[ChangedReality]

Hey. What's going on everyone? I figured this was probably the best place to ask for some help with some general stuff.

My situation: I'm a 23 year old college student, in a 3rd story apartment with a balcony, and have a dog.... I've been decorating for Halloween the last few years and keep adding more stuff to it.

My problem: I'm wanting to spice up my decorations and truly haunt my apartment... however, most everything I've seen usually needs a house or otherwise large area.

My current supplies: 5 various sized plug up jack-o-lanterns, several hundred feet of webbing, approx 20 bones/skulls, 4 changing pictures, some scene setter figures, 4 black lights, 3 hanging small/medium skeletons from wal-mart, 3 long lines of orange Halloween string lights. a large web string lights, and some various odd assortments of Halloween trinkets.

I usually either do webbing down the corners and around the lights, or hang it from the ceiling where it's everywhere, 2 jack-o-lanterns in the living room and just some stuff spread around... however, it looks...okay.... and okay is not what I want from my apartment haunt anymore.

I am looking to spend under $500 for some extra supplies (usually spend 100-300 each year getting new stuff) and need some help for some ideas... I was looking at maybe building a prop or two; however, I have no experience doing such a thing. I really just need some help with all of this, I want to expand my haunt and have no clue where to go or how to go from "okay" to "great".

 

[MsMeeple]

Hey. What's going on everyone? I figured this was probably the best place to ask for some help with some general stuff.

My situation: I'm a 23 year old college student, in a 3rd story apartment with a balcony, and have a dog.... I've been decorating for Halloween the last few years and keep adding more stuff to it.

My problem: I'm wanting to spice up my decorations and truly haunt my apartment... however, most everything I've seen usually needs a house or otherwise large area.

My current supplies: 5 various sized plug up jack-o-lanterns, several hundred feet of webbing, approx 20 bones/skulls, 4 changing pictures, some scene setter figures, 4 black lights, 3 hanging small/medium skeletons from wal-mart, 3 long lines of orange Halloween string lights. a large web string lights, and some various odd assortments of Halloween trinkets.

I usually either do webbing down the corners and around the lights, or hang it from the ceiling where it's everywhere, 2 jack-o-lanterns in the living room and just some stuff spread around... however, it looks...okay.... and okay is not what I want from my apartment haunt anymore.

I am looking to spend under $500 for some extra supplies (usually spend 100-300 each year getting new stuff) and need some help for some ideas... I was looking at maybe building a prop or two; however, I have no experience doing such a thing. I really just need some help with all of this, I want to expand my haunt and have no clue where to go or how to go from "okay" to "great".

I would suggest you visit the tutorial section. Lots of simple ideas there that are easy to make and dont cost much.
Voodoo Willy just posted some cool items you could make. Man eating houseplants, skellie fairies and skeleton sconces.
There are also tutorials on how to creep up a lamp.
What do you do with your balcony?

MsM

 

[Ghost of Spookie]

I'd suggest spending more time on the forum under the Party board, Prop board (where there are a number of subcategories including showcase, lighting, atmosphere and various props methods) and/or the tutorial area. Halloween - Halloween Forum

Are you throwing a party or are you just looking to decorate?

If you are looking for some focus to tie your place and things together, settle on a theme that interests you. Some people under the Party board are going with a New Orleans theme, a castle theme, a haunted hotel for example. What kind of stuff do you feel passionate about? Use that as your springboard.

I've seen threads about decorating small spaces on the forum and they can be helpful from a staging and lighting perspective. Have you tried using the "search" feature for something like this? Just today while surfing here I saw photos of someone's interior using a combination of foamboard and scenesetters. Really changed the whole feel of the place and it was nicely done. I've seen basements done as dungeons or pirate's hideouts. I've found looking back through topics that seem interesting to me and checking out people's links to photos to be the most inspiring. A few hours of reading through the posts and pictures will probably give you a ton of ideas. There's a lot of talent among the group here. I'm particularly fond of Terra's tombstone work, especially her "beloved" and envious of the size of her yard. I love the scientist lab that OpenTrackRacer is working on right now. I could go on and on really.

Sounds like you have a good base of halloween deocrations there. Think about repurposing things where you can, either in how you stage your props, like a skeleton in your bathtub, or adding or change costumes on a skeleton for example. Maybe wrap a skeleton up in some of the webbing to make him a victim.

 

[ElGuapoGuano]

I'm a big fan of the cheese cloth ghosts. I built my first one last year and I think it really added a nice effect. You just need a head, a wire coat hanger, some cheese cloth and a black light. Since you are limited on space, you could do like I do and hang them in the winow. Here's a couple pics...

 

[BevAnn]

Well, I have a house, with a huge yard, and I decorate outside, with some stuff inside. BUT this year, I too wanted to do more INSIDE.

I got a magazine at Walmart the other day and I highly recommend looking at it if you can find it!! It was Country Style, or something like that and it's a country home decorating type magazine, BUT the current edition is the Halloween one and OMG at the WONDERFUL stuff in there!! Now granted, most of it isn't like the haunted house scary type stuff, but still very good ideas and tips in there.

One thing I noticed was, these houses were decorated for Halloween on the inside and they decorations were literally EVERYWHERE. Every wall hanging, every knick knack, EVERY thing was Halloween!! I love IT!!

I have a tendency to look at something - say a small pumpkin - on a shelf at a store and think, well boo, that's small, not flashy enough, that's not POW enough, you know? But if you have a LOT of the small things, assembled around your home just right, the effect is amazing!!

So, this season, I'm trying to get around my "Bigger is Better" mentality and look at the smaller, more quant items for my inside decorating!

Good luck!!

