Wonderful school festival / cultural festival

[School Festival] Ideas for gimmicks to incorporate into a haunted house

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICsasashina
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. During my student years at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, I studied a wide range of fields including sound, lighting, and video technology, building a foundation in comprehensive stage production and creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, consistently building experience in production and engaging in a variety of music-centered tasks. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting and what I feel and discover through daily interactions with my kids. I hope my work can be of help to you, even in a small way!

Have you ever seen that moment at a school culture festival haunted house when a friend looks confused and says, “Wait, who is this person?” In the dark, people swap places, the floor turns wobbly under your feet, and when you approach a creepy doll, its head suddenly spins…

Successful haunted houses hide lots of clever tricks that keep participants on edge.

From cardboard-made tombstones and talismans for spooky effects to floor pranks, with a bit of ingenuity the entire venue can be filled with screams and laughter.

Here, we introduce a variety of fun haunted house ideas.

Set props, decorations, and concepts (11–20)

bagged doll

Continuing with shipment prep. Time to bag everything!

bagged doll

A creepy, skin-crawling scare! Here’s an idea for bagged dolls.

Just imagining a bunch of dolls stuffed into bags is enough to give many people the chills, isn’t it? In the video, there are also splashes of red liquid that look like fake blood.

Dolls piled up inside bags are eerie on their own, but the blood effect ramps up the realistic terror even more.

Use this for a haunted house at a school festival, and visitors are sure to freeze in their tracks!

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Jack-o’-lantern

[Nursery Craft] “Halloween Ghost Craft” demonstrated by an active (currently working) nursery teacher.

Jack-o'-lantern

How about making a ghost lantern? It might be easier to picture if you imagine a jack-o’-lantern you often see at Halloween.

First, prepare yellow or white construction paper.

Since you’ll be cutting it into small pieces, scraps left over from something else are fine.

Next, prepare a balloon, attach the paper to it, and then pop the balloon.

After that, attach the facial features and you’re done.

I introduced it with a pumpkin theme this time, but you can also use gauze to give it a mummy-style finish.

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Zombie Prank

[Right now at our school] In a zombie tag where we have to escape while carrying the vaccine, who will be the last one standing?!

Zombie Prank

Zombies have always been iconic symbols of fear, haven’t they? If zombies suddenly showed up, a school festival could turn into a living nightmare… So let’s surprise both the visitors and the students running the booths with a sudden zombie appearance prank! You can pop out in front of a big crowd, or lead someone to a quieter spot on campus and scare them there—it’s all good! Getting lots of people involved so that anyone who gets “bitten” gradually joins in will really ramp up the fear.

Just like in a horror movie, let’s liven up the school festival with a terrifying prank!

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Abandoned Hospital Maze

Fun Abandoned Hospital

Abandoned Hospital Maze

If you’re thinking about a maze for your school festival, why not incorporate an “abandoned hospital”? Abandoned hospitals are a common setting for ghostly attractions.

An empty hospital is scary all by itself.

For a school festival, you could place nurses and doctors with obvious blood effects to give people a fright.

Paint the maze walls white and prepare hospital-like props such as beds and medical charts.

The anxiety of getting lost and the fear of the abandoned hospital will surely make it a hit.

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coffin

Cardboard crafts! “Let’s make coffins for the ghosts!” ★Cardboard coffin★

coffin

Building a coffin is also a recommended idea.

If you have a coffin in your haunted house, visitors will feel a thrill, thinking “something might come out from inside,” and you can even use it to actually pop out and scare them.

However, the shape is a bit complex.

When making one, prepare cardboard and follow tutorials on videos or websites as you work.

Alternatively, you can get a craft kit—that way, you should be able to put it together right away.

And don’t forget to prepare costumes that match the coffin.

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In conclusion

A haunted house at a school festival can be transformed into a special space that shakes participants’ hearts with just a single trick.

Try combining the effects introduced here to create a production that delivers surprise and fear—and ends with smiles.

The terrifying world you build together with your classmates will become an unforgettable memory of the festival.