OK, I've gotten obsessed by this theme and have loads of ideas for doing my porch and front yard. May not get to them all, but thought I'd share them since it looks like others are also pirate-obsessed this year. Went to POC: Dead Man's Chest opening day and spent most of the movie thinking "Oh! I can do that!" I've started hunting down yard sales on the weekends, seeking treasure. If anyone else has some good ideas, please add to my list.
njwilk
Rigging - hemp or manila rope, knotted - ground level to roof - attaching at least one skeleton pirate (carrying knife in teeth) climbing
Pirate costumes - tattered yard sale/thrift shop children's clothes - striped tops and pants - scarves, belts, bandanas, eyepatches, one peg leg (old table leg)
Walk the plank - pirate pointing pistol at smaller skeleton dressed in halloween costume complete with sack standing at end of plank - styrofoam shark fins circling in flowerbed below
Cannon - haven't selected design yet, fogger with remote for smoke bursts through cannon - stack of cannon balls next to it made from small pumpkins, some carved - toss a few pumpkins strategically in lawn as fired cannonballs
Ship's wheel - with blucky pirate, rotisserie motor turning wheel
Crow's nest - near top on fig tree in front yard, pirate scanning horizon, head turning using either rotisserie motor or old oscillating fan
Treasure chest - the usual mardi gras beads and coins - old candleholders, plastic water goblets spray painted gold - need more coins, looking for poker chips & other flat round things to paint, looking for a Burger King crown
Hostage - dummy dressed in old bridesmaid gown, female mask, wig, tied in chair and blindfolded
Cargo - boxes, crates, sacks, looking for barrel or two, drop cloths (died or painted to look aged)
Digging for treasure - need to move some irises any how so digging hole in front flowerbed, one blucky in hole with shovel, one standing over him with map in hand
Sails - hanging on porch, black landscape cloth
Davy Jones heart - big jar of dirt
Caged skeleton - slightly corpsified, crows pecking eyeballs
Coffin - with hole blasted out of lid, crow
Voodoo hut - small jars haning from ceiling, feather, beads, bones, creepy cloth, hanging jar of gooey eyeballs
Jack-on-a-spit - dummy in Jack Sparrow costume tied to spit, either real melons/vegies or old balls painted to look like fruit on spit, firewood piled below, lights or fake flames in wood
Bone cage - kudzu vines, extra blucky pieces, suspend between trees
Beach - sand on front walk, shells, driftwood, upside-down boat with "legs" made from pvc and stuffed pants & shoes, conch shell with "face" peeping out - balloon filled with some kind of gel and faced drawn on it
Drunken sailors - scrounge bottles from recycling bins, bluckies lying in midst, maybe use pond pump to have one drinking from bottle with the liquid running down chest
Crew's quarters - hammock with bluckie, book on chest with some punny pirate title, Pittsburgh Pirates pennant on wall, blucky taking bath in galvanized tub with pirate rubber duckies from oriental trading company, theatrical poster on wall for Pirates of Penzance
Sound - instead of Midnight Syndicate this year, will be playing POC soundtracks from yard speaker, also have looping water sound effects from itunes (waves hitting boat, washing over deck, etc)
Pirate costumes - tattered yard sale/thrift shop children's clothes - striped tops and pants - scarves, belts, bandanas, eyepatches, one peg leg (old table leg)
Walk the plank - pirate pointing pistol at smaller skeleton dressed in halloween costume complete with sack standing at end of plank - styrofoam shark fins circling in flowerbed below
Cannon - haven't selected design yet, fogger with remote for smoke bursts through cannon - stack of cannon balls next to it made from small pumpkins, some carved - toss a few pumpkins strategically in lawn as fired cannonballs
Ship's wheel - with blucky pirate, rotisserie motor turning wheel
Crow's nest - near top on fig tree in front yard, pirate scanning horizon, head turning using either rotisserie motor or old oscillating fan
Treasure chest - the usual mardi gras beads and coins - old candleholders, plastic water goblets spray painted gold - need more coins, looking for poker chips & other flat round things to paint, looking for a Burger King crown
Hostage - dummy dressed in old bridesmaid gown, female mask, wig, tied in chair and blindfolded
Cargo - boxes, crates, sacks, looking for barrel or two, drop cloths (died or painted to look aged)
