How to make a haunted house out of a shoebox

A cute-spooky haunted house that fits on your table: an attic, a hall, a basement, and a ghost on a thread.

Free3 lessons3 minutesWith Tek

To make a shoebox haunted house, your kid stands the box on its end like a dollhouse, draws three rooms, adds a card roof, and draws windows and a door for a grown-up to cut out. Then come the spooky friends: a ghost on a thread, a cotton-ball web, a folded staircase, and paper bats. Tissue paper over the windows and a battery light behind the house make it glow. On this page, three free Kubrio films with Tek show each step.

Your turn!

Stand up a shoebox and draw three rooms. Add a roof, then draw windows and a door. A grown-up cuts them out.

What the film says (Lesson 1 of 3)

Hi, I'm Tek! Want a haunted house that fits on your table? Let's make one out of a shoebox!
Stand the box up on its end, with the open side facing you. Now it looks like a little house with no front wall.
Draw two lines across the back wall. Now you have three rooms. The attic, the hall, and the basement!
Fold a piece of card into a pointy roof, and tape it on top.
Draw windows and a door on the back wall. Cutting a box is tricky, so a grown-up cuts them out.
Color the walls dark purple, and add some wonky bricks. Spooky, but friendly!
Your turn. Stand up a shoebox and draw three rooms. Add a roof, then draw windows and a door. A grown-up cuts them out. Then press Next.

Every lesson

Lesson 1 · 0:56
Rooms in a box
Your turn: Stand up a shoebox and draw three rooms. Add a roof, then draw windows and a door. A grown-up cuts them out.
Watch lesson 1
What the film says
1. 0:00
  Hi, I'm Tek! Want a haunted house that fits on your table? Let's make one out of a shoebox!
2. 0:07
  Stand the box up on its end, with the open side facing you. Now it looks like a little house with no front wall.
3. 0:15
  Draw two lines across the back wall. Now you have three rooms. The attic, the hall, and the basement!
4. 0:23
  Fold a piece of card into a pointy roof, and tape it on top.
5. 0:28
  Draw windows and a door on the back wall. Cutting a box is tricky, so a grown-up cuts them out.
6. 0:35
  Color the walls dark purple, and add some wonky bricks. Spooky, but friendly!
7. 0:42
  Your turn. Stand up a shoebox and draw three rooms. Add a roof, then draw windows and a door. A grown-up cuts them out. Then press Next.
Lesson 2 · 0:56
Spooky friends
Your turn: Make a ghost on a thread, a cotton web, a staircase, and some bats.
Watch lesson 2
What the film says
1. 0:00
  Your haunted house needs some spooky friends. Let's fill the rooms!
2. 0:05
  Draw a little ghost on white paper, and cut it out. Give it big round eyes and a silly smile.
3. 0:13
  Tape a piece of thread to its head, and tape the other end to the attic ceiling. Now blow on it. It swings!
4. 0:20
  Next, a spider web. Pull a cotton ball apart until it's thin and stretchy. Stick it in a corner, and add a tiny paper spider.
5. 0:30
  Fold a strip of card back and forth, like a fan. Lean it in the hall. A tiny staircase!
6. 0:37
  Last, cut bats out of black paper. Fold their wings up, and stick them on the walls.
7. 0:44
  Your turn. Make a ghost on a thread, a cotton web, a staircase, and some bats. Then press Next.
Lesson 3 · 0:52
Lights out
Your turn: Tape on the tissue, light it from behind, and turn off the room lights. Then tell your family the story.
Watch lesson 3
What the film says
1. 0:00
  Time to make your haunted house glow!
2. 0:04
  Tape tissue paper over the windows on the back. Orange, yellow, or green.
3. 0:10
  Now the light. Use a battery tea light or a flashlight, never a real candle. Put it behind the house.
4. 0:18
  Look at the windows glow! The tissue paper makes the light soft and spooky.
5. 0:24
  Every haunted house needs a story. So ask yourself, who lives in the attic?
6. 0:30
  Maybe a tiny ghost who's scared of the dark. That's why the windows glow! Write your story on a little sign by the door.
7. 0:39
  Your turn. Tape on the tissue, light it from behind, and turn off the room lights. Then tell your family the story. You made a haunted house!

What your kid makes

A shoebox haunted house with three rooms, spooky friends, a light that glows through the windows, and a one-line story.

What you need

A shoebox
Card for the roof and the staircase
Black and white paper, tissue paper, and cotton balls
Markers, kid scissors, tape, and thread
A battery tea light or a flashlight

Questions parents ask

What does the grown-up do?

Cutting a box is tricky, so a grown-up cuts out the windows and the door. Your kid does the rest: the rooms, the roof, the ghost, the bats, and the story.

Is it safe to light it?

Use a battery tea light or a flashlight behind the house, never a real candle. Paper and cardboard catch fire easily.

Is it too scary for younger kids?

No. It's cute-spooky: the ghost in the attic is a tiny one who's scared of the dark.

Know a family who loves Halloween? Send them this course.

More courses like this one live in Kubrio's kid app, with the studios, for kids 6 to 13. See Kubrio