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Safety Tips for Kids
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Halloween Safety for Yard Haunts
 Everyone loves a good yard haunt for Halloween! For those creating the haunt, be it a simple yard haunt or a home walk-thru, the planning and creating can be the most fun!
Draw out a "floor plan" of what you want to do before hand, to make sure you have the room for the lay-out. Decide how much you want to spend on putting it together, some props can be expensive but well worth it as far as "scare value".
Get family and friends involved in helping you to put it together and start a tradition that will carry over to your kids when they grow up and have families of their own. If you have single friends, get them involved, if they want to help out. Setting up the haunt can be as much fun before hand as it is when people go through it!
Plan ahead for next year. Hit all the after Halloween sales to pick up what you need for the next year and get it at a fraction of the price! Get a head start on next year's haunt and build your props early. By starting early, you can take your time and not be rushed in October.
When planning a yard haunt there are some things that you want to keep in mind for safety reasons. You want to make your haunt scary, possibly bloody and gory but when it comes to your visitors, you don't want the blood to end up being real. Here are some ideas that might help you make it safer.
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The number one item is to get extra home owners insurance for the nights that you will be allowing people to view your haunt. Nothing can spoil the fun more than a law suit because someone tripped and fell down. Most insurance companies can help you with the problem of extra insurance for the time needed, even if it's for a single night. The expense of a nights insurance will far out-weigh what it could end up costing you without it!
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When building your haunt, make sure that the walk ways are far enough away from things so that people can't trip over them or hurt themselves. This also is good for you, as it means that some rowdy visitors won't be able to ruin your props and sets. Some people just have to vandalize at this time of year and ruin it for others.
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If you have a lot of Jack-O-Lanterns, you might want to try a battery powered light source or light sticks to light them instead of candles. This cuts down on the fire hazards, such as catching costumes or props on fire. Use something like Pumpkin Lights for a realistic candle look.
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Your best bet is to just not use any live flame items but if you have to, make sure there is no chance of anything blowing into the flames, no cloth, crepe paper streamers or anything that could start a fire.
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If you are using fake blood, make sure that it won't be coming in contact with anything stainable like visitors, pets and children. Not only is some fake blood sticky but it can stain like crazy! Invest some money in a high quality fake blood like the kind at DearBloodyMary.com
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If you have a particularly gruesome haunt set up, make sure you have warning signs up so that those with a weak stomach can be forewarned. Maybe make a lighter version for little kids and their parents that's more fun and not scary. While it may take more time to build two haunt areas, your trick-or-treaters will love you for it and come back next year.
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If your haunt is going to be publicized, make sure that you get some volunteers to help with crowd control and public safety. Off duty police and fireman are often willing to help out. If you are doing it for charity, make sure and have sealed cans for donations located at the beginning and end of your haunt. also make sure that this is appropriate for a home haunt.
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Read Halloween Online's Surviving a Haunted Attraction article.
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