Thread: Upgrading 30 year old foam tombstones

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My dad was a yard haunter in the late 70' and early 80's. It wasn't much by today's standards, but at the time we had the coolest house around. A coffin that the kids had to reach into to get their candy, a ghost flying down at the crowd on a fishing line, a church steeple on the roof, skeletons, a few actors in the yard, and of course 3" thick foam tombstones.

Our father passed away in 1986 and we inherited his old props. Some families pass down jewelry or pieces of furniture. Ours passes down haunt props. My brother and I proudly display these tombstones at our haunts, but this year my brother suggested giving them a face lift. For one of the stones I worked on, I decided to document the process with photos.

This is what I started with, pretty much how our dad left it. I still remember the day he stunk up the house carving the letters with a soldering iron.


A shot of the bottom showing the damage from many years of stakes being placed in the bottom.


The first mock up. Nothing glued together yet.


All pieces assembled and glued together. Gaps at bottom filled with small scraps.


A bit hard to see, but monster mud was used to cover the white beaded foam and fill gaps. Sanded and ready for Dry-Lok.


Two coats of Dry-Lok.


Bottom side showing the new PVC pipe stake hole.


I didn't get a picture, but the entire stone was painted black first. Next the stone was painted with a light grey and washed away using this technique http://hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=22856


Finally, I painted the letters with a dark grey to make the stone easier to read. This is the final result.


All 5 of these are 30+ years old and were all in the same condition when we started.

A few close-ups of the other 4 stones done so far.




Our mother saw these and just loves how we brought new life to them. She seems to think our father would be proud. I'd kinda like to think so as well.

This is so cool.....hope my son does that for me someday.

Thats Awesome.

Wow. Great story and great job. It's so important to remember where you came from, but also to keep moving forward and not get stuck in the past.

I think this is a great solution. I'm sure your dad would be proud.

He must have really been a character to be that over the top back in the 70s. (Mom rigged a ghost with a wig head and some old curtains and we were the hit of the block back then. Your house must have been a zoo!)

Excellent updates I think he definitely would be proud.

Excellent updates & your Dad is definitely proud.

THEY SUCK!........Wait...um

Just to let everyone know, Drop Dead Ed is my older brother.

Dammit Eddie, this post made me tear up you A$$...lol..7 in the morning and already crying, b4 my coffee even.

Dad would be proud of those stones.

these are great. outstanding job keeping the original spirit alive. have a great halloween!

the cross in this pic was cut into two pieces a number of years ago by our step father. It was a good idea for the stone..turned out it didnt look so good...lol

I drilled a holes in both pieces and ran a 5 inch piece pf 1/2 inch pvc and glue the hell out of it. then I monster mudded the seem linie and the rest of the stone. I put the MM on thick in spots so it would crack...after it dried I sanded it down and turned it over to Eddie for paint...He's better at the painting than I am...

Its nice to see this cross back together...I remember this in the yard haunts for when I was 4 and 5 years old...i'm 35 now...