First... I'd like to thank MourningCemetery.com for input and triggering my work on these stones.

I get to create and run the haunted house for our local Lions Club. I was wandering about the Web, and came upon a light up tombstone and Mourning Cemetery. I presented the idea of getting sponsors to the club and creating custom light up tombstones for each, which the club thought was great. Here are two examples of what I have done so far.
They are both carved through with a Hot Wire hot knife foam cutter. For the first (Oakhurst Feed) I used a color changing battery operated pumpkin light, lined the inside of the stone with foil to reflect the light, then completed the stone as usual. I opted for this type of light because they are LED and batteries last a long time, batteries instead of cords allow me to freely place the stones where I want AND no cords to hide. This thing looks really good at night... I am so looking forward to showing the committee and the sponsor. There are two short pieces of PVC which will fit over wire stakes driven in the ground (thanks Mourning Cemetery for that idea).

The other is going to be marketed to our local Jamba Juice, and I wanted them to see how nice it could look. After printing their logo from a web site, I cut through the foam. I had a clear plastic folder that I cut to fit behind the cut outs, then colored them with permanent stamping ink. I had tried felt pens, but the colors were not vivid enough. I am going to try and find some colored transparent plastic for a vivid and consistent color that doesn't smear, but I doubt I can find the colors I need. It is not finished of course, but I wanted to show the colors and the logo. Perhaps there are some other community service haunts out there that could use promotion/sponsorships to raise funds, or just someone looking for different ideas for tombstones.


Initial cuts


Inside front, thinned and painted


Center cut out to create hollow cavity for lighting effect. Also, cut it for pvc pipes.


Inside back of stone, with foil and light cut in... pvc pieces set in.


finished stone day light


finished stone, night time



the beginning of the Jamba stone... I am very happy with the colored effect.

Now that is different! Lovin' it.

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She had a corpse under her bed
http://s225.photobucket.com/albums/d...loween%202008/
http://www.youtube.com/user/smegal6

Great Idea!! Very creative.

Burma shave on tombstones!

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Our 2008 Haunt Album is up here on HF - hope you enjoy:

http://www.halloweenforum.com/album.php?albumid=780

Very very imaginative...just may be the next wave in Marketing for haunts!!! Did you use colored tissue for the Jamba Juice stone?

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http://myspace.com/TerrorInThePark

Those look great. I have one of those pumpkin lights....seems like I might have to add another tombstone project to my list! Thanks for sharing the pics!

Great look I love the effect!!

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Linus: You've heard about fury and a woman scorned?
Charlie Brown: Yes, I guess I have.
Linus: Well that is nothing compared to the fury of a woman who has been cheated out of tricks or treats!

Hey ahwahneeliz,

You said that you wanted to find some plastic in the right colors? Go to your local there supply store. You can get a product referred to as 'Gel' that is thin transulcent colored pieces of plastic that is meant to go in front of theatre lighting. You can get it in every color under the rainbow, so it would be really easy to match the colors of a sponsor. The stuff is pretty cheap too.

Great job, keep up the good work!
-Handy_haunter

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~I'm going to eat your brains and steal your knowledge.

Handy_Haunter , thanks for the idea... I'll have to head to "the big city" one of these days. We have very little in our neck of the woods. was that theater supply? Maybe I can even get some one line... that'll prolly be the way to go, but I do like seeing stuff in person so I know I get the colors I need.

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So come up to the lab and see what's on the slab.

Yeah, just look up a theatre supply store in your area. I would pull out the yellow pages, it shouldn't be too hard to find one.

I can understand about wanting to see the product before you buy it, and there is a great solution to that. One of the brands of gel, called 'Roscoe', has hundreds of different colors and has a little sample book that most of these stores have and will sell to you for a couple of dollars. You could order a sample book, which I'm sure they would ship to you, and find the colors you want from there, then order bigger sheets. It's a great way to go.

-handy_haunter

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~I'm going to eat your brains and steal your knowledge.

Can you tell me where you found the hot wire knife? That really does a better job than my sheet rock saw!!!