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 ;)

I wanna Halloween shopping Spree!

A Halloween shopping spree that doesn't include high heels, clothes or make up?! No girlie bits, just gory bits ;) Well, I'd be more than willing to make the sacrifice for that shopping trip! Making our own Halloween props and decorations is by far more cost effective than purchasing them and sometimes a lot more fun but, sometimes you just wanna shop! You can't make everything from scratch, right?

Yes, sadly the theory of a budget still applies to Halloween decor. ...yada yada yada, you'll thank me later when this wonderfully wicked day is over and you still have cash left to grab dirt cheap goodies for next year's Halloween ;)  

Halloween by babblicious on Polyvore.com

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Gothic Greetings Halloween Party Supplies - Party City, $3.29
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Skeletons, Body Parts - Halloween - Holiday Parties - Party City, $9.99
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Black Cat
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Happy Halloween Clear Mini Stamp
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Penniwigs: Welcome Dearies and Elf-Friends: halloween
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halloween tubes - Page 21
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Use Weed Barrier to Create 'Walls' in your Halloween Home Haunt

One of my must have items for the Halloween home haunt is black weed barrier, found at most hardware or garden stores. Only by accident did I learn that in a pinch the black fabric makes not only the perfect barrier, wall or hallway but it even works well for Halloween costumes.

The black fabric is very lightweight and comes on a roll about 50' long x 3' wide and is under $10 each. Our Halloween budget includes 2-3 rolls and best yet, it is reusable year after if you store it properly. Or, use it in your gardens as it was originally intended.

Our Halloween home haunt incorporates our large wooden deck which is wide open without railings or posts and makes a great base for an outdoor room. To create a small stairway, hallway and room both 2'x2's and weed barrier came into play. If you have similar features or you can pound the 2'x2's into the ground you could create this Halloween 'prop'.

Depending upon how you want yours 'rooms' to look consider spacing your posts every 4' maximum. Once your walls are formed then use a staple gun to attach the barrier to the wood. Leave an overlap so you can weave the pieces together with a popsicle stick once the walls are formed. Add hidden areas, walls within walls so Scare Actors can hide behind them. Use black paint to cover the look of wood if you have time. I'd recommend painting before you attach it temporarily to your deck.

The above pic is our Hack in the Box Halloween prop but if you look behind and beside it you can see the black 'wall' which is actually the edge of our deck...and below, the background for this Creepy Clown is the other end of the deck. From the exterior the 'room' appears completely blacked out and covers an area 10'x16' feet. Open stairs with an inner hallway here and ending with stairs and a long hallway at the other end that opens into the Corn Field. Sorry for no pics on that prop, it's another one of those things you don't try to take pictures of on purpose. Note to self: you've now got hindsight! 

HandPainted Backgrounds - Halloween Props DIY

A haunted house has rickety, clap board siding, broken shutters or a crooked stairway.

Your home however may not! Therefore, recreating these eerie characteristics could be your next Halloween home haunt project.

Get creative and make your haunting facade as rustic or decorative as you choose. I apologize for not having pics for this prop, I've used it twice so far and both times it was neglected at picture time.

How to Make your Backdrop...

You need to decide how you want your home haunt to appear to Trick or Treaters and their 'followers'. If you have cemetary props paint your design to reflect a spooky masoleum, crematorium or butcher shop. A haunted house with the similar look and feel of the one in Psycho by painting slat walls, busted shutters and windows with crazy old ladies in them. Paint a butcher shop, funhouse, forest or dungeon for your home haunt theme then paint up some rocks and stones of various sizes, bricks, skulls, bones or even logs.

Supplies needed...

- Measuring tape
- Scissors
- Exterior water based paint. Black and white for stone or brickwork is good.
- Paint brushes
- Unprimed canvas cut off a large roll (leftover from previous projects). You could use painters drop clothes which are large, affordable and durable. Be sure to get ones that are made of canvas or heavy cotton even rubber backed drop clothes will work as long it has a paintable surface.

Directions...

- Measure the area of your home haunt facade albeit the shed, garage or frontage of your home you want disquised. Now measure again ;) Lay out your material as flat as possible then measure out those same co-ordinates onto your fabric. Now measure again ;) Use the scissors but do not cut out openings for the doors and windows unless you need to or want to.

With our home haunt disquise we cut out the living room window for the reasons of sanity but left the front door area alone. The doors were measured separatly and the measurements drawn onto the fabric as a guide. It was cut so the door could open and close but the 'hinge' side remained attached uncut. This may not work with your home so check first!

- Once you've determined the style it's just a matter of painting the design onto the surface. If you want it extra durable and long lasting, prime both sides of the fabric first (I didn't do this and ours has lasted for quite a few seasons).

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When choosing either rolls of canvas or drop clothes, consider the size and price. A roll of canvas may be only 5'2" meaning to cover height, you'd be rolling out the whole roll for barely two strips 8' long. You will most likely have a seam somewhere within the design so remember to overlap and paint accordingly. Whereas drop clothes are more squared off and far more economical!

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!

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.