I saw a similar thread on another forum and, assuming I'm not violating the Halloween Forums Geneva Convention, thought it might be interesting to explore here.

The reason I was interested in the topic was that last year, I added something I don't really use for my haunt - someone in costume - and it was ridiculously successful.

Every year, I do have my sizeable older brother and a sizeable friend of his done up as ghouls, but only to keep traffic flowing, watch out for little ones, discourage any anti-social behaviour, etc..., but I don't have costumed actors or anything.

I had, however, purchased Death Studios' truly awesome Alternate Vampyre mask and matching hands last year - as a lifelong fan of Nosferatu, I had to have them - and wanted to put them to good use. Given the themes are a cemetery on one side of the driveway and a haunted farmer's field on the other, it didn't make sense to have a vampire running about.

I therefore decided that ol' Nosfy would be the agitated homeowner. My younger bro, clad in a black robe, played the role. I didn't want him to get mauled by the crowd, so I put him on a second-floor balcony that covers our front porch (X marks the spot in the picture) together with a smoke machine and a couple of strobes.



This is him up there in the costume:



We agreed to a few things he could do (e.g., point menacingly at people) and couldn't do (e.g., make violent gestures).

He was really into it, acting like he didn't approve of all the commotion on the driveway and in the road. It...was...awesome. The crowds ate it up. I had no idea it would work so well.

Needless to say, Brosferatu is now a permanent fixture on Halloween night.

JD

I have to say that is a fantastic mask! Love that movie!

Last year I would have to say my biggest crowd pleaser was actually kind of lame in my opinion... I set up my Donna of the Dead in the yard with a blue flood on her, but didn't have her plugged in, and she was just a static prop. Not that I think she is lame, but I rigged up my witch to stir her cauldron, and had a fake fire under her fogging cauldron (all home built) and added a complete fence enclosure, and a 10 foot spider web (complete with 3 foot spider), and those seemed to take a back seat to the Donna.

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I'm a Halloween Bride! 10/31/2002

Where there is no imagination there is no horror.
~Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

wow, that costume is really good

p.s. - how did you make that ghost in your garage, is it a projection or is it just a white sheet?

JD thats sweert. Awesome job. I can't wait to see this years.

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I have a website I never knew existed.

new additions to my haunt last yr were a TCT clown, a FCG and a spitting lizard.... the last minute (15 minutes to make) spitting lizard stole the show! Sooooo this yr Im having a spitting spider lol

That is a flying crank ghost - also known as an FCG. They are made out of cheesecloth and hung from a rigging that is run by a motor that moves the head/hands and is lit with a black light... one of the staples of a home haunt!

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I'm a Halloween Bride! 10/31/2002

Where there is no imagination there is no horror.
~Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Conman, it's a Flying Crank Ghost (FCG). As Frankie's Girl notes, the FCG is a staple in a lot of home haunts. Although there are instructions all over the net, I made mine based on FCG creator Doug Ferguson's website.

The Flying Crank Ghost - Instructions, Part 1

For the armature - i.e., the ghost itself - I employed the following method, which differs slightly from Doug's and yields a fully translucent ghost, including the head.

armature

Best,

JD

Agitated home owner...I love it. Last year we used the fog machine more but it didn't seem to do much. Every year, no matter what we do, the biggest thing people to seem like is the darned lighted arch we got from Target 3 or 4 years ago. It's nice and all, but I don't get why people go gaga over it. They want to take pictures under it all the time. This year we're adding an FCG and possibly a few other big things. I will bet my last dollar, that arch will get all the attention again.

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13 is my lucky number

For me it was the mausoleum facade. I had large doorway (with no door) that needed blocking off so this was my solution. It's not completely set up in this picture, we also put a white tarp behind the spiderweb lace curtain and had a strobe flashing behind it. It was the largest thing in the room so when people came in their eyes were drawn to it. They couldn't get over the fact that I had a "mausoleum" in the room.

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Brains for every single meal....why can't we have some guts?!

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