How to Make a Halloween Haunted Graveyard

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Find some cheap wood (or break down some old flats) to build a rickety fence along the border. The more rotted the wood, the better. They don’t even have to be nailed, simply drive some of the thin planks into the dirt, forming a pseudo perimeter. Remember that, depending on how old your graveyard is supposed to be, the posts do not have to be sticking straight up…let them lean and tilt in a variety of ways.

2. Step 2

   Remember that gravestones come in many shapes and sizes. The cliché gravestone is reminiscent of half of a Vienna finger cookie jutting up out of the ground. Don’t forget that there are square ones as well as blocked ones, to name only a couple of variations. If you are trying to achieve the look of a very old and overgrown graveyard, do not perfectly line the gravestones up, each in a perfect, up-right position. After many years, it would have been possible for some to be knocked over, tilted to the side (as the earth slowly pushes new soil and rocks to the surface) while others might even be defaced or full of graffiti. Finally, don't forget about those that were intentionally laid flat to be viewed by standing over it.

3. Step 3

   Have people dressed as ghosts to haunt the graveyard. For a full ghost adventure for download, see the link in the RESOURCES section below.

4. Step 4

   For a very inexpensive, large grave block, stack two or three progressively smaller boxes on top of each other with a large slit cut on top. Cut out a large cardboard cross to slip into the slit. Spray paint it gray after assembled.

5. Step 5

   To age a gravestone further, tea stain cheesecloth (found in the cooking section of your grocery store) and strew it across the markers. It really looks great when the wind wisps it like tattered flags.

6. Step 6

   If your graveyard is an area that your guests must past THROUGH, add some zombies (with corroded flesh) wandering throughout, waiting for someone to pass through. Now, you might be tempted to allow your zombies to chase your guests…however, try restricting their movements to slow and despondent gestures. Never allow them to move faster than a walk-pace. They will not be able to ‘catch’ anyone, but if there are enough of them, it will be a creepy place to walk (or run) through. As a tip for make-up, try to go for a pale gray coloring with a slight tint of green.

7. Step 7

   Have a grave keeper tending the site. There are a variety of types that you could choose from including, but not limited to, the following:
   
   • A crusty old man that has been there for 50 years. He knows about the ghosts and strange happenings, but he’s grown to accept them as part of his job.
   • A strange, talking to himself type who is inside one of the graves, making room for one more.
   • One that is scared out of his mind and warns visitors to stay away lest ‘the evil takes them, too.’