Halloween Home Haunt - Scare Actor - Pumpkin Head

Making inanimate objects come to life is a thrill for Halloween home haunters, pranksters and most Trick or Treaters. Unless, you've come across the type of youngster who squeals off the property as you shriek 'Hey, kid...you forgot your candy?!'

...grab a willing Scare-Actor, 3-5 straw bales (I love odd numbers including 13!), 5-13 pumpkins of various sizes, shapes, carved and uncarved, some illuminated inside and some not but all lit up strategically from afar with an unobtrusive spot light. Within the mix of real pumpkins, intermix a couple of store bought plastic or styrofoam pumpkins (styrofoam preferred) with the intent of cutting a hole in the bottom and eyes (keep in mind when purchasing) and placing it over your head as a mask. With dark shrouded, torn or even scarecrow like clothing you are sure to scare! The lantern and chain this creepy cartoon pumpkin head adds to the fright and is easily replicable in the real world ;)

Home Haunt Ideas - Area 51, Zombified Redneck Saloon & the Occult

Halloween home haunts come in an array of scary flavours like that of terrifying ghosts and goblins to more of a happy Halloween with smiley faced pumpkins feeling (ick)! Sometimes though, it's cool to see out of the ordinary thrills such as a bizarre cult with cloaked figurines, an unleashed Area 51's scientific laboratories or even a zombified saloon!

Create an Area 51 by utilizing those green and yellow flood lights, some fog and that sheet of plexi glass you've got laying around or old fish tank. Find some odd looking faux dead things and place them in the tank, behind the glass or in pickle jars. Have scare actors or figurines in authoritative gear like army camo, police gear or even those white plastic painters outfits. Have props like gas masks, clear shields and amo such as a cheap airsoft sniper rifle, lots of bloodied garden tools on nearby trays and an empty, blood covered bed or table with straps lying in wait for the next victim....!

Or, if your home haunt needs a theme, try recreating an old zombified Redneck Saloon. Load it up with zombified cowboys, saloon girls and sheriffs in period type clothing like torn jeans, plaid shirts, vests, cowboy boots, hats, bandanna's, faux pistols and a cheap airsoft sniper rifle! Then, place the artillery on the side, redneck cowboys turned Zombie don't shoot guns (anymore ;)...now they eat brains!! Use both static and live scare actors and set up a walk through home haunt area that simulates a saloon with a card table or two and a bar area. Have 'people' playing cards or standing at the bar until the trick-or-treater shows up, then it's dinner time!

The occult and satanic rituals is another deeply disturbed re-creatable act that works nicely on Halloween. Candles, pentagrams, eclectic daggers, goblets of blood, a shrine and a 'dead' rubber chicken or two is thought provoking in an all too terrifying, nightmare like way ;)

Please, if you use any Halloween props that in real life simulate the real thing, such as the cheap airsoft sniper rifle, use them responsibly! Do not load the airsoft when it's in use as a prop at your home haunt, it's only a prop!! And yes, of course you can play with your new toy some other day, just not on Halloween, got it!?! Good!! ;)

Paper Mache Halloween Props - DIY - Torn Torso Body Part... Haunted Tree & Broken Leg!

Instructions to create a Torn Torso out of Paper Mache for Halloween home haunts!

... all thanks to inspiration from Martha Stewart. I watched, took notes then headed to the hardware store for some supplies. This was a huge!! project for me to undertake and by the time this and a few other projects were complete, I had ample unwanted paper mache experience. These projects were the messiest, most time consuming props I've ever made but, in the end also the most rewarding. 

I have previously written and posted the DIY instructions for all of the paper mache props on my Squidoo lens so I'm just posting the instructions for the Torn Torso... to view the haunted tree, broken leg and the three eyed martian just click here. 

This gruesome torso would look fantastic in a bloody butcher shop, kreepy kitchen or stewing pot in the graveyard!

How to Make Body Parts out of Paper Mache

Supplies needed...

To make the form - chicken wire, thin gauge wire for threading, silver tape, metal snips, white glue, newspaper, thin stake, garbage bag, gloves.

