NOTE: BEFORE DOING ANY CONSTRUCTION ON YOUR HAUNT, ALWAYS RESEARCH YOUR LOCAL CITY, COUNTY AND STATE CODES FIRST TO ENSURE YOUR IN COMPLIANCE AND SAFE!

So you want to start a home haunt or yard haunt? Who hasn’t had the idea of hosting a haunted house in their home or in their yard? Have you even considered the safety measures that will have to be in place, such as fire extinguishers, exit routes, flame retardant or even fire suspension systems? This article will give you a brief outline (each state has its own codes) on safety measures a home haunt should have.

Location

Before designing or building your home haunt you will need a location at your house. The most common location is your garage and/or yard. I strongly advise you to NOT build your home haunt in your house, it will only cause many problems with your local fire Marshall. When we first started our home haunt a local paper did an article claiming that our haunt went though our home, which provoked our local fire Marshall to come and inspect our haunt. The safest location is in your yard, but you should be able to also include your garage without any troubles.

Building

Now that you have a location to build your home haunt, you will want to construct it safely. Black plastic tapped to a wobbly wood structure is quite possibly the most unsafe way to go. I recommend building your haunt with 4′ by 8′ walls built out of 2′ by 2′s and 1/4″ osb panels. It will only cost you around ten dollars a wall and will be a sturdy structure. Once your walls are built you can then start screwing them together at the seams making square rooms. Use 2′ by 4′s across the top to secure them even more.

When you design your layout you will need to have an emergency exit route from each room. I recommend making a hallway between your rooms with a door to each room to act as an emergency exit. Now that your structure is constructed, you can begin painting and detailing. I strongly recommend you DO NOT build a roof on your haunt. Most ( but not every) state codes require a roofed amusement structure to have a fire suspension system. Make sure every screw nail, or anything harmful is picked up when dropped. Also make sure there are no screws protruding from your walls, if so grind them off.

Fire Extinguishers, Flame Retardant & Exit Signs

Now that your haunt has been painted, detailed, lighted, props placed, and whatever else you may add to your haunt you will need to add fire extinguishers. You will need to have an accessible fire extinguisher placed every 75 continuous feet. Your actors and staff must know how to use a fire extinguisher and know where the fire extinguishers are placed.

New York Fire Shield

Next you will need to purchase flame retardant. Most companies sell it in 5 gallon pails and 55 gallon drums.( Most common brand is New York Fire Shield). I recommend going to a hardware store and purchasing a garden sprayer. Then fill your sprayer with flame retardant and spray EVERYTHING until it is soaked. Do where protective eyewear, gloves and mask when applying.

Now that your haunt is flame retardant and has fire extinguishers you can post exit signs. For a home haunt I would recommend buying paper exit signs from any hardware store. Apply exit signs on every single exit in a visible area. One extra item to add is flashlights placed in each room. The actors should know where these are. On case of an emergency these will be needed.
Yes, You Can Be SHUTDOWN!

Final Advice

While all of these safety measures can ensure that your home haunt operation will be safe, you can still be shut down. The government still views this as a business, especially if you are taking in money. Professional haunts have to have insurance, permits, license, sprinklers, and many other aspects. Your home haunt is not going to have these things, for most of your homes will be residential. Always be prepared for the worst, but expect the best. I ran my home haunt for the past 8 years without any trouble. Only one visit from a fire Marshall back in 2006, and he deemed the haunted house safe. I hope this article has given you all some guidance on producing your home haunt or yard haunt. Always remember that safety is your number 1 concern. Happy haunting!