[3pinkpoodles]

I am hosting a "funeral home" themed party this year and I typically decorate each room in the house as though it is part of a haunted house walk-through. I am hoping to convert the whole kitchen into a morgue/embalming room. It really would be cool to make the entire room flicker with a greenish/bluish light source. Is this something I can purchase? Or do I need to create the light source to cause the flickering? I am open to both options and would love to see an video tutorials if it is something I will need to create form scratch. Thanks everyone!

 

[JW Halloween]

The easiest way would be to purchase led flame bulbs like these:

You can also get them in green.

They are not nearly as realistic as in the photos but they are pretty good if you put them behind something to diffuse the light like frosted glass or toilet paper (not making this up!).

If you are looking for something more like a "short circuit" effect and you are not scared of electrical work here is a YouTube video that shows you how to create something like that.

 

[The Joker]

Hey Poodles. For a slightly different effect than the flame bulbs JW posted (which are pretty cool), you can also purchase a device that makes lights flicker.

LightsAlive makes something called a "MiniFlicker 2"... https://lightsalive.com/miniflicker2.html. It can run up to two devices via standard plug. They're not cheap though at $99. I bought one last year to use in our Freddy "basement" display in one of the front windows. Here's a video to show you how it looks. The fixture on top of the furnace is hooked up to a MiniFlicker.

.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

And you can go higher tech with the Hue lights.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

Or DIY with a flicker circuit:

https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-Blinking-Light-Bulbs-with-Lamp-Starter/

 

[3pinkpoodles]

Hey Poodles. For a slightly different effect than the flame bulbs JW posted (which are pretty cool), you can also purchase a device that makes lights flicker.

LightsAlive makes something called a "MiniFlicker 2"... https://lightsalive.com/miniflicker2.html. It can run up to two devices via standard plug. They're not cheap though at $99. I bought one last year to use in our Freddy "basement" display in one of the front windows. Here's a video to show you how it looks. The fixture on top of the furnace is hooked up to a MiniFlicker.

.

Oh wow- THIS is what I am imagining! I think $99 is fair if it gets me the effect I am after. This set up is so very cool, JOker!

 

[3pinkpoodles]

The easiest way would be to purchase led flame bulbs like these:

View attachment 583475

You can also get them in green.

They are not nearly as realistic as in the photos but they are pretty good if you put them behind something to diffuse the light like frosted glass or toilet paper (not making this up!).

If you are looking for something more like a "short circuit" effect and you are not scared of electrical work here is a YouTube video that shows you how to create something like that.

GREAT idea JW- Thank you! I had not idea these bulbs came in any colors other than the orange. My laundry room is attached to the kitchen and the door is glass. Would be cool to put these in laundry room and mask the glass as you mentioned and maybe have some sort of imposing silhouette figure on the other side of the glass. Could be a super neat effect. Love it!

 

[3pinkpoodles]

The easiest way would be to purchase led flame bulbs like these:

View attachment 583475

You can also get them in green.

They are not nearly as realistic as in the photos but they are pretty good if you put them behind something to diffuse the light like frosted glass or toilet paper (not making this up!).

If you are looking for something more like a "short circuit" effect and you are not scared of electrical work here is a YouTube video that shows you how to create something like that.

Oh, and that you tube tutorial is perfect. I could TOTALLY do that! I've fixed enough old lamps to feel comfortable with that process. Looks pretty basic!

 

[The Joker]

Oh wow- THIS is what I am imagining! I think $99 is fair if it gets me the effect I am after. This set up is so very cool, JOker!

Happy I could help! And thanks for the compliment. I try to change up each window every year, but this was one of my favorite windows. I'll have to bring that into the house for the party this year and make room for the next scene... whatever that will be.

 

[66539]

A while back I took a short video of our flame lights. They're similar to the ones J W Halloween suggested. Two things to pay attention to when buying them. Make sure you buy the type that are gravity sensitive if you're going to put it into a light facing downward. It really does have a strange look to it if the lights don't shift their orientation when you change which way the bulb is put in. The bulb you're looking at in the video was a nine watt. It's about the equivalent of a 40 watt incandescent.

.

Also look closely at the design and layout of the LEDs as they can make the effect look great or not depending on who is manufacturing them. We purchased a set from one vendor and they're not so much flames as strobes. We put them on the "breathing mode" and they're usable that way, but not as flames. We got some that we like at https://www.aliexpress.com/item/99-...826.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dipG6MD for our blue colored version. We purchased the green flamed version at https://www.aliexpress.com/item/E27...000&pvid=3f52dd66-52f5-4944-adf9-ee4f0f059565 . They all seem to work well for what we use them for. We used a different vendor for our regular yellow flame lights. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Cre...692.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dtkc6gM . Just be careful when you order to get the right base size. We bought one bulb thinking it was going to be a candelabra light and it turned out to fit only UK sockets. But really, just bounce around looking at what's being sold. The prices are constantly in flux between vendors at Ali Express, and you can walk away with some real deals.