To make papier mache - newspaper (rip into thin strips), flour, water, white glue, paper towel and container.

To finish - primer sealer, paint brushes, paints in flesh tones, reds, black, blues, yellows and white(I wouldn't recommend using oil paint) to simulate blood, tears, cuts and bruising and red tissue paper.

Okay...

;) please remember this isn't an exact replica of the body!

Step 1 - Get the chicken wire, snips, thin gauge wire and gloves. Snip the sharpest tips off of the chicken wire to prevent future gouges. Wrap a good sized piece of chicken wire around a garbage bag full of newspaper (made into the general form of a torso).

Step 2 - Pull the chicken wire firmly around your form. Make a smaller waist and wider shoulders as you determine the basic shape. Be sure to leave an overlap so you can secure the joins with the wire. You will need to nip, tuck and perhaps sew on the arms, depending on how you made your form. Secure the stake to form at this stage or skip it if you wish to display differently.

Step 3 - Make at least three bones by simply cutting thin strips of chicken wire and folding them a few times. Then wrap the tape around the entire piece.

Step 4 - Get your mache paste ready, if you havne't already and keep your supplies handy in case you need to make more paste or tear more paper. Be sure to keep openings for the bones you made.

Step 5 - Do at least 4 or 5 layers of paper mache and let them dry completely. On the last last couple of layers begin building up the rib bones, collar bone, spine and any torn holes in the skin.

Step 6 - After many days your torso will be dry. At this point, wedge the bone part into the openings. Make them stick out, as though they were snapped off. Crumple up newspaper and place it tightly around the openings, to fill in the rest of the hole. Secure with tape where ever you have to.

Step 7 - Begin by painting your entire torso with a base coat of primer and let dry. Then paint the entire torso in flesh tones. Using darker colours to create the deep gashes. Yellows, browns and dark blues are great for creating bruises. Just blend, layer and build up the colours as you go along. Add lots of reds, purples and blacks for fresh blood and dried blood on the wounds. Darken deep cuts and highlight the upper most areas with a lighter shade, to create depth. You will need more than one coat of paint, so don't do any fine details until the final coat of skin is finished. Let paints have a chance to dry, even as you are building up colours. This colour palette will get muddy really quickly.

Step 8 - Grab a few pieces of red tissue paper and smoosh them up, this will give them some texture. Pour glue onto the ends of the openings, but not on the bones, then place the tissue paper onto the glue. Press gently to set in place. Push raw edges into glue or add more glue if necessary.

Step 9 - Use red paint and touch up all around the end openings and paint down any loose tissue pieces.

Step 10 - Admire your latest creation as you are now finished!! Congratulations on the making of a paper mache torso!

There are a few key tips n' things to keep in mind and they are available with the other project instructions (just click here)....and remeber that rain is not your friend with paper mached props! Be sure to protect your Halloween artwork from the elements or display them indoors only.

Get a Fog Machine for your home haunt, you won't regret it! - Halloween Prop

Enhance your Halloween home haunt and props by adding a fog machine to your repetoire! When an eerie fog creeps along the ground and moves amongst your set up it not only looks amazing but hide a multitude of ground sins such as wires, cords and basic tricks of the trade. For us, purchasing a fog machine for our home haunt was a worthwhile, affordable investment that I couldn't imagine living without! 

Fog machines are readily available at most big box stores and the price has dropped dramatically compared to when they first became available in retail markets. What once cost hundreds of dollars is now available for under $100. Our fog machine was purchased a few years ago at Walmart for around $70 which included the machine and two extra containers of fog juice. We won't need a refill of juice for Halloween 2010 either.

Fog machines can be placed in any safe, out of the way location then directed where ever you'd 'like' such as hidden on porch, in the corn field or graveyard even inside your house. The only limitation having the ultimate creeping fog is wind, wind is not your friend as most natural weather elements at this time of year ;)
  

Halloween Make Up Techniques - Zombie - DIY Video

Regular Joe... it's time to check out! Night of the living dead Zombie wanna' be... it's time to check in!

