Thread: how to make hanging cocoons move

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Ok, I want to do a room in my haunt filled with hanging cocoon type things.
I want them to 'move'. Some could vibrate, some could just move around, I'd like some to look like something is scratching on the inside trying to get out.

I'd makybe like them to look like a bat wing covering them? Grayish black with veins showing ?
What do you think ? How could I make these ? And, do you have ideas on what to use for the movement ?

With the rise in Vampire and werewolf movies right now... I'd like to have it along those lines. I know neither of those are 'hatched' from cocoons... but who knows... maybe in my world they are!! hehe

Anyway.... I know you guys will have all kinds of great ideas on the mechanical and the creative parts of this project!
Hey, maybe even have them a little opaque and have a little light glowing in them..?

off-balanced motors---could use pager type if your prop is light-weight or small enough. I've used this before in a foam filled corpse with good success:

Powerful 12V Vibrating Motor-The Electronic Goldmine

Couple of thoughts:
For the material, use black scrim. Make a wire-frame for the outline of the cocoon, and then you can stretch the material over it. Where the wire frame is seen, perhaps you can disguise it with thing like vines or webbing (all painted black) to make them blend in with the cocoon more.
Just make sure to light the cocoons from the front, so no light passes through the scrim, showing anything you have inside.

For some of the movement inside, I think a shiatsu massager could give the effect of something pushing from the inside - maybe glue a few ping-pong balls in a cluster on each rotating knob of the massager, and mount it inside the cocoon so those cluster just press against the scrim...pushing it like large fingers or something.
(a thought comes to mind on this idea - maybe make an occupant for your cocoon, and have the massager inside them for a squirming effect, and then backlight that cocoon, so people can see "whatever" is inside the cocoon squirming around)

Also, a power drill can be used to make a cocoon shudder. To make a simple off-set weight for the drill, just get a long bolt, slide a half dozen washers on it, so they slide to the end (perhaps a little glue to keep them together, and at the end). Bend the bolt near the end, and just clamp that bent end in the drill. Fasten the drill with off-set weight to the frame of the cocoon, and the whole thing should shudder when you run the drill (may have to tape the trigger to the "on" position). An on/off switch for the extension cord powering that drill will give you the chance to make it sporadic...
(probably pick up a really cheap corded power drill at a garage sale)

Lynn, I'd go with some type of vibrating motor. I bought some spider egg sack from K mart this year there about a foot long and its a mesh sack filled with white stuffing there is a battery operated motor that makes them shake seem to work well, but have not used them for an extended period. Next time I'm in the attic I'll see if I can find them amoungst the rest of my halloween treasures and send you a pic. You might be able to find them on line tool

The vibrating motors are a great idea. If you want a bigger, wider shaking movement you can use a pendulum-type movement. Here's a video of a man in a spider cocoon so you can see the mechanism in action:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWnsrCEHWPc]YouTube - Sneak Peek Halloween 2008 - Spider Room[/ame]

Here's a link to make it:

Halloween Forum - Terra's Album: Tutorial: Animated Spider Victim

This thread comes to mind:

Spider egg sac

maybe you could make a super sized version then pop in one of those off balance motors?

newbie haunter did this this past halloween spider cocoon victim she made a moving spider victim with one of those cheap little flying ghosts ,a great idea and prop you might also want to play a soundrtack with diffrent sounds like scratching or hatching noise etc on it ? like others said shiatsu motors and vibrating motors would be good .

Great ideas ! thanks. I do think I want them to look more like the bat wing thing though.

Joe, the idea of the scrim is great.. I have liquid latex that I could paint on it to give it more of a leathery look, or wing look. then add on 'veins'. The drill would be a really easy way to give it movement too. The vibrating motor would give some the look of something wiggling around...
I do want to have one larger one to look like a 'body' is scratching or rubbing the inside trying to get out. This is the one that I know I'm going to struggle with.

Terra, love your spider room in you haunt. we did one of those several years ago... but we had a real person covered in webbing lying on the floor.

Witch, that would be an easy way to give one of them movement! I have a flying bat I could do that same kind of thing to....great.

A new thought..... along the lines of the cocoon... maybe they could actually hanging bats that are curled up sleeping.. but moving around. I think that would go along more with what I am wanting in this room... but I still want to have at least the one look like its a person inside those wings.. ???

Originally Posted by Lynn

A new thought..... along the lines of the cocoon... maybe they could actually hanging bats that are curled up sleeping.. but moving around. I think that would go along more with what I am wanting in this room... but I still want to have at least the one look like its a person inside those wings.. ???

Oooooo Bat PEOPLE!!!!

My wife has forbade me from making them.


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZqTGjKQeNM]YouTube - Beastmaster - Creepy Birdmen Digest a Slave[/ame]