A HAUNTED HOUSE

A HAUNTED
HOUSE
By Joann Swanson
“One need not be a chamber/to be
haunted/One need not be a house/
The brain has corridors/surpassing
Material place. . .”
-Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
Here is a “trick” for your “treat”— a Haunted House.
Built along the lines of the very popular Boulangerie as seen
in the April 2005 issue of Dollhouse Miniatures, this project,
including the base, is only 7” deep, making it easy to display
on a shelf or hang on a wall. It may look complicated, but it is
easily and inexpensively constructed. The painting technique
for the aging is new and oh-so-simple, giving very effective
and almost instant results. Children love this type of setting
(well, so do I), making it a great choice for a family or group
project. Once the basics are done, the finishing touches can
be as lighthearted or as sophisticated as desired. Monsters
and creatures to stir any imagination can peek out the
windows. Rats, old bones, jack o’ lanterns, spiders, and
whatever else tickles your Halloween fancy can be hidden in the landscape. Of course, if Halloween is not
your thing, think of the fun and possibilities involved in making this an abandoned farmhouse.
Have fun, and Happy Haunting!
INSTRUCTIONS:
House
Materials:
• Two pieces of picture-frame glass, 15-1/2” x 10”
• Mat board
• Four-ply railroad board, semigloss white on one side and matte
on the other
• Dark burnt umber, hunter green, moss green, and dove gray
acrylic paint
• Delta’s Gel Stain Medium (this will make acrylics transparent
and retard the drying time. Artist’s Matte Medium may also be
used)
• Acid-free glue stick
• Sobo Glue
• Approximately 8-1/2 feet of 1/4” square strip wood
• Approximately eight feet of 1/2” colonial molding or similar
molding
• Two feet of 2-1/2” x 1/2” poplar wood strips
• 18-1/2” x 7-1/4” x 3/4” board for base
• 8” of 1/2”-square strip wood (all wood available at home improvement stores)
• Finishing nails
• Approximately 2-1/2 square glass slide
• Cedar roof shingles (optional)
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A Haunted House, Swanson
shiny side down, over the top of the wet paint. Holding the
thin railroad board flat, wipe your finger across it and lift
it straight up and off—sort of a blotting technique. Each
time you will find a different pattern of the brown paint left
on the white wood. If desired, a paintbrush can be stroked
across the wet surface here and there to add interest. The
wet paint will dry fairly fast. Do not try to reuse the soiled
railroad board; it will not work.
The green siding was done in the same manner and
when completely dry was washed with a very light mixture of the dark burnt umber and Gel Stain Medium. The
shutters, door, window boxes, etc., were also done with the
blotting method but were sanded back slightly after the
paint was dry.
Moss green paint was dry-brushed on with a fairly
large brush. The color was added around cracks, crevices,
edges, sills, and other places where water might stand or run
down. Dark burnt umber was also dry-brushed on here and
there to accent or weather some places more deeply.
BOTTOM STORY
General Instructions:
You should be able to find just about all of the wood
required here at your local home-improvement store. The
finer strip wood is available from your miniature supplier.
I use an X-Acto board cutter for most hard cutting. Its
palm-grip handle is much easier on the fingers and wrist. I
also use a sharpening stone to get the most out my blades.
It is very important always to work with a sharp blade.
Painting and Aging/Weathering:
As much as possible, pre-paint all pieces; touch-ups
are easy at the finishing stages. In creating this piece I
discovered an interesting and very simple way to achieve a
cracked and aged paint look. Start by painting the wood
or mat board surfaces a soft white, and let it dry. Have
close at hand pieces of the railroad board as called for by
the size of the wood piece you’re working with. (You may
use scraps, but be prepared to go through at least half a
sheet for a project of this size.) The fact that one side of this
board is semigloss is very important to the process. Paint
over the white paint on the wood with a mixture of onethird dark burnt umber acrylic paint and two-thirds Gel
Stain Medium (Delta) on the house, a piece of siding at a
time. Immediately lay a clean piece of the railroad board,
Step 1. Cut a piece of mat board and railroad board 151/2” x 10”. Using a glue stick, glue the two pieces together
with the shiny side of the railroad board on top.
Step 2. Using the diagrams and patterns, measure and
mark the green sections of the door and windows on the
face of the shiny side of the laminated paper. Using a sharp
knife blade carefully cut out what will be the glass sections
of the windows and door.
Step 3. Paint the green sections hunter green (or your
choice of color).
Step 4. Using a medium, even coat of Sobo Glue, glue the
prepared front to one of the pieces of glass of the same size.
