Need Idea

[radix]

Hello All,
I've been doing yard haunts and haunted houses since I was a kid. I LOVE do a good haunt. For the last several years I have been helping my co-worker with his yard haunt, and last year was my first year at my own house. I've included a link to some pictures if your interested.

http://www.csgeek.net/projects/hallowee ... n2005.html

As you can see, I did a graveyard (which I do every year) and a Mad Scientist theme, which was a big hit. I did the Mad Scientist becasue it was easy to incorporate a wide variety of props. It's hard to see from the pictures, but the one set of shelves is full of body parts in jars and stuff.

Anyway, I'm posting to ask for your ideas for this years haunt. I had a really awesome idea for an electric chair. I had made all the plans and got computer control working, made a really freaky soundtrack mp3, and it was going to be a lot like this one: http://www.frightcatalog.com/Halloween- ... e-1001031/

However, my wife and I talked it over, and we agreed that it might be a little too disturbing since there are a lot of little little kids in the neighborhood. So now it's back to the drawing board.

Do you all have any suggestions? I don't shy away from doing scary. My wife has suggested that maybe I should do something "more traditional halloweeny", though I'm not really sure what that means.

I'd love to hear any suggestions, and hear what you all are planning for this year.

BTW... If anyone wants a cool 11 second mp3 of someone being fried in an electric chair, let me know.

[midnight kitty]

maybe traditional like a haunted castle.
you know, get a lot of ply wood and cut out castle shapes and have scary stuff pop out.



hmm...
maybe i should do a haunted yard. i have a huge back yard and half of it's actually on the side of my house

[Shad O. Deville]

while i think the haunted chair idea is pretty creative and cool, it definitely would scare people. heck, it would scare ME out of my mind and im pretty thick skinned as compared to some of my friends. the haunted castle idea is pretty cool...a circus or toy shop gone wrong could be interesting as well.

[Celtic Ghoul]

That's the trick isn't it? To come up with a really cool theme that does not cross the line... Halloween is no fun if you scare all the kids away!

Depending on your yard, this could work... a tree full of giant spiders, some of whom drop towards trick or treaters before being hauled back up into the tree. Be pretty easy to rig that up I'd think.

[bozz]

We do a maze every year and we have to expand.....we keep it family friendly..... too many little kids.....we do more of fun house.....this year our side of the house maze starts with a group of scarecrows as decoy....in the back we have a shed to decorate and we will be using my atv behind a curtain in the garage....you know the old horn and lights and a little reving of the engine should give them a cheap scare.....last year we just did a garage maze and it was a hit....you don't need many props....amazing what a little fog,sound,strobe and black lights with web can do....of course we have 7 stalkers to give the teens a thrill......we don't do gore....I've been to many mazes and the best were hayrides.....they always use a good decoy to distract you while something was sneaking up on you in the rear.......got me everytime.....lol.

[hallowsthrilly]

i'm wondering, whats the best way to make really big gravestones? i'm done with those little unapposing stomps you can buy at walmart, i want something bigger, scarier looking.

[MHooch]

Awesome pictures, radix, great job!!

[radix]

Thanks!

I made my large tombstone 2 different ways.

The first way, which gives a pretty good effect, is to use high density BLUE styrofoam. The Blue stuff is high density, and can be cut and carved easily. It also has a smooth finish. You want to use the stuff that it at least 2" thick for durability and realism. I get this as a 4'x8' sheet from Lowes for about $40. Home Depot or whatever local hardware / builder supply store you have around should carry it. You take the styrofoam and draw tombstoen shapes on it. With careful planning I was able to get 13 different tombstones out of one sheet. I cut the shapes out with a hack saw, and used fine sandpaper to smooth the edges. Then you can use a Dremel tool to engrave words and carve cracks etc. You can obviously use other things to carve and shape, expriment with what you have on hand. Finally I finish the stones of with some paint. I started with a base coat of stone-grey outdoor latex paint. Then I used sponges, rags, etc to layer on other shades of grey, black, and other colors. Don't be afraid to play with it ... if you mess up you can always paint over it.

