7. The Crawlspace of No Return
If your home has an under-stair closet, a basement hatch, or a low crawlspace, you possess the ultimate canvas for claustrophobic terror. Keep the door slightly ajar, secured by a heavy, rusted padlock and chains that look as though they were broken from the inside. Position a fog machine inside the closet, letting a thick, low-lying mist slowly spill out across the floor. Just inside the darkness of the opening, place a pair of glowing, crimson LED eyes that blink at irregular intervals. To make this an interactive nightmare, place a pressure-sensitive mat just outside the door; when a guest steps on it, a sudden, loud banging sound echoes from inside the closet, accompanied by a desperate, guttural scratching against the wood.