Making the Halloween Life Size Prop

This is a great ready made Halloween Prop





For a Halloween home haunt or yard haunt, you will probably want some life size props to bring some realism to your sets. I have found that making the life size props, monsters etc, to one of the most difficult aspects of created your own home haunt, but if you start early, and take your time, you can make some really spooky Halloween life size props.

To begin with you need some PCV pipe that are about ½ or ¾ inches in diameter. Cut the pipe with a pipe cutter after measuring how long you want the torso, legs, arms, neck, and how wide the shoulders will be. You fit these pipes together using couplings, and T connections, once you’ve put them together and they fit correctly and in proportion you will need to glue them with PVC glue.
The stand is also made with pipe and fittings. I make mine by attaching the frame to a wide cross-section, which is attached to a square stand, all made from PCV pipe and fittings.
After you have completed the frame you will need to wrap the torso and other body parts with chicken wire and shape them. You may also choose to use foam but this tends to make the prop heaver. Attach a foam head to the neck.
From this point you dress up your prop with whatever costume you have chosen, using the clothes and latex mask. Some people choose to use monster mud on the foam head and hands to create their props, but this can be time consuming and difficult. Most often I use a latex mask and hands to finish the life size Halloween prop.

Vampire Bat Halloween Prop

Here is a really awesome pneumatically controlled vampire bat Halloween Prop used in a home yard haunt.

Halloween Costume and Game Ideas

Every Halloween parents face the same dilemma, buying costumes for kids and finding fun activities for them to celebrate Halloween.

Halloween Adult Fun

What is so great about the adult Halloween party is that you can really let your imagination go wild. Add lots of scary and gory Halloween props, and some scary music and games, and you have some good Halloween adult fun.
Some adult party games include the serial killer hide and seek game, where everyone hides in the dark, and the person who is it seeks out and pretends to get the people that are hiding, but if you really want to make it a spooky event, there’s always the talking board.
Though you should be warned that there is some controversy about how safe this is, and that it may actually cause some problems with the paranormal during its use, or after. People use the talking board or Quja Board to communicate with the dead and other disembodied spirits; it is suppose to work well on Halloween night when the veil between this world and the next, is thinnest.
Creating your own neighborhood home haunt can also be a party in itself. Get lots of friends together and put on your own haunted attraction for the neighborhood. This is a lot of fun if you really get into decorating for Halloween.

The Halloween Home Haunts: Your Spooks Should be in Costume and Character

No matter how many cool Halloween props you have in your haunted house, it will not come alive unless you have actors in costumes. When you have people dressed in costumes that go with the theme of the rooms, or scenes within your haunted house; not only does it bring an extra spook element to your haunt, but actors can do many things that you can’t do, even with animated props.
Dressing your actors, or helpers in Halloween costumes is essential for any haunted house, but when they are in costume, they will also have stay in character. This isn’t as important for the home haunter as it is for the pro haunted house, but if you really want to pull of a really great haunted house, the people helping you should try to stick to these rules.
A mummy eating a caramel apple, and giggling with their friends, isn’t going to scare too many people.
I know this is one of the hardest parts about pulling off a good home haunt. Every year this seems to be a problem, as some people don’t want to stay in the rooms they were assigned, or be talking on their cell phones while they are suppose to be scaring the group that is coming through.
I still haven’t been able to completely solve this problem, as you can’t be too choosy who helps with your home haunt when you need all the help you can get. One idea would be to assign those people different tasks. If there are some people helping you that you are fairly sure won’t get into the acting aspect of the project, assign them some other task, maybe putting together the graveyard.
Others that you are pretty sure will be able to stay in character, and keep their costumes on, at least most of the time, go ahead and assign them a place within your haunt. Ensure everyone has a Halloween costume to match the character they will play, and know what they are suppose to be doing on that night.
Remember, you are essentially putting on a miniature live production.

The Rocky Point Haunted House

For my first post about Halloween Haunted Houses, I wanted to pay tribute to The Rocky Point Haunted House, which was the premier haunted attraction in the country up until Rocky Point closed its doors for the last time, following the 2006 Halloween Season.
The Rocky Point Haunted house first came into existence in my hometown. I grew up in the same area as Cydney Neil and her brother; the creators of this famous haunted attraction.
I have to admit, I received a lot of my inspiration by some of their efforts. When the Rocky Point Haunted house first came into existence in 1979, Neil Crabtree had it housed in his family’s old restaurant, which sat on a high hill, above Highway 89. It was a round building, and was very unique. The building that housed the Rocky Point Haunted House burned a couple of different times, the last time was October 23, 1996, and this time the building burned to the ground. Mysteriously, the cause of the fire was never discovered.
At this point, Rocky Point Haunted house moved to the Salt Lake area and went on to become one of the most prominent haunted attractions in the industry. This was an immense haunted house, with more than one attraction. The care put into their props was legendary in the haunt industry, and in fact, were Hollywood quality props.
For nearly 30 years, the Halloween Season was as much about the Rocky Point Haunted House, as it was about trick or treat, and pumpkins. Entire generations grew up with Rocky Point, and the artful haunting of this haunted attraction will be missed for a long time to come.

Ideas For Halloween Party Games

If you plan on throwing a party for Halloween, aside from Halloween decorations, and your menu, you’ll also want some Halloween party games to help entertain your guests. The types of games you have at your party will depend on the age group of your guests. Obviously the games you have for an adult party wouldn’t be appropriate for a children’s Halloween party.
To keep the little ghosts and goblins entertained at your next children’s Halloween party, you can try one of these games.
The Halloween Balloon Fight. To play this game you will need enough orange and black balloons so that each player has one. All the children are divided into two teams, with each team having either all black, or all orange balloons. The balloons are tied onto the ankle of each player. The object of the game is for players to try and pop all the balloons of the other team. The first team with all their balloons popped, loses.
Halloween Musical Tombstones: This game is played much the same as musical chairs, except that you use Halloween music, and slip a paper grocery sack over the back of the chairs; using a marker to write R.I.P, and an epitaph. And don’t forget to draw some spooky pictures on them too.
For older kids, or adults, one of the favorite activities for Halloween is telling scary stories. Have everyone sit in a dark room, lit only with carved pumpkins, or flickering lights. Have each person tell a scary story; it can be something made up, or something that really happened to them.
Killer Instinct: This version of Hide and Seek puts a chilling Halloween twist on an old game. The object of this Halloween game is to see if you can get through the night without getting killed. You will need a scary Halloween costume, such as Jason, from Friday the 13, Freddy, or something unique. For this game you will also need a flashlight and a large, dark area in which to play. This game works for both indoors, and outdoors. Everyone, but the person who is it, hides, and the person who is it, puts on a Halloween costume and proceeds to find the party guests. As they find each one, the people who are found, must go lay in the cemetery, as if dead. The last one left that hasn’t been found, is the winner.
These are some fun and scary ways to entertain your guests at your next Halloween Party.