Lighted Haunted House Decoration "Portable"

In this Instructable I go over how to make a lighted haunted house decoration that uses batteries to stay portable. If you watch the videos you will hear me go over tips and tricks about the details of making the house. I hope all of my projects help inspire you to come up with your own designs. Please follow me on Instructables and my youtube channel to inspire me to make more DIY videos. Thank you.

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

Picture or Idea what to draw

Pencil

Tape Measure

Straight Edge Ruler

Drill

Jig Saw

Wire cutter

Paint

Paint Brush

Large Drill 3/8” bit or Spade Bit

1/8” Drill Bit

3/32” Drill Bit

1/2" x 4’ x 8’ Plywood

1/4” x 4’ x 8’ Plywood

1/8” x 12” x 12” Plywood

Spray adhesive

Scroll Saw

Scroll Saw Blade “Fine blade 18 plus teeth”

Hinge with screws

3/4” wide aluminum x 1’

Staple Gun

Wax Paper

3/4“ (L) Brackets = QTY 4

Orange Battery powered Lights = QTY 2

Orange Battery Powered String lights = QTY 1

Thin Wire

Printer

Quart of Black Paint = QTY 1

Paint brush and/or roller/tray

2” Hinge

3/4” x 1” x 4” Piece of wood

1/2" Screws = QTY – 18

1” Screws = QTY – 2

6” Chain

Wood Glue

Battery powered lights from a candle = QTY 2

Staple Gun with Staples 3/8”

Step 1: Find Picture

Find a picture of the haunted house you would like to use. Make sure that the picture is not copyrighted.

Step 2: Measureing Out the House

Then measure out the house in inches on the paper. Convert those measurements to feet onto the wood to get an accurate representation of the picture onto the wood.

Step 3: Draw Haunted House on Plywood

Use 1/2" x 4’ x 8’ plywood for the house. Draw out the picture that you will be using. Make sure to draw the picture on the backside of the house, this way when you cut out using the jigsaw then you wont splinter the front of the house.

Step 4: Drill Holes in Haunted House

Using a 3/8” drill bit drill hole in the corners of every window and door as well as corners that will be hard to cut out with a Jig saw.

Step 5: Cutting Out Haunted House

Use a Jigsaw with an 18 tooth per inch to create a smooth cut. If you use even more teeth then it will take you a long time to cut out.

Step 6: Placement of Tree

When figuring out where you want the tree, make sure that you will be able to add brackets to hold the tree and also not be in the way of the string lights. Once you have a location draw lines for where the trunk is going to be using a straight edge. Next mark where the brackets will be placed.

Step 7: Drawing the Tree

Using a 1/4" x 4’ x 8’ plywood draw out the wicked tree. You can use the same method as in step 3 to draw the tree. Make sure to draw it out on the backside of the plywood to prevent splintering on the front.

Step 8: Cutting Out the Tree

Using the same Jigsaw and blade you can now cut out the tree. Make sure the branches have support of the table so that they will not break off when cutting.

Step 9: Draw Out a Cat and Pumpkin

In this step draw or print out a cat and pumpkin that you want to use. Make sure that they are the right size to fit in the window. Also, draw out a rectangle piece below the pictures to cut out with the cat and pumpkin. This rectangle piece will be used to attach the cut outs to the house.

Step 10: Attach Pictures of Cat/pumpkins to Plywood

You will need to spray a multi purpose adhesive to the paper and place it onto 1/8” think plywood that will be cut out with the scroll saw. DO NOT spray both the paper and wood or it creates a permanent bond.

Step 11: Cut Out Cat and Pumpkin

Using a scroll saw with a fine tooth blade cut out the cat and pumpkins. Once they are cut out then remove the paper.

Step 12: Cut Kick Stand

In this step you will need to cut a 1”x3”x28” piece of wood for the kickstand to hold up the house.

Step 13: Painting

You will need to paint the house, tree, and kickstand black.

Step 14: Attach Hinge to Kickstand

You will need to attach the Hinge to one side of the 1’x3” piece of wood that will attach to the house.

Step 15: Attach Hinge to House

After the Hinge is attached to the piece of wood then attach it to the house.

Step 16: Make Brackets

Using a 3/4" wide aluminum cut a 4 1/2" long piece and bend it so the tree will slide in when the bracket is mounted. After brackets are shaped drill 1/8” holes for screws to mount the bracket to the board. Next mount both brackets using 1/2" screws.

Step 17: Cut Tree Stopper

Next cut a 4” long by 1” wide block out of 3/4” piece of wood. Then predrill 1/8” holes to prevent the wood to split.

Step 18: Mount Stopper

Next mount the stopper using 1” screws to where you want the base of the tree to rest on.

Step 19: Attaching Cat and Pumpkin

Place cat and pumpkins where you want them then mount them with 1/2” screws.

Step 20: Attaching the Chain

Attach a 6” chain with 1/2" screws to the kickstand and the house to prevent the stand to fall back to far.

Step 21: Light Boxes

Using 1/4" plywood make boxes that fit over the windows with the cat and pumpkins. Once the sizes are determined then cut and assemble them. Next draw out where the battery powered lights from a candle are to be located, then cut out the hole using ether a jigsaw or scroll saw. After assembly is done then paint the boxes black.

Step 22: Wax Paper

Next take wax paper and attach it to the haunted house over the back of the cat and pumpkin window. Next attach the wax paper using 3/8” staples.

Step 23: Attach Light Boxes

Using two “L” brackets per light box, attach the boxes to the haunted house with 1/2" screws.

Step 24: Attach Lights

Using you candlelight’s attach them to the light boxes. Next lay out the Christmas lights to figure out your plan of attack. Next stable them to the haunted house.

Step 25: Bats

First cut out bats with a scroll saw using the same steps in Step 10 & 11. Next figure out where you want the bats to hang from and drill a small hole in the bats and tree with a 3/32” drill bit. Next cut wire and attach the bats to the tree with the wire.