Thread: Cannibal/witch cauldron

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For my pirate-themed garage haunt, I wanted a small scene where a caged pirate looks like he's about to be cooked by cannibals. I originally thought about turning my galvanized washtub into a bubbling stew pot, but then I stumbled across these items on the scrap metal pile at the town transfer station:



I think the "pot" was part of some kind of industrial vacuum. I removed the broken latches and added some beefy handles I found at a yard sale for 50 cents. I was happy to discover the pot would hold water, and I determined that I could route the power cord for a submersible light and the air hose for an aerator through the port in the back instead of having them drape over the side.



On a later trip to the transfer station, I found the base of a fire pit. Flipping over the base gave me a nice platform for the round metal grill I found previously. Putting everything together and adding some paint game me this:





My only regret is going a little overboard with the drips - I wish I scaled back on the paint. I went for an unidentifiable brown crud look instead of blood - I try not to do anything gory in my haunt.

I bought a pond aerator to make the water bubble and a submersible light to make the water glow. I'll put some flicker bulbs behind the faux logs to simulate a fire.



Total cost for this prop was under $50. The aerator and submersible light were both $20 apiece, and the miscellaneous hardware (handles, hooks, and nuts/bolts) and paint was around $5. Everything else I already had or was free from the scrap metal pile at the town transfer station.

Looks great. I think the drips look just right. I've wanted to do a bun barrel where a screaming burning torso jumps out. But I'm still trying to figure it out.

Love it!!!

Looks Great Max,
Your props are spot-on.
My favorite are the cannons that stick out of your windows.
If the neighbors complain ,blow-em outta the water, I always say......

That is awesome! Great work!

Many thanks, everyone! A little positive feedback goes a long way to powering me through all the projects I have remaining.

I'll try to test the light and aerator some evening this week, and I'll report back on how well they work in the cauldron.