Digging for treasure - need to move some irises any how so digging hole in front flowerbed, one blucky in hole with shovel, one standing over him with map in hand
Sails - hanging on porch, black landscape cloth
Davy Jones heart - big jar of dirt
Caged skeleton - slightly corpsified, crows pecking eyeballs
Coffin - with hole blasted out of lid, crow
Voodoo hut - small jars haning from ceiling, feather, beads, bones, creepy cloth, hanging jar of gooey eyeballs
Jack-on-a-spit - dummy in Jack Sparrow costume tied to spit, either real melons/vegies or old balls painted to look like fruit on spit, firewood piled below, lights or fake flames in wood
Bone cage - kudzu vines, extra blucky pieces, suspend between trees
Beach - sand on front walk, shells, driftwood, upside-down boat with "legs" made from pvc and stuffed pants & shoes, conch shell with "face" peeping out - balloon filled with some kind of gel and faced drawn on it
Drunken sailors - scrounge bottles from recycling bins, bluckies lying in midst, maybe use pond pump to have one drinking from bottle with the liquid running down chest
Crew's quarters - hammock with bluckie, book on chest with some punny pirate title, Pittsburgh Pirates pennant on wall, blucky taking bath in galvanized tub with pirate rubber duckies from oriental trading company, theatrical poster on wall for Pirates of Penzance
Sound - instead of Midnight Syndicate this year, will be playing POC soundtracks from yard speaker, also have looping water sound effects from itunes (waves hitting boat, washing over deck, etc)
Wow! Very comprehensive! I'm interest in seeing what others contribute to your list. This will be our 3rd year with a pirate theme. I'll toss out a few ideas:
* Skulls on sharpened stakes: Buy large wooden closet poles, cut them down to about 4' long, crudely sharpen one end, stain dark brown, cut holes out of skulls and slide them onto the stake. We used 2 skulls (cheap rubbery ones from Big Lots) per stake. Make sure to have each skull at a slightly different angle.
* If you have a big tree in your yard, stab a skeleton to it. Just break off about half the blade of a cheap plastic sword, add an L-bracket to the blade's end, work the blade through the skeleton's ribs, and screw the L-bracket to the tree. Seems to be one of the TOTers' favorite props, for some reason.
* Silver and gold colored plastic platters from party supply stores make great additions to treasure piles.
* I make "treasure piles" out of gold coins, fake jewels, and mardi gras beads hot-glued to irregularly-shaped pieces of cardboard. This has 2 advantages: treasure can't "walk away" in a TOTer's pocket, and once I get a pile artistically arranged, it stays that way. They were kinda fun to make, too. Include some fake US coins (available from Oriental Trading Co) with your gold coins so that the silver and copper colors break up the gold monotony (yes, even gold in excess can be monotonous). (You might want to use something other than cardboard for the base, as it gets droopy when wet.)
* Make a pile of old bean bags, sleeping bags, etc and cover them with a sheet of gold lame fabric. Hold the fabric to the ground with thin metal tent stakes. Add chests and "treasure piles" as desired; "treasure piles" may need to be secured with velcro (the sticky-back kind is easiest).
* Skulls on sharpened stakes: Buy large wooden closet poles, cut them down to about 4' long, crudely sharpen one end, stain dark brown, cut holes out of skulls and slide them onto the stake. We used 2 skulls (cheap rubbery ones from Big Lots) per stake. Make sure to have each skull at a slightly different angle.
* If you have a big tree in your yard, stab a skeleton to it. Just break off about half the blade of a cheap plastic sword, add an L-bracket to the blade's end, work the blade through the skeleton's ribs, and screw the L-bracket to the tree. Seems to be one of the TOTers' favorite props, for some reason.
* Silver and gold colored plastic platters from party supply stores make great additions to treasure piles.
* I make "treasure piles" out of gold coins, fake jewels, and mardi gras beads hot-glued to irregularly-shaped pieces of cardboard. This has 2 advantages: treasure can't "walk away" in a TOTer's pocket, and once I get a pile artistically arranged, it stays that way. They were kinda fun to make, too. Include some fake US coins (available from Oriental Trading Co) with your gold coins so that the silver and copper colors break up the gold monotony (yes, even gold in excess can be monotonous). (You might want to use something other than cardboard for the base, as it gets droopy when wet.)
