# Stairwell Haunt Ideas?



## HazelLenore (Sep 12, 2012)

So, I live on the second floor of a 1920's-ish apartment. And the stairway to this second floor is actually inside my apartment (my front door opens right into it), complete with creaky dark wooden stairs in what is essentially an enclosed hallway. It occurred to me I could actually make a sort of absurdly tiny haunt/scene/something cool that people _have_ to walk through if they visit. In the past I've just decorated the top of the landing, and put a few little pumpkins along the stairs... but anyone have any cool ideas? Or have done something somewhat similar? I'm mostly into creepy, whimsical, and/or psychologically disturbing stuff (as opposed to gore or ultra-cutesy), but I'll take any and all crazy, fantasy ideas if anyone's got them. Sky's the limit!

And note: this is just for my own personal, Halloween-obsessed, decorating purposes; not the general public. I don't really get trick-or-treaters, and in my neighborhood it's a wee bit frightening to open the door at night anyway. Spoooky....


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## miles (Sep 18, 2013)

like this?






or like this?

sorry I'm just trying to formulate a plan lol


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## HazelLenore (Sep 12, 2012)

More like the first one. Goes straight up, enclosed on all sides. Though... goodness. That Esher-esque one would be grand for Halloween even if it did drive me to insanity all year round!


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## miles (Sep 18, 2013)

yeaaaaah sorry I just read your post again and you said it was enclosed...I got excited, sorry about the question that needed no answer haha.

you can go the demonic route. change the lights to red (although that'd be a pain walking the steps) have a dummy of a person on the ceiling in the corner.(as if the were possessed or like in the grudge) or flip it, have the stairs be a "descent into hell" 

ghost: go with the frighteners/Freddy Krueger/grave encounters way and have them coming through walls




















overgrown nature: vines growing throughout, leaves, bugs and insects, mossy 

deteriorate: giant cracks going through the walls, "break through" with wood paneling . There's some great threads on here showing how to do it

quarantined: plastic sheets going all down the walls as if a virus happened...maybe even some "2X4s" made of foam covering the door so no one can enter, but cut at the door seams so you can actually utilize it
...ill think of some more, if you want, if i'm heading in the same thought direction as you. no worries if not


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## HazelLenore (Sep 12, 2012)

I'm actually liking those hands from the ceiling. Creepy. I've considered doing something like making a bunch of fake hands coming out from the walls (though... that'd seriously be a lot of hands). Or I've seen some examples of people using a bunch of those faceless masks, possibly combined with blacklight. Just kind of brainstorming here... and the good folks on Halloween Forum tend to have great ideas!


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## miles (Sep 18, 2013)

if you like the hands idea, but aren't sold on HUMAN hands lol, you could go with tentacles! lovecraft style....or throw some blue lights and make it an aquatic underwater one.


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## Jenn&MattFromPA (Sep 4, 2013)

You could decorate from above with lots of chains, hooks, shackles, weapons or even body parts dangling down from the ceiling at different lengths. You could make a giant spider nest/lair above and have tons of spiders hanging down on clear fishing line with lots of webbing and electrical tape or rope webbing across the walls. You could make a ginormous picture gallery with lots of creepy black & white photos with following eyes or scary scenes.


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## HazelLenore (Sep 12, 2012)

Neat idea! Actually... come think of it, I could sort of combine all of these together into a haunted, man-eating forest kind-of-thing: tentacles, hands, weird plants...

Uh oh... my eyes are starting to get bigger than my stairwell!


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## HazelLenore (Sep 12, 2012)

Great ideas! I love how creative everyone is!


Jenn&MattFromPA said:


> You could decorate from above with lots of chains, hooks, shackles, weapons or even body parts dangling down from the ceiling at different lengths. You could make a giant spider nest/lair above and have tons of spiders hanging down on clear fishing line with lots of webbing and electrical tape or rope webbing across the walls. You could make a ginormous picture gallery with lots of creepy black & white photos with following eyes or scary scenes.


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## Minshe (Jul 7, 2011)

If there is a way to do lighting, just that could be very cool. I ordered the fire and ice light from Grandin Road--have not received it yet, but apparently it covers a lot of space. You can do a lot with just lighting and shadows. I also have a lot of those giant spider webs and spiders and I usually decorate my stairway with those--you might need a lot for an apartment stairway. Also have seen a lot of people using skeletons wired to staircases in various poses which I think would be kind of neat. Creepy cloth is another cheap covering that looks great on stairways and sets the mood, you could use that with spiders, skeletons, crows, or a combination of all of those. Black plastic chain that you buy by the foot from somewhere like Home Depot is also relatively inexpensive ( I think it was about 17 cents a foot last time I bought it, but it has been a while) it adds a lot to the atmosphere. Sometimes simple with just a hint of scary is great for a scene like this.


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## Minshe (Jul 7, 2011)

One more--battery candles would add a nice touch also--they would be great on the steps, but for safety I would wire them to the staircase--the flickering of all those lights could be pretty cool--especially if you have any way to dim the regular lighting.


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## Eviejenn (Aug 10, 2014)

"overgrown nature: vines growing throughout, leaves, bugs and insects, mossy 
deteriorate: giant cracks going through the walls, "break through" with wood paneling ."
Expanding on miles idea, how about an abandoned hallway? Have giant cracks and vines covering the wall as if it has been empty for years. Hang some creepy framed photographs at weird angles. (Check online for vintage images.) Cobwebs in the corner, just general air of emptiness and despair.....


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## booswife02 (Apr 2, 2013)

I'm turning my stairs into a spider lair. Cob webs, cacoons and such that would also look great in your area. And inexpensive


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## HazelLenore (Sep 12, 2012)

But... what if my apartment _already _looks like that.... 

Seriously, cool idea.




Eviejenn said:


> "overgrown nature: vines growing throughout, leaves, bugs and insects, mossy
> deteriorate: giant cracks going through the walls, "break through" with wood paneling ."
> Expanding on miles idea, how about an abandoned hallway? Have giant cracks and vines covering the wall as if it has been empty for years. Hang some creepy framed photographs at weird angles. (Check online for vintage images.) Cobwebs in the corner, just general air of emptiness and despair.....


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## Pumpkinhead625 (Oct 12, 2009)

There's always this:









Or if you can get a co-conspirator, wait until a family member or friend is _in_ your apartment, then have your co-conspirator dress like this and wait at the bottom of your stairs:


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