Gently clamp them until the glue is set.
Step 5. With pencil marks, divide the front into 1/2”
siding, as shown on the diagram. Use a straightedge and
medium ball stylus (or empty ballpoint pen) to emboss the
siding on the top layer of the front, avoiding the greenpainted sections. Paint the siding following the general
directions.
Step 6. Cut and glue in place the molding pieces around
the door and windows, as shown in the diagram. The
colonial molding should be cut to a length that allows for a
1/16” extension on each side of the window. It will be glued
flat side up, creating an overhang on the tops of the door
and windows and a sill on the bottoms of the windows.
Step 7. Cut two 10” lengths of the 2-1/2” x 1/2” wood
strips for the sides, and one 17-1/4” length to divide the
stories. Face the front and side edges of the longer piece
with colonial
molding, widest
side of molding
to board and
the tapering side
down, mitering
the front corners.
Paint the three
pieces to match
the siding. Measure and mark a
line on one face
of each of the two
side pieces, 1/4”
in from one long
side. Set aside.
Step 8. For
the base (porch
floor), cut an
18-1/2” length
of 7-1/4” x 3/4”
strip wood. Use a
glue stick to fasten wood-grained
paper (see cutouts) to the face of this piece. (You may also
choose to face it with wood strips and add a distressed
or aged finish.) When the glue has set, use a stylus and
straightedge to indent lines between the boards.
Step 9. Glue an end of one of the prepared 10” side pieces
to the top of the base—orient the upright piece so that
the 1/4”-indented line you made is toward the inside and
front of what will become the house, back edge flush with
the back of the base, and set in approximately 1” from the
base’s side. Support the upright while the glue sets so that it
remains square to the base.
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Swanson, A Haunted House
Step 10. Glue the prepared lower story front in place
on the base, with its bottom edge flush to the base and its
side edge flush to the 10” side piece already in place on the
base. Use the marked line on the side piece as a guide so
that the front piece is set back 1/4” from the front of the
side piece. Lightly tape the assembly to hold the pieces until the glue has set. Glue the second side piece to the base
and the front piece in the same manner.
Step 11. Glue the prepared story divider piece to the top
edges of the sides and glass, back edges flush with the back
of the sides and centered side to side. Keep everything
squared. Let the glue dry completely. You may want to add
glue to the inside seams.
Step 12. When the glue is set, hammer finishing nails
through the floor divider and down into the side pieces.
Lay the building on its back and hammer finishing nails
through the bottom of the base up into the side pieces.
Drill starter holes before nailing, and make sure all nails are
at least flush with the wood surfaces.
Second Story
Step 1. Create and add the upper story (atop the floor
divider) in much the same manner as the lower, using the
diagrams as a guide. The windows here are exact duplicates of those on the first story. Keep the second set of side
pieces in line with the first. Use tape to help hold the pieces
together until the glue has set.
Step 2. Cut two 4” pieces of 1/2”-square wood strips and
glue them to the inside of the house, on top of the floor divider and to the glass, each centered under a window; these
pieces will help to strengthen the structure.
Top Story
Step 1. Cut two triangles of mat board and one of railroad
board according to the pattern. Laminate all three together
with glue stick, with the shiny side of the railroad board on
top.
GABLE & ROOF
A Haunted House, Swanson
TOP FLOOR
ROOF SIDE BRACE
Step 3. For front rails, cut four 4-3/4” lengths
of the 3/8” x 1/8” strip wood and two of the
1/4” x 1/8”. Glue a 1/4”-wide strip, centered
side to side, on one of the wider strips. Repeat
with two more pieces; these will be the bottom
rails. Paint all rails to match spindles.
Step 2. Copy the green sections, as shown on the diagram,
onto the triangle. Cut out the window panes. Glue a glass
slide behind the window.
Step 8. Glue the dormer front to the top of the divider,
set just back of the trim molding, keeping the two pieces
squared up to each other.
Step 3. Paint the green sections hunter green.
Step 9. Cut two roof pieces from 2-1/2” x 1/2” wood to
size with both ends angled according to the pattern. Glue
the two pieces together to form a peak and hold it with tape
until the glue sets. Staple the two pieces together on both
sides for strength, making sure the staples are flush with
the wood’s surface. Cover the front edges of the roof with
colonial molding.
Step 4. Mark 1/2” sections across the triangle, avoiding
the green sections, and use a medium ball stylus (or empty
ballpoint pen) with a straightedge to indent the top surface
of the laminate, avoiding the green areas.