* Make a pile of old bean bags, sleeping bags, etc and cover them with a sheet of gold lame fabric. Hold the fabric to the ground with thin metal tent stakes. Add chests and "treasure piles" as desired; "treasure piles" may need to be secured with velcro (the sticky-back kind is easiest).
We're planning on doing this prop this year, replacing the spider with a monkey or skeleton money:
http://users.qconline.com/~larry/Halloween/spider_jumper.htm
http://users.qconline.com/~larry/Halloween/spider_jumper.htm
Don't forget to add a BUNCH of lanterns and fireflies! 
I strongly suggest a bit of music from the actual ride as either Disneyland or Disneyworld (background scenery music).
I strongly suggest a bit of music from the actual ride as either Disneyland or Disneyworld (background scenery music).Here's my "Dead Man's Chest" from last year's build.
http://www.hauntedmidnightsun.com/pirate_chest.htm
http://www.hauntedmidnightsun.com/pirate_chest.htm
For my treasure hoard, we are scouring thrift shops for brass and/or silver candle sticks, mugs, platters etc. For coins, we painted poker chips in gold and silver (60/$1 at the $1 shop). Dollar General had kids "dress up" jewelry 4 necklaces for $3, and the $1 Shop also had crowns and tiaras. I mixed in some polished stones from the craft section at Walmart ($.97/bag) in ruby, emerald, sapphire, and diamond (clear) to simulate gem stones.
My bluckies are dressed in old kids clothes from the thrift shop, and I used fake fur and old masks to detail the hair/beards.
Most of my ideas have been inspired by pirate themed coloring books. My plan is posted at www. geocities.com/painkiller3616
My bluckies are dressed in old kids clothes from the thrift shop, and I used fake fur and old masks to detail the hair/beards.
Most of my ideas have been inspired by pirate themed coloring books. My plan is posted at www. geocities.com/painkiller3616
Since you are putting the rigging on the house, I would put the crows nest on the roof rather than in the tree. Maybe a hanging skeleton with a sign saying "Land Lubbers Beware" or "Dead Men Tell No Tales" from the big tree in front.
I agree on the music, I think you would do better with the music from the ride than the movie, the movie music was made to go along with certain scenes. I think the accordian music, the general singing, maybe even the the banjo player (hidden) doing the slow rendition of Camptown Ladies or Dixie, and of course, you have to have the talking skull doing it's warning about "Pirates in these waters..."
I would get a circle and elipse templates (from drafting or engineering supply) and spray a drop cloth or other material with a darker color first, then using the templates and various metalic paints and an airbrush or spray cans, make "mounds of coins", you can add real coins on top, but the cloth versions give you a way to cover vast areas with coins, you can play the same trick with jewels, there are various other shapes available in templates, the trick is to block off the shapes you don't want to use with masking tape. Using an airbrush would make the whole process very easy to pull off, and you could turn out the Captain's bed with the riches all around him, and a saber through his chest. You might also look at the movie Goonies for some ideas (as if you need more), the pirate ship and treasures were very well done.
Make sure you add lots of cobwebs.
I agree on the music, I think you would do better with the music from the ride than the movie, the movie music was made to go along with certain scenes. I think the accordian music, the general singing, maybe even the the banjo player (hidden) doing the slow rendition of Camptown Ladies or Dixie, and of course, you have to have the talking skull doing it's warning about "Pirates in these waters..."
I would get a circle and elipse templates (from drafting or engineering supply) and spray a drop cloth or other material with a darker color first, then using the templates and various metalic paints and an airbrush or spray cans, make "mounds of coins", you can add real coins on top, but the cloth versions give you a way to cover vast areas with coins, you can play the same trick with jewels, there are various other shapes available in templates, the trick is to block off the shapes you don't want to use with masking tape. Using an airbrush would make the whole process very easy to pull off, and you could turn out the Captain's bed with the riches all around him, and a saber through his chest. You might also look at the movie Goonies for some ideas (as if you need more), the pirate ship and treasures were very well done.
Make sure you add lots of cobwebs.
Maybe have a closed chest that has a hydrolic pump atched and than when the TOT"s walk by a skeleton pops out
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