 

[Muffy]

Do any of you members remember what the name of that gal in Germany that does the Haunted balcony? I think her apartment is on the 3rd floor too!

Also Changed Reality, I decorate every room in my house for my trick or treators, there is tons of ideas on here!

Muffy

PS I FOUND IT!!!! Haunted Balcony


if you type in the search engine>>>>haunted balcony germany.....you will find more on her.

 

[runswithvampires]

your house is ugly,take the stuff down!

Rude much!?


anyways.. if you just want a more darker appeal to your inside why don't you invest in some dark fabrics and laces. Candlebras , jars with creepy things in side of them there's good tutorials on making "witch jars" I have mine up i think in the crafts section... a bag of insects , um.. some old lanterns.... just small things are what makes a place great to check out..

 

[Bubbels]

Build some dummies out of PVC pipe.

 

[larry]

crunkie is/was a troll and is banned.

Thanks for reporting this post.

 

[Elza]

We love you Larry...for keeping this a great place!

ChangedReality....Like posted below, picking a theme will give all the creative juices on this board something to work with and offer suggestions. We just need to know where you want to go with your decorations. Do want a Haunted House, a chamber of horrors? Do you want it like a favor movie or something ancient and/or gothic?

We're here to help!

 

[Ghost of Spookie]

Originally Posted by crunkie
your house is ugly,take the stuff down!

crunkie is/was a troll and is banned.

Thanks for reporting this post.

Larry, I was a bit surprised when I read his one line post and guess my first impression was rude also but then I noticed he had an exclamation point after it so then I wondered if it was meant that way. Thought a smiley would have been more clear if that was the intent but since the only photos posted were of ElGuapoGuano's windows at that point, and I thought those were great and beautifully lit, I decided the comment wasn't intended as a negative. Seem to recall the person only had 5 posts or something like that...so don't have much of an opinion of him other than this. Just wonder if the gun got fired too quickly.

 

[BevAnn]

Ghost of Spookie, I can see your point, and I would agree, but crunkie had started an odd post that his decorations were stolen out of his yard.

I thought it sounded like a young kid to me too...I agree I think, he was a troll.

 

[wilbret]

We set up a cemetery, props, etc... but the real work is INSIDE!

We have hanging black light ghouls and an FCG in the windows...
We replace EVERY photo in the house, even art, with something spooky or silly. (ie, paintings of a chef and food in the kitchen become a bloody chef,e tc...)
We set lighting FOR EVERY room. UV, colored lights, etc...
We cover or replace curtains with cheesecloth treated to glow in UV light.
Glowing concoctions, bubbling bottles, fogging cauldrons, etc...
Creepy candlesticks with battery powered candles...
Cover walls with black plastic and/or scene setters to hide bright colored walls.
SPARE nothing! The toilets and toilet paper rolls are pranked.... the tubs have sounds coming from behind the curtains.
We have wireless sound all over the house...
Spiderwebs...and lots of spiders.
My wife made some kickass table coverings and mantle coverings....
We throw black sheets over all the furniture.
Televisions, if on, are showing something appropriate for the theme.
We just throw tons of little stuff around... like if we have a metal frog knick knack, we put uv led eyes that fade in and out...

 

[wilbret]

Oh yeah, when time permits, we carve a ton of pumpkins. ;-)
My dream is to carve funkins, but it's not as fun-kin, and storing old pumpkins is much easier. (AKA the garbage can)

 

[wristslitter]

Your house is ugly,take the stuff down!


Just kidding.

 

[wilbret]

 

[ChangedReality]

Msm, Honestly, I don't really do much with my balcony because we're facing towards a tree line and the only people that see it are from the 6 apartments on the backside; however, this year I'm going to do some more stuff... it's not for them, it's for me and my enjoyment.

Ghost of Spooky and Muffy, thanks for the links, those are really inspiring and are helpful with some of my creative ideas.... I'm just in a small town that doesn't do much so sometimes it really just bogs me down because I'm honestly one of the better places in town (even if it is an apartment and just a cheap college student) because nobody does anything!

Thanks Larry, people like that don't deserve to be around great people like y'all!

Elza, now that I've been looking at some of the stuff, I'm actually thinking maybe like haunted house... or more like a haunted hotel! Use like a clear shower curtain and put fake blood all over it, a skeleton in the bathtub with like a mister and blacklight... replace the chandelier bulbs with those flickering light bulbs from wal-mart, ummm... IDK what else.... but that sounds really cool actually.

 

[ChangedReality]

Dang, ElGuapoGuano and wilbert, y'alls places look really nice!

So, what exactly is this FCG you hang in the window... and what is a gemmy? (most of the stuff I understand, then I'll come across something and I feel like a need a haunter dictionary. haha

 

[Bubbels]

crunkie is/was a troll and is banned.

Thanks for reporting this post.

Was he also the guy that posted that thread about vandals stealing his props earlier today? I was digging for that one and it seems to have disappeared. If so it makes you wonder if he was the prop stealer and just here to brag about it!

 

[Otaku]

Dang, ElGuapoGuano and wilbert, y'alls places look really nice!

So, what exactly is this FCG you hang in the window... and what is a gemmy?
(most of the stuff I understand, then I'll come across something and I feel like a need a haunter dictionary. haha

An FCG (Flying Crank Ghost) is the invention of Doug Ferguson. It's a marionette suspended from
a crank mechanism that moves the head and arms independently, giving a slow floating movement to the ghost.
Here's a link to Doug's site:
The Flying Crank Ghost - Instructions, Part 1
Gemmy is a brand/distributor of Halloween props. They sell animatronics, static props and so on.
You'll see some of their stuff at Spirit Halloween stores.

Here's a short video of an FCG in action:
FCG video video by Otaku1031 - Photobucket