Step 5. Use a mixture of one-third hunter green acrylic
paint and two-thirds Gel Stain Medium to paint the siding, a section at a time. Use the blot method to texture
the paint. Let it dry thoroughly. Wash with a mixture of
one-fourth dark burnt umber and three-fourths gel stain
medium until the desired aged effect is reached.
Step 6. Trim the dormer window with 1/4”-square strip
wood and colonial molding. Set aside.
Step 7. Cut a 17-3/8” length of 2-1/2” x 1/2” wood for
the dormer base. Trim its front and two sides with colonial
molding as was done for the other story divider. This will
bring the total length to 18”.
Step 10. Glue the roof to the top edges of the face of the
dormer story and to the outer edges of the story divider that
you previously set aside, back edges flush.
Step 11. Trim the three inside edges of the dormer front
with 1/4”-square wood strips, cutting corner angles as
needed.
Step 12. Shingle the roof, or simply paint it as desired.
The Porch
Materials:
• Four 9-1/2”-long, 1/2”-square lengths of strip wood for porch posts
• Approximately 24 porch spindles (segments of plastic party picks were
used)
• Approximately three feet of 3/8” x 1/8” strip wood
• Approximately 18” of 1/4” x 1/8” strip wood
• Corrugated cardboard (the corrugated board used here is green from
Paper Reflections Corrugated Darks, a scrapbook supply purchase)
• Mat board
• Thin sheet of tin or aluminum
Step 1. Cut four porch posts 9-1/2” long. Paint to match
the house. Glue one end of each to the base, the two corner
ones in line with the corners of the house and 1/4” in from
the front edge of the base; the other two (which will form
the porch entrance) 4-3/4” in from each of the corner posts
and also set in 1/4” from the front edge of the base. Make
sure the posts are at right angles to the base. Let the glue set
thoroughly. The posts may also be nailed or screwed to the
base.
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Step 2. Cut porch spindles to 2-1/8” lengths
and paint them to match the posts. Set them
aside.
Step 4. For side rails, cut four lengths of the
3/8” x 1/8” wood and two of the 1/4” x 1/8”,
to lengths that will span the house to the corner
posts; this should be approximately 4”. Assemble and paint
these rails as specified for the front rails.
Step 5. Glue the spindles between the top and bottom
rails, seven to each of the fronts, and five to each of the
sides, spacing them evenly. For an aged look, some spindles
may be eliminated or broken, now or later, as desired. Let
the glue dry.
Step 6. Glue the railing assemblies between the house and
posts and between the posts, 1/2” up from the top of the
base. Placing a loose, 1/2”-square piece of strip wood on the
base, under the railing, will help with the 1/2” spacing and
act as a brace for the railing.
Step 7. For the porch roof, cut a 17-1/2” x 5” piece of
mat board. Top it with corrugated board, grooves running
from short side to short side—it may be pieced if necessary.
Paint the underside of the roof to match the house. If your
corrugated board is not colored, paint it the desired color.
Age and weather the rooftop with rust-colored acrylic,
using a dry-brush technique. Follow this with a light wash
of the Gel Stain Medium-dark burnt umber mixture. Glue
the roof ’s back edge to the house just under and up to the
molding dividing the bottom and middle stories, centered
side to side, and to the tops of the porch posts.
Step 8. From railroad-board-faced mat board cut two side
roof supports as shown. With a straightedge and pencil divide it into 1/2” segments. Use a craft knife to slice through
the lines, cutting through the railroad board only. Lift some
of the lower edges of the railroad board up to give the appearance of loose boards. Paint and age the side supports:
backs to match the house, and fronts to match the trim.
Glue the side supports to the sides of the corner posts, to
the underside of the roof, and to the front of the house.
Step 9. Cut a 5/8”-wide strip of railroad-board-faced mat
board long enough to span the front of the porch from post
to post, including the edges of the side supports. Prepare
and paint to match the side supports. Glue to the fronts of
the posts, the edges of the side supports, and the underside
of the porch roof.
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Swanson, A Haunted House
Step 10. Cut pieces of tin sheeting, of the number and
size you desire, to act as roof patches. Age and distress them
with rust and dark burnt umber paint. Glue here and there
to the top of the roof. Add faux nailheads with black permanent marker pen.
For interest, a 5” length of 1” x 1/2” wood was cut and
glued to the base edge, centered on the porch opening, to
act as a step.