Another option a bit more like what the Joker has, but without quite the investment, is a Gemmy Short Circuit Rusty Attic Bulb. They're on sale right now at https://www.partybell.com/p-42793-r...Lffh-dhy5uEIM3KsaNL9uyNXscYLgGf4aAvg9EALw_wcB for $10.99. Other places sell them for similar prices and shipping rates vary. We got ours at Home Depot on sale and they work pretty nicely. The only down side is they turn off for about five seconds at the end of their cycle. We solved the problem by having other ambient light to cover the down time so that the room doesn't go completely dark. Also as they're on a separate cord, we turn one on and then the other about ten seconds later. That way their down times don't sync. They all pretty much do what the video below shows. The Joker's lights are far better, but a couple of these make our witches shack look pretty beat up.

Hope that helps.

 

[madmax]

I am hosting a "funeral home" themed party this year and I typically decorate each room in the house as though it is part of a haunted house walk-through. I am hoping to convert the whole kitchen into a morgue/embalming room. It really would be cool to make the entire room flicker with a greenish/bluish light source. Is this something I can purchase? Or do I need to create the light source to cause the flickering? I am open to both options and would love to see an video tutorials if it is something I will need to create form scratch. Thanks everyone!

There's a how too on making the below. Very simple to make and cheap....under $7. I use to make and sell these a few years ago and after making 25 or so It only took me 5 minutes from start to finish . You dont have to use the box a electrical drop cord and the fuse and tape will work just as well....under 3 minutes of work. and less than $5. Works best with a 40 or below watt bulb and in a haunted house setting, is all you need. If that.

 

[66539]

There's a how too on making the below. Very simple to make and cheap....under $7. I use to make and sell these a few years ago and after making 25 or so It only took me 5 minutes from start to finish . You dont have to use the box a electrical drop cord and the fuse and tape will work just as well....under 3 minutes of work. and less than $5. Works best with a 40 or below watt bulb and in a haunted house setting, is all you need.

Hi, madmax. I have a question for you that no one has brought up in tutorials using the fuse method for flickering. You're using an incandescent bulb for your project and they're getting increasingly difficult to find since their production was halted. Since the idea is to stop or slow the current going to the bulb a fluorescent bulb would burn out being treated that way, so they're a no go. Would this even work with LED's that require so little to run? Just curious if you've ever experimented with them as the light source.

 

[madmax]

Hi, madmax. I have a question for you that no one has brought up in tutorials using the fuse method for flickering. You're using an incandescent bulb for your project and they're getting increasingly difficult to find since their production was halted. Since the idea is to stop or slow the current going to the bulb a fluorescent bulb would burn out being treated that way, so they're a no go. Would this even work with LED's that require so little to run? Just curious if you've ever experimented with them as the light source.

I've used some LEDS that would flicker and some that wouldn't but that was a few years ago so . Somewhere in my garage I still have a box of fuses, cords, and boxes. If I get the time to look for them I will put one together and test with the LED bulbs we use at home.

 

[matrixmom]

There's also the Perfect Storm Lightning box which flickers to the rate of the lightning CD (provided with unit) its about $40

 

[oaklawn Crematory]

You can run all your lights thru a FS-2 starter that will cause all the lights in the room to flicker and its less than two bucks. You can buy them at any hardware store or order them online.

 

[Creepcakes]

Someone mentioned the Perfect Storm Box. I like mine but you do have to have a source playing the thunder sound effect. I also bought a bunch of flickering flame candelabra bulbs a few years ago like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ECJ68K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 They don't put out much light but have a good effect - I take off my lampshades and use them as naked bulbs in dim rooms.

 

[3pinkpoodles]

There's a how too on making the below. Very simple to make and cheap....under $7. I use to make and sell these a few years ago and after making 25 or so It only took me 5 minutes from start to finish . You dont have to use the box a electrical drop cord and the fuse and tape will work just as well....under 3 minutes of work. and less than $5. Works best with a 40 or below watt bulb and in a haunted house setting, is all you need. If that.

MADMAX. This is really great! Where can I buy the flicker box? I goggled it and could not find a tutorial either

 

[3pinkpoodles]

MATRIX- Great idea- But I am already using my Perfect Storm in the back yard cemetery. There have been some great ideas here

 

[Industen]

I made 10 of these years ago with flouresent starters. I believe they were FS2 and FS25.

Things not mentioned

If you have an older dimmable circuit in your house a LED bulb will flicker on that switch.

A dimmable DMX pack can control flickering as well. Each pack has 4 plugs that run independent from one another.

Any DMX controller can control flickering. You can create a "show" in a DMX editor software

 

[zwiller]

Great thread, just want to add the dmx comment above. I am definitely in the dmx or sequence camp as I am picky. Not really that expensive to go that route as people think AND tons of other benefits. My setup for this year is $15 rasp pi zero to a $35 dmx board and to $30 dmx rgb floods. Software is free. Possibilities are nearly endless. Not me or how I am doing it but close. Raspberry Pi As a DMX Light Controller

This whole display is run from a pi. It starts and stops at days and times I program and outputs music that I attach an FM transmitter to. I can even control it from phone. If anyone is interested check out some Christmas forums. I feel bad just how behind the times the haunters are and hope this post helps anyone looking for info. Learning curve is not as bad as you think. I prefer Falconchristmas.com but am members at a bunch of places.