static, but you can make sounds via a sound recorder. A fog machine or lights added to a static mummy will enhance the look and increase the effect.
  
  

Cauldrons

• A witches brew cauldron is made from an old rain barrel, whiskey drum or large trashcan that has been sealed up with epoxy to prevent leaks. A fog machine is placed inside with a colored light to give the illusion of a bubbling brew. The cauldron can be animated even further by adding a stirring prop to the pot operated by a simple electrical motor. The pot can be placed on a stand over a fake fire, and the outside can be decorated with skulls, spiders or faces to be more dramatic.
  
  

Skulls

• Skulls are a simple and inexpensive way to spice up your haunted house. Skulls can be made from a mold, paper mache or Styrofoam for a reasonable price, and the supplies can be found at your local craft store. These versatile decorations can be made to bleed, float, talk or light up, depending on your needs, with basic additions like an oscillating fan, strings, colored light bulbs and fake blood. The skulls can be utilized on zombies, served up as severed heads on a platter, decorated as ghosts or used in a graveyard as the dead coming to life.