The Interior
Materials:
• Approximately eleven feet of 2” x 1/4” strip wood (purchase 2-1/2” x
1/4” and ask your dealer to rip it to 2” for you)
• Mat board
• 3/4” brads
Each of the three stories of the house will have its own
shadow-box structure to fit the back openings. Each is constructed separately.
A Haunted House, Swanson
Cut a 2”-wide piece
of mat board 19-1/2”
long. Measure and
mark its center, from
short side to short side.
Using this marking,
draw a line across the
center from long side
to long side. Score on
this line until the piece
will fold with ease. (If
you cut through by
accident, simply tape
the folded edge.) Glue
the back edge of this
piece to the face of the
triangle and the edges
of the bottom that are
in place on the triangle. Cut finger holes off to the sides of
the triangle.
Step 7. Frame offsets (see diagram), which can be found in
framing stores, can be nailed on the back sides of the house,
centered on the shadow boxes, to help hold them in place.
Step 2. Glue and nail the pieces together to form frames.
Keep the corners square.
Cut a piece of gold
poster board in the
oval shape shown.
Trace around it just
inside the edge with
a stylus to emboss.
Emboss the keyhole
as shown. Touch
up the edges with
a gold pen. Punch
three 1/8” discs
and two 3/16”
discs from the
same paper. Stack
and glue the small
discs together. Glue
the stack to the
plate in the center
of the circle. Lay
one of the larger
discs in the palm
of your hand, gold
side down, and
press into it with
the smooth round
end of a paintbrush to make it slightly concave. Glue the
remaining disc to the concave side, then glue the flat side
to the stack of smaller discs. Touch up with gold pen as
needed. Glue to the door, centered approximately 3” up
from the bottom.
Step 3. Put glue on the back edges of the frame, and
place it on a piece of mat board, making sure all corners
are square. Let the glue set, then trim the mat board even
with the outside edge of the frame. Vertical dividers may be
cut of the same strip wood to create rooms if desired. Glue
them to the frame and mat board.
Step 4. With the shadow box face down, measure up over
3” from each side and 3/8” up from the bottom edge and
draw 1” x 1/2” rectangles at these points. Use a craft knife
to cut out the rectangles—these will be finger holes to aid
in removing the shadow box.
Step 5. Test-fit the shadow box; it should be a happy
combination of snug fit and easy removal. Sand the sides if
necessary. Note: Because the second story has two braces
along its bottom edge, their profile needs to be cut out of
the bottom section of the shadow box so it will fit. This is
easily done by hand, by cutting the ends with a razor saw
and then using a strong craft knife and straightedge to slice
from end to end.
Step 6. The dormer section of the house is a triangle and
is easiest cut and formed from mat board. Cut a mat-board
triangle that is 1/16” smaller all around than the triangular
dormer section. Cut a 2”-wide piece to fit the bottom of the
mat-board triangle and glue a long edge to the face triangle.
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Dollhouse Miniatures | October 2005
ACCESSORIES & FINISHING TOUCHES
Doorknob
Flower Boxes
Flower boxes are simple boxes constructed
of 1”-wide lengths of mat-board scraps. Cut
them to the size of the windows with molding. Inset the sides 1/4” and use a paper
punch to cut a design on the ends of the
extending front and back. Paint and weather
as desired. Glue a piece of peeled foamcore
inside and paint it brown. Then paint it with
glue and sprinkle it with sifted potting soil.
Plant dried grass by poking it into the foamcore with glue.
Rats
Step 1. Start with a ball of gray Fimo approximately 3/8” in diameter. Working on
a piece of glass or ceramic tile, shape the
rat body as shown in the diagram. Using a
single-edge razor blade, make a cut halfway
through the body as shown. Open the cut a
bit.
Step 2. For the tail, shape a small paper
clip as desired and insert it into the body
with a dab of glue. Cut off the end, leaving
approximately 3/4” extending out.
Step 3. Leaving the rat on the glass or tile,
bake it according to package directions or
set a heat gun to its lowest setting and “blow
dry” the rat for approximately 1 minute,
holding the heat gun 6” away from the
Fimo.
Step 4. Paint a piece of card stock with
dark gray acrylic. Use a paper punch, punch
out several teardrops. Use an X-Acto knife
to make three to four cuts on the wide end
of each teardrop for feet. Turn the cooled
rat over and glue the feet to the underside,
positioned as shown.