Turn your untouched skin into rotting, bloodied flesh with basic household ingredients. 

Supplies needed...

- Toilet paper
- White glue (liquid latex is preferred)
- White cream make-up
- Basic make-up kit with black, red, blue, green and yellow
- Paint brushes or sponges

Directions...

Clean skin thoroughly and let dry. Paint a thin layer of glue to the areas of your face you wish to build up and let dry. Apply a layer of toilet paper then reapply another layer of glue and allow to dry. Completely cover your face with white cream make-up and begin to blend in your colours. Begin with the darkest colour first then build up where needed. Create tears in the flesh then add highlights and lowlights with your white and base colours. Experiment and have fun with it, there really is no right or wrong way to create a realistic creature from the dead ;)

Liquid latex dries faster and is better suited for this application but in a pinch, glue pulls through! When you'd like to be yourself again, rinse your skin with warm water to remove the layers of tissue, glue and make-up. You could peel some off but keep in mind that you may remove hairs in the process, much like waxing ;) Do an allergy test patch too, before you cover your face!



This tissue technique is not limited to Zombies nor to your face! Switch up the colours and create the look of an aging vampire, a witch, old people or victims with melted skin, bad acne or severe lacerations. You just need to change the texture of the tissue as you apply it to your skin. For example; pulling or stretching the tissue up and down will appear like melting skin or you can create pock marks with a pen tip drilled gently into a pile of wet tissue. Just think gross, then get gross!

Creep em' out with Clowns! - Halloween Props DIY

...the Psycho Circus has arrived to send fear into kids of all ages, even the grown-ups!

Deep seeded fears get buried but at Halloween why not raise it up the surface at your home haunt. I've never encountered a clown that I've liked, there's just something creepy about them that give's me the willies, even stuffed clowns.. Due to this fact, Clowns are one of my favorite props to use at Halloween because I know I'm not the only one who dreads them!

A few evil clowns paired with the Hack in the Box halloween prop creates an eerie funhouse effect and when combined with traditional carnival music you've got the makings for a very chilling scene.

How to Make Clowns...

Most Halloween props, including the static dummies and stand alone creatures that I use are made from old clothing and usually a 2x2 for support such, as witches in The Witches Gathering prop. A few of the clown costumes came from the goodwill store and for the rest came from raiding my husbands closet that I'd hoped wouldn't be missed (which hasn't always been the case ;) 

Attaching a small clown to this kids bike was tricky but worth it for the effect! The back wheel is wedged between a makeshift wooden bike rack then covered over with dried leaves. It seems to have lost it's running shoes which had both of the clowns feet on the pedals.

The evil, short and oddly bow legged Clown is posing on a Pogo-Stick! The pogo stick itself is slid down over a medal rod that has been pounded into the ground. I had to alter the pogo permanently, to allow the rod to go inside, so there's no more bouncy bouncy with that toy. He's also wearing a huge curly black wig to cover his stuffed rain.         

The psycho clown in the wheelbarrow was put together rather quickly in lieu of a missing Scare-Actor, temporarily missing that is ;) Inside of the clown is a coat hanger with fishing line attached to the hook and a garbage overtop acting like a dry cleaning bag. It was then stuffed, tied and clothed with buttons done right up to the neck so the hanger wouldn't slip out. I cut a small hole in the top of the mask and slid the fishing line thru it and tied it to the Cedar branch above to hold up the body. With some stuffed pants, boots and accessories he turned out pretty good for last minute scare. The masks were an awesome purchase I made online quite a few years ago. At that time I was able to buy five high quality rubber masks for $20US on Ebay, $4 bucks each! The clown in the wheelbarrow is a full head mask that and even comes down the neck and over the shoulders. It's perfectly frightful to come face to face with and equally so to wear, if you are not at all claustrophobic!

These terrifying masks and many more are available at Amazon

Click on any of the pics to take you to the product page!

                         

                                                   

Prop - Upsidedown Scarecrow - Halloween Project DIY

Scarecrows protect our crops from outsiders but what protects us from them and that pitchfork?...their dark, glaring eyes seem to follow, always watching, waiting to strike!

