Do you want to have a Scary Christmas this year? Do you want your Christmas display to have something the neighbors will never think of doing? Then Allen Hopps (from the legendary Stiltbeast Studios) has just the project for you: Oh, and did I neglect to mention that he has other videos showing how to …
Tag: prop
Nov 04 2013
Mongolian Death Worm Gaff
This “Mongolian Death Worm” was the result of an experiment using vintage gaff making techniques. I wanted to recreate the process of crafting a sideshow display using materials available in the early 20th century. Except for cheating on the teeth, which were made from epoxy putty, I used traditional paper mache for the entire specimen. …
Oct 22 2013
Pepper’s Ghost
Check out the image illustrating this article. It looks amazing, doesn’t it? If you show it to your average person, it’s practically guaranteed they’ll identify it as a hologram. It’s not, but it’s an understandable mistake. In addition to Bill Nye mistakenly asserting the Pepper’s Ghost-based effects at Disney’s Haunted Mansion were accomplished with holograms, …
Oct 21 2013
Bottomless Pits
It’s difficult to pin down the exact date the bottomless pit illusion came into being, but it’s so easy to accomplish that it’s probably as old as mirrors themselves. I remember learning in history class how the famous Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles was arranged so that the room seemed to stretch …
Oct 20 2013
Trash Can Trauma
The year was 1996. That’s when Larry Lund contacted Mid-Island Appliance to obtain some used washing machine solenoids to use for the creation of Halloween props. As it turns out, owner Carl Chetta was also interested in mechanical Halloween decorations and was especially interested in Lind’s plans to pump air through the solenoids instead of …
Oct 18 2013
Fanimatronics
For a long time, the only ways one was told to use an oscillating fan in a haunted house was to either use a hidden one as a source of wind (either blowing on fabric props-such as curtains or ghosts-or directly on the customers) or as a way of making an empty rocking chair seemingly …
Oct 17 2013
How To Detail Haunted House Walls
It’s odd…despite being a Halloween/horror blog, we rarely discuss how to make props for Halloween displays and haunted attractions. And when the subject is discussed, it’s usually focused on printable stuff. As you have probably noticed, we’re slowly changing things around here so that we have more how-to stuff in the mix. As you can …
Oct 05 2013
Free Printable Halloween Window Silhouettes
Despite having covered printable Halloween decorations on this site in the past, I somehow missed covering one of the easiest and most effective decorations of that type: window silhouettes. You’d better believe I’m making up for that today! Let’s start things off with some selections from the site that gave me the idea in the …
Sep 05 2013
Back To School
The back to school season is upon us, and with it an opportunity to get some great sculpting tools. Just head over to the eraser section of the school supplies. You’ll more than likely find novelty erasers depicting all sorts of odd items featuring some amazing textures. Last night I picked up a package of …
Jul 09 2013
Tentacles: The Suckering!
Following up on the original tentacle project, I wanted to try making one with “suckers” running along it’s length. To make the sucker rings I used 1/2″ cabone rings applied while one of the sealing layers of latex was still wet. After that layer dried, effectively serving to glue the rings to the body of …
Jul 08 2013
Making A Tentacle
The humble tentacle is arguably the most iconic of Mythos images, trumping even the mighty Necronomicon. Rightly or wrongly (keeping in mind that actual tentacles are few and far between in Lovecraft’s works) it has become symbolic of the entire genre of cosmic horror. Now, at long last, I’ve made my first prop tentacle.The impetus …
Oct 23 2012
Hellevator
Having a fake elevator in your haunted attraction does wonders for the overall atmosphere. At its most basic use, a well-made one can help increase the feelings of isolation and being trapped in your haunt. Having it seemingly go out of control and violently plunge into the depths only adds to the fun. But making …
Oct 13 2012
Free Spooky Pictures
There’s nothing like a few creepy paintings to spice up a dimly-lit hallway at a haunted house or Halloween party. But if you don’t have the skills or monetary resources, setting up a ghoulish gallery can be a problem. That’s where I come in. For today’s update, I’ve assembled a collection of public domain paintings …