The other technique I use is more involved but it gives a great effect for something like a monument, like this one:



For this I started with the cheaper low density styrofoam (made of little white pellets) that was about 1 inch thick. This is more difficult to cut smoothly, so take your time. An exacto knife is helpful ... but BE CAREFUL! I planned out the shape of my monument, and cut the pieces of styrofoam to build it (like a box). I assembled it using Liquid Nails. Any strong glue will work, juts be careful because they generally dissolve the styrofoam. Tape the pieces together until the glue dries. I also glued on Plaster of Paris appliques we made (skulls, crosses, etc...). Once everything was dry, I used drywall plaster (the kind used for patching holes) and coverd the styrofoam with it to get a nice smooth marble/stone effect. Finally, when the plaster was ALMOST completely dry, I used spray paint and water to create a weathered effect. I would spray some black or dark green paint near the top, and then spray it with some water to get it to run down. The water also eroded some of the plaster which added to the aged effect.

Hope this helps!

[hallowsthrilly]

Thx for the styrofoam gravestone idea. Another thing I wanted to know is the problem with them street lights. I have a really good idea but i can't do it cause theres a street light to the right of my house. Its behind a tree but its still too bright. I need a way to shield my house from the light to maKE IT DARKER. Anyone have any helpers?

[cooleycoolgirl]

dear friend,
my suggestion is to do the Thriller theme it is not to scary for little bitty kids but it is an awesome way to celebrate halloween and everyone loves the traditional thriller moves so there is my suggestion:)

write back

[mandy0221]

Someone in my neighborhood puts out a guillotine every year and it is really freaky. It is HUGE. Probably about 10 feet or so tall and 5 or 7 feet wide. It is VERY life like but I am sure there is no real blade in it.

The really freaky part is that they just put that out...no other decorations, just the guillotine. And it stays up through Christmas. Really makes you wonder.

[LadyLestat]

Someone in my neighborhood puts out a guillotine every year and it is really freaky. It is HUGE. Probably about 10 feet or so tall and 5 or 7 feet wide. It is VERY life like but I am sure there is no real blade in it.

The really freaky part is that they just put that out...no other decorations, just the guillotine. And it stays up through Christmas. Really makes you wonder.

Holy <deleted> are you serious? That would scare the poop out of me to just be walking by in freaking January and see that.

[haunted and crazed]

Would you be willing to share your ideas and how you did your yard and science lab. I am new to decorating for halloween. I am helping my 14 year old to do a haunted house(yard) and party any ideas and instructions would be great

[Xena]

Radix, I love your display. What I would give for a yard that size. Having to usually resort to window displays such as your lab, I was fascinated by one of your pictures.
http://www.csgeek.net/projects/hallowee ... mage6.html
What did you use for the big face in the upper right hand corner?

[radix]

Hello all. I'm so sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I was super busy with this years display.

I decided this year that I would do the mad scientist thing again. I will do variations on that theme for the next few years, and then change it up.

I have started a halloween 'blog' where I'm sharing my ideas and experiences as I work on my projects. If you're interested you can check it out at http://www.csgeek.net/blogoween

You can also see this years haunt there. It worked out really well, and I had a great time.

As for the "Big Face", it is actually projected from behind with a video projector. That year I had used painter's plastic (thin plastic drop cloth used to protect your floors and furniture when painting) to form the walls of my lab. To dress it up a bit, I use my video projector to project a short video onto the plastic. Since the plastic isn't totally clear the projection doesn't just pass right through. I got some the images off of a google image search. Others were recorded as video and uploaded to my computer. I have a Mac so I used iMovie to make a short video clip with zooming effects and transitions. Then I played it from my laptop in a loop. It worked out pretty well.

Again, thanks for all of your interest and ideas.