The history of Scarecrows date back through centuries as a way to instill fear without harm,

so that's what we'll do! The fact that this Halloween prop is easily made with a couple of wooden stakes, old rags, some straw and a cowboy hat means you just gotta make more than one! When grouped in a pack, have a live 'Scare Actor' posing amongst them ready to jump when the time is just right!

                                                                                            

Supplies required...

- two 2'x2's (10' long)

- coveralls

- cowboy hat

- straw

- boots

- 3 small bags, 2 pillowcases, lots of newspaper, tape

- paint; flesh, white, black, red

- 2'x2' round piece of canvas or paintable fabric (an old drop cloth will work) 

- saw

- 5' piece of string

- large needle, strong thread

- heavy duty stapler, staples

- sledge hammer

- ladder

To create your Upsidedown Scarecrow begin by painting the fabric with flesh tone paint and let dry. When it's dry proceed to paint on black eyes, mouth, stitches and whatever else looks terrifying! 

Then cut the bottoms of the 2'x2's to form stakes (they pound easier when cut on an angle). Place each stake in each leg hole of the coveralls and proceed to pound each post into the ground. Crumple up the newspapers and fill up each of the bags until they are full but pliable then use the staple gun to attach the bags to the body, giving your Scarecrow more definition. Attach the string to the remaining plastic bag and then set it upon your fabric face (face side down) and use as a head. Pull the fabric around the bag forming a head (leave string hanging out of neck area) then secure with a needle and thread. Staple that string to one of the pieces of wood inside the Scarecrow (ought to hang just above ground level). Place on the boots and proceed to stuff handfuls of straw into all of the penings and inside the cowboy hat which just slides underneath your Scarecrow's head. 

Corn Creeper Scare-Actor

When making your Scarecrow prop use old, wragged items from around the house that won't be missed and feel free to add your own twist ie; long sleeve checked shirt, trench coat, burlap sacs, housecoat or robe, pold pair jeans with patches, housedress or moo moo, wigs, glasses, skeleton bodies, socks, gloves, straw hat or make one with a pumpkin head!

DIY Halloween Prop - Long Fingered Ghoul

Laying inside this makeshift wooden coffin lies a gnarly, sunken faced ghoul! Who's long, boney fingers once scraped down it's victims back. Now, laying helplessly with its arms folded over it's chest.

RIP! you poor soul...or are you just napping?!

Anything in a coffin spells terror for Halloween home haunts and with the threat of something evil coming to life it adds even more intesity. In the dark shadows of Halloween night Trick or Treaters won't know if he's dead or alive. Hide a Scare-Actor beneath the Ghoul and give it moments of movement that will have em' screaming!

The Coffin Ghoul Halloween prop was very easy to make just a little time consuming because the fingers on the ghoul are done with paper mache.

Supplies required...

- 6 large plastic bags

-  a small plastic bag for the head

-  newspaper (both whole and torn into narrow strips)

- chicken wire

- thin gauge wire

- scary mask

- tape

- paint; green, black and white 

- metal snips

- coat hanger

- one coffin

 This particular coffin was slapped together by hacking up a sheet of particle board and some scrap pieces of wood for the backing, then sprayed with leftover black and grey spray paint. Granted in the light of day it doesn't look the best, at night you'd never know it was so cheesy ;)

- paper mache; flour, water and white glue

How to make Paper Mache paste...

Add equal parts flour and water and a dollop of white glue, stir. Add more water, glue or flour as required. Prepare the paper mache paste in a large container just before you are ready to apply the strips of paper.

Visit my Squidoo page for Paper Mache Halloween Props such as a lifesize Haunted Tree, a bloody Torso, torn off leg and 3 Eyed Creature! 

Steps to Complete the Long Fingered Ghoul

Hands...

 - Grab snips and chicken wire. Snip 10 equally long strips of wire about 3-4" wide. These will be the ghouls creepy fingers. Wrap into a tube and secure with wire, poking sharp ends into tube.