Step 5. For ears, lay two punched gray
teardrops in the palm of your hand. Use
a medium ball stylus to “draw” across the
Rat Diagram
Side view
Body: Bottom View
Top View
Body: top view
Body: Top View
Body: Top View
TAIL
Step 1. For the bottom and middle stories, measure and
cut side pieces from the 2” x 1/4” wood strips, making
them 1/16” shorter than the height of the openings. With
the side pieces in place in their respective openings, measure
(minus 1/16” each) and then cut top and bottom pieces
from the same strip wood.
Shutters
For single shutters, cut a piece of mat board
1-1/4” x 4-1/2”; for double shutters 2-1/2”
x 4-1/2”, drawing a line down the middle
and scoring on this line until the shutter
folds back with ease. Using the diagram,
draw lines on each shutter. Cut through half
the ply of the mat board on the lines. Using
the tip of a blade, lift a corner of the cut
areas and pull off half the thickness of the
board. Paint/weather/age as desired. Attach
beside the windows, some at skewed angles.
ear
Foot
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Swanson, A Haunted House
center of the teardrop, causing it to cup up a bit. Glue ears
into cuts in the body, pointed side to body.
Step 6. Paint the tail gray, and use black acrylic paint and
a small detail brush to add tail markings, nose, and “hair
lines.
Step 7. Add black dots for eyes and, when dry, accent
them with a dot of white for a highlight. Coat the eyes with
clear nail enamel.
Signs
Glue photocopies of the signs to scraps of railroad board.
Age the backs with the dark burnt umber/Gel Stain Medium mixture. Stroke the paint mixture on from the sides
to the center, using a very-dry-brush technique to achieve a
wood-grain look.
A Haunted House, Swanson
pumpkins were glued
back over them. Holes
were drilled in the base
to hide the connecting wires. The wires
were cut, inserted in
the holes, and spliced
back together. The wires
from both eventually go
inside the back, where
the battery boxes sit.
• The rooms can be
lighted in a number of
ways with batteries or
electricity. Bulbs can
be dimmed with a coat
of deep yellow acrylic
paint.
• Lengths of strip wood
are stained and painted and glued across the doorway to bar
the entrance.
• The black cats were cut from the Lemax pumpkin lights.
• Cobwebs are the sort sold in packages at Halloween time. You simply pull off snippets and stretch them across and over, and the material will stick to almost anything—
including gluey finger tips, so start with clean hands.
• This is the perfect type of project to utilize a piece of broken or unwanted furniture
such as the rocking chair on the porch. Age and bash it until it looks like it belongs.
Seat a skeleton, ghost, or any fitting creature.
• Curtains are tea-stained lace-like fabric, cut into rectangles, gathered with thread, and
glue-gunned to the insides of the windows. Scissors then add the wear and tear of age.
AND
• The “greenery” as seen is all dried weeds of one sort or
another. A quick look around your neighborhood should
reveal something similar. Cut off all flowers or fluffs. Wash
or de-critter if necessary. Paint or spray on a coat of water/Tacky Glue mixture or water/matte acrylic medium (or
matte Mod Podge) and let it dry. This will add some flexibility to the dried material. The trees and vines are planted
in holes drilled into the extending sides of the house. They
are attached to the house where they touch it with a dot
from a glue gun. The grasses are snippets of sea grass with
the roots still attached and are glued in place with Sobo.
• Included here are original drawings to be used as backgrounds for your house. Copy
them on manila-colored paper (I use actual manila folders cut to size) for an aged look.
Fit them, as is, into sections of your shadow boxes, cutting into the corners for a good
fit. Letting them round off rather than fitting into the edges gives more depth. You can
cut and rearrange sections of the drawings to create a different look. You may also use
them to create three-dimensional paper tole by making several copies of certain aspects
of them, attached with pop-up glue dots.
Of course, you may choose to paper and paint and otherwise decorate the interior,
adding furniture, etc. as space allows.
Let imagination be your guide. Your haunted house may be as fun or as gruesome
as you desire. If young people are to be your main audience, I suggest you lean more
toward the fun side. You can create interest by adding scenes from horror films and
letting your viewers see how many movies they can identify. This would also work with
a children’s book theme and make a perfect seasonal library display, letting the child
viewers identify the books by the clues displayed.
And with a bit of ingenuity this project can be made into a deeper house with
full-size rooms and an open back. All you need to do is deepen the sides, roof, and base
and divide the interior.
• The extending sides of the base, beyond the porch, are
painted brown, painted with glue, and sprinkled with potting soil.
• The lighted strings of pumpkins and skulls are both from
Lemax. The strung skulls were glue-gunned on under the
eves of the roof. The pumpkins were removed from their
bases, the lights were pulled off and glued in place, and the
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