This little Halloween book could not be any cuter. It introduces you to a young girl and a cat who move into a new house only to find that it is inhabited by many friendly ghosts. However, that is only to the young girl’s delight as she is actually a witch! She goes about using the ghosts to furnish her home by turning them into curtains, tablecloths, a blanket and more.
The illustrations in this book are charming in their simplicity and the idea of this little witch utilizing the ghosts is brilliant. I love it so much that I am on the look out to add more of Kazuno’s books to my collection!
Click here to purchase “Ghosts in the House” *affiliate link
DIY Cardboard Box Haunted House
I thought the concept of this book was so charming that I wanted to make a haunted house full of ghost furnishings for my kids to play with this Halloween season. I have to admit, I had a blast putting it together and I am giddy over the results. It didn’t take long to make (the longest part was waiting for paint to dry) and I am even sharing my witch and cat template (Because every haunted house needs it’s witch and cat!) that I created below if you would like to save even a little more time.
Supplies:
- black acrylic paint
- paintbrush
- any cardboard box (mine was 12″ by 12″)
- scissors
- packing tape
- white tissue paper
- glue stick
- black marker
- free template for witch and cat: haunted house witch and cat
Process:
- First turn your cardboard box into a house. To do this I cut off the two horizontal flaps off the top so that I could angle the remaining two into a bit of a roof. I also cut off the whole back wall for easy playing access as well as a door and two windows. Easy peasy.
- Using some of the cardboard that you just cut off, create some simple furniture. I made a basic bed, table and cut a small square for a “cat bed” inspired by the one in the book.
- Paint the entire cardboard house (inside and out) with a coat or two of black paint. Paint the furniture black as well.
- After your paint has dried use white tissue paper to cut out rectangle ghosts for the inside. I cut out one for each window, a blanket for the bed, a tablecloth, a small blanket for the cat bed, and a rug for the floor. After you cut out your tissue paper ghosts draw little faces on them with your black marker and place them appropriately in your house. I used tape to put up the curtains.
- To add a witch and cat you can print of my template here (haunted house witch and cat ) and adhere it to rectangle scraps of cardboard. After you have glued your characters to the cardboard, prop them up with two little cardboard strips each that have a small slit cut out on top. Now you’re ready to play!
If you give this Beyond the Book activity a try I’d love to hear how it goes! Share it on Instagram using hashtag #beyondthebook (I’m on Instagram as @book.nerd.mommy) or even just comment here with your thoughts. It would make my day! Or to simply save for later pin the image below.
Leave a Reply