- Next, snip out two long rectangles, fold each in half to form the palm. Secure with wire then attach the fingers by securing with wire. Use snips to trim the ends and lengths of fingers. Now is the time to shape the final form of the ghoul's hands.

- Create the paste in your container.
- Protect the surface you are working on.
- Get your paper strips and begin to dip them into the paste. Make sure the strips are saturated but not glopped with paste. Running them between your fingers gets off excess, then place each strip over your wire frame one at a time. Attach a long piece of wire to the wrist of each hand, used later to attach to either ends of the hanger.
- Continue building up layers until you have reached the desired thickness and appearance. Keep edges pushed down and smooth on each layer. Leave to dry. The drying process can take a long time so to speed up it up by placing in sunshine, near air flow, or heat source (safe distance, it is paper!) or a dehumidifier.
- Once completely dry, it's time to paint! Give it a few coats, allowing each to dry before doing the next one. Put your details on in the final coat. Depending on the type of paint you've used, it may need to be sealed or protected from the elements.
- Once you've created the body (see below), attach the hands to the hanger by poking through the plastic wrap and securing.
- Use a garbage bag to swaddling the ghoul, being sure to hide any parts, wire etc.



Body...

- Poke the hanger thru the bottom center of one bag then tip over and fill with scrunched up wads of newspaper, tie knot in end to close.
- Slice open the bags into a full sheet of plastic then secure it to the shoulder area with a knot around the hook and wrap it around the body to form a swaddled mummy shape. Use the tape to shape your body, wider at shoulders or not, it's your ghoul!
- Form a head and secure mask of choice and attach to the hanger.

Keep the snips and pokey ended chicken wire away from children.

Variations - originally my Ghoul had wings and was a Nasty Bat like creature! It hung upside down in one of our trees by a cord attached to the hanger that came out through the bottom of the bag. The wings were large but sadly made of cardboard and only lasted two seasons and then the rope broke...hence him now laying in the coffin. Change up the body wrap by using weed barrier it's black and cheap, switch up the masks, add viens, englarge the knuckles, make a third eye or enlarged pointed ears all while you're already all gooed up!     

Not so Friendly Ghosts - Halloween Prop - How To

Moonlight fills the darkest corner of the towns oldest cemetary shining light upon the creeping fog. A light breeze stirs mist around the ankles of the lost sending deep chills up their spines. An eerie presence floats up from the fog...

Giving a good scare is about creating a feeling of terror, even before anything happens. Anticipation keeps the senses keen, try not to be predictable and get scarin'!!

How to Create a Ghost

To make the ghost pictured above you will need these supplies; a white queen size sheet, plastic skull, 2 coat hangers, 2/500ml yogurt containers, scissors, metal snips, duct tape, dark string, purple paper twist. Young children shouldn't handle the scissors or snips.

Instructions - Take your sheet, fold it in half and cut a small hole in the top, middle part of the fold (you will be slipping the curved part of the hanger tip through it later). Poke a small hole in both the base and top of the skull. Tape both coat hangers together. Fold a 6' piece of string in thirds and place a knot at both ends.

- Grab one of your containers and imagine it as the shoulder of the ghost. Manuever it over one end of the hanger and secure with tape. You may want to snip the plastic which will make for a better fit. Repeat the same process on the other 'shoulder'. Now take your hanger with shoulder pads and push the curved end thru the hole in the sheet.

- Poke the curved part of the hanger up thru the inside of your folded sheet. The hook part should be poking out the top and the form of a ghost ought to be taking shape.

- Take the knotted string and feed it thru the top hole and then out thru the bottom hole in the skull. At this point, string should be hanging out both ends of the skull. Loop the base end of the string, the skulls neck, over the curved loop of the hangers and secure very, very well. 

- Feed the hanger into the base of the skull (tuck away the mechanics).

At this point you should have the makings of a fine looking, potentially scary ghost. Now it's time to put on the finishing touches. Hang your ghost up by the string so it is hanging freely then take your scissors and begin to shred all the edges. You can style your ghost by cutting off more or less fabric. A scrap piece of fabric has been secured around the ghosts waist for definition. Piece by piece fill the top hole of the skull with the paper twist, until it is packed tight. Then take that creepy looking ghost outside, drag it around the dirt and voila!

