Thread: FCG on 10' pole or telescoping flag pole?

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Has anyone built a FCG prop and mounted it to a free standing pole or one of those telescoping flag poles? I would like to do a FCG, but I don't have a porch or any ceiling mount space. My thought was to build the mount, but have it attached to the top of a 10' piece of 2+ inch metal conduit and then attach the pole to one of my 6' tall fence posts, which would get the FGC about 8 to 10 feet off the ground. A telescoping flag pole would get it about 15' (or so) off the ground, but I don't know how sturdy that would be. Thanks in advance.

It should work if you mount it to a pole,probably not the flagpole. You need to mount it from ideally 3 points from above. the three points will give you height/leveling/stability capability in every axis.
so if you have a pole you need to make some sort of bracket to come out 90degrees from the vertical pole. then attach 3 chains or ropes to the three attachment points. Generally two in front and one in back. the two in front holding the arm pulleys and the one in back for the head and body.


The firs year in my living room I made a 1"conduit stand with three pieces of conduit bent at 90 degrees and bolted together to make a portable stand. I painted it black and it disappeared into the background.

I'm thinking of using that angle iron that has holes in it and bolted to the pipe. I'm just trying to get my head around how to build it and where/how to mount the motor.

I didn't want to make any hole in the ceiling of the house but I wanted a FCG in the window to be viewed from outside. So I made a simple triangle base and attached a 2x4 vertically to it. I put in a few short stub braces to hold it vertical and then attached a piece at the top that extended out . Then I put the mounting points for the fishing line on that board. It is pretty simple and if it were outdoors and everything was painted black you wouldn't even see it. Since mine was indoors I made a "shadow box" out of a black sheet that hid the frame and made it so we could keep the lights in that room on.

You could make it work with either a free standing pole or a telescoping flag pole. How long it stays working is another matter. The biggest issue you're going to run into is how to weatherproof the motor. The other big issue is going to be wind since it's going to be out in the elements. Wind will make the ghost turn and the lines bind up. You'll have to try to address that if you're going to want to run it in any kind of inclement weather, which there's usually an abundance of in October!

Good luck!

While my tombstones are drying, I continued work on the FCG mounted on top of a 22 foot telescoping flag pole. I got the flag pole off ebay several months ago for a steal ($30 shipped). I attached angle iron to the wood frame of the FCG with wood screws. This one had a little gold ball that screwed down into the top. I used this hole to mount the angle iron onto the flag pole. I then drilled a hole through the flag pole, ran a bolt through it to help secure another piece of metal to brace to top angle iron. The flag pole which is aluminum came with a larger 16" piece of PVC pipe. This PVC pipe is supposed to be cemented into the ground and then the flag pole fits down into it. I will attach this pipe to the corner post for my fence using pipe clamps and it will sit on the metal electrical box which will be attached to the fence post. I will probably be able to mount the pipe 3 to 4 feet off the ground which should put the top of the FCG about 24 to 25 feet off the ground. I have to work on mounting the black light, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I have to paint it yet and get the ghost on it. I'll post more pics when it's done and will post video of it up in the air and in action.

I did something similar to what you want to do. I cemented a 2' piece of 2" threaded pipe into the ground, with just the threads showing above ground. I threaded a coupler to it and then threaded a 10' pole onto that. After Halloween I take the pole off and thread a cap onto the piece in the ground.

Got the flag pole mounted FCG done today. I mounted the holder sleeve about 3 feet off the ground so that's 25 feet off the ground total.

It was windy here today so no video. ANY wind on Halloween and I am hosed. It will just have to flop around in the wind. But it does work and it is floating about 25 feet off the ground.

WOW that is way up there!! nice!

Wow that is one tall ghost!!!