Skeletons on a Rock Wall - Halloween Prop DIY

This prop was one of the first 'scary' Halloween decorations that I attempted. The idea came to me because we had received an 'assemble yourself' piece of furniture and suddenly had alot of scrap cardboard around. The creative genius came out and I came up with the Bonewall which can be used in one of two ways. Either as a static prop where it leans against support or a human-operated prop where someone stands behind the wall and moves the skeleton's arms.



The height and width of this carboard wall is approx. 9ft by 6ft, so it covers quite a bit of space. Here is how this Bonewall was made and what you're going to need to replicate: Cardboard, Paint (white & black), 2x2's (3), Pencil, Brushes, Wire (strong enough to bend, not weak enough to break), Scissors, Plastic Skeletons, Old Clothing and Wigs.

Lay out your cardboard on a flat surface and cover completely in black paint and allow to dry between coats(2 of them). Then put out a separate container of both the black and white paints. Begin in a corner and work your way across the entire surface painting on circles of various shapes and sizes using a mixture of both colours (one coat is good; use light to highlight, dark to create shadows). Let dry. Assemble the skeletons and dress them up in their costume rags (be sure to drag them around outside for awhile and get em' dirty looking). Then lay your skeletons out on top of the wall and place a mark on either side of their scrawny necks with a pencil. This will determine the height where they will hang (measure twice, cut once). Poke a hole with scissors then feed the wire through and back around, securing from behind. Do this with all of them and any limbs you don't want dangling.

Human Powered - Carefully cut holes in the back of the shirt and the cardboard directly behind that so you can slip your arms into the skeletons shirt sleeve. Now you can lift them up and scream as people walk by!

Tips: No kids playing with sharp scissors. 2x's are for support and strength, you will need them. You could also temporarily staple overhead onto a wooden brace. As always, improvise with what you have at home. Add cobwebs, spiders and bugs along with a red light and you've got an super eerie scene.

Witches Gathering - Halloween Prop DIY

This is one of my favourite scenes to set up for Halloween. Witches are scary and a classic for your Halloween home haunt. For the Witches Gathering, I've used three thin cedar fence posts and stood them like a tee pee securing with wire and rope. Then hung a plastic cauldron filled with faux bones, skulls and legs. There is a spotlight lightly covered with orange and red tissue paper placed under the wood pile to create a roaring fire. This literally could become a roaring fire if you're not careful so place out of reach and in a safe place!!

The two witches at the fire pit originally began as 2x2's with a (you cut) pointy bottom and a cross brace for arms. Padding underneath is built up with garbage bags full of crumpled/torn/shred paper and secured with duct tape. It's then shrouded in creepy, torn fabrics. Masks are great for different faces you just need to make a head out of another plastic bag and more paper. Place your scary mask of choice over top then secure to the wooden frame. I then drug mine around on the driveway to mess em' up a bit, don't want them to look too new and pristine. Use additional spotlights to enhance your Witches Gathering. Be sure to hide the cords or anything else 'unrealistic' to the scene. Try not to show the light either, this mistake is often made and is not only blinding but distracting. Use twigs, leaves and other items to disquise where the light is coming from.

Welcome to Crazy 4 Halloween!

Ever since I was kid Halloween fascinated me and not just because of the all the candy, that was only a part of it. One year, when I was about 8, my Dad took us out trick-or-treating around the neighbourhood. I ran almost spastically here and there collecting all the candies I could until we approached one particular house. Across the lawn I ran to be stopped dead in my tracks by some guy jumping out of the bushes. Well my heart skipped as I squealed and ran off in the direction of my Dad. He just laughed, gave me hug and reminded me that there is a side of Halloween that is and can be scary. This must have slipped my mind but once reminded I was hooked and hoped someone was hiding behind every bush, but no one was. Every year my excitement and passion for Halloween grew and now over 30 years later, I'm still hooked. So, welcome to my world of Halloween and Other Scary things!