What to do with an old wheelchair?

[Zombies R Us]

Hi,
Newbie member here wanting to know of any creative dressing or ideas for use with an antique wheelchair. It's an old Sears model with metal wheels and a woven cane seat and back. The arm rests are oak as well as the foot rests. It looks like the one in the movie "The Changling", at least that's what friends say. It is in absolute mint condition and I want to use it to dress my yard haunt, possibly in my sheltered Shed of the Dead where I usually put a mad scientist display. I am thinking some sort of mumified corpse but it would be cool if I could get an easy to make animatronic with this, just to add a little extra something. It's heavy and usually resides in the dining room where my significant other threatens every other month to leave it at the top of our hill. I think it is too cool to not use. Any ideas?

[Zombies Anonymous]

I would love to see something along these lines.

YouTube- Rocking Granny Halloween Prop w/ Motion & Audio NEW 2009

[NoahFentz]

I have used a wheel chair in my haunt from the beginning. Although I would have loved the one you have. I just got this modern day beat up one. Anyways I always had Grandmaw in it but just recently she was put in an old rocking chair I found. I am thinking of having Grandpaw in the wheelchair simuliar to the old man in the Texas chainsaw massacre. The one with both legs cut off. There are pics of Grandmaw on my webpage.

[Dark Angel 27]

Hi,
Newbie member here wanting to know of any creative dressing or ideas for use with an antique wheelchair. It's an old Sears model with metal wheels and a woven cane seat and back. The arm rests are oak as well as the foot rests. It looks like the one in the movie "The Changling", at least that's what friends say. It is in absolute mint condition and I want to use it to dress my yard haunt, possibly in my sheltered Shed of the Dead where I usually put a mad scientist display. I am thinking some sort of mumified corpse but it would be cool if I could get an easy to make animatronic with this, just to add a little extra something. It's heavy and usually resides in the dining room where my significant other threatens every other month to leave it at the top of our hill. I think it is too cool to not use. Any ideas?

i have no idea how to build an animatronic but i think that maybe you could put some sort of motor or track for it to start moving by itself or you could maybe use an actor to jump out of it or chase patrons down in it :lolkin:

[GothicCandle]

I have a an old wheel chair, I always planned on turning it into an electric chair, never did, i just sit a prop in it every year.

[lowdwnrob]

Theres nothing you could do with so I will pick it up and get it out of your dining room. No really you could put a wiper motor on it and have it roll forward and backwards. Im sure some of the more imaginative people will have more ideas but that is a thought.

[bradbaum]

Here is what I did with one, took about 5 min-

Halloween 2008 :: IMG_0161.jpg picture by bradbaum - Photobucket

That is the face changing prop that sams club was selling last season.

[Zombies R Us]

Thanks folks, these are all great ideas! If I could get a prop to lunge forward say one like rocking granny (she's disturbing looking all by herself) and have the wheelchair move forward and back as well that would be perfect. I like the idea of someone sitting in it as well and then lunging out at the TOTs that would be the quick thing to do. I have a friend who acts as the tour guide in my back garden, maybe she'd like to sit in the chair all night and get up to greet folks. As soon as I get enough posts in I will attach some photos of the chair I took- in itself it's kinda spooky.

[Ironman]

Mine is not an old chair, and I don't have the rising armature mounted in the seat yet, but here it is moving about 7.5' across the floor. It's pushed by a 10" throw cylinder rigged to a simple scissor mechanism.

Mechs 09 :: Wheelchair.flv video by Namnori - Photobucket@@AMEPARAM@@http://vid17.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid17.photobucket.com/albums/b90/Namnori/Mechs%2009/Wheelchair.flv@@AMEPARAM@@vid17@@AMEPARAM@@17@@AME PARAM@@b90/Namnori/Mechs%2009/Wheelchair

[tot13]

We used a wheelchair last year with an actor wearing an old man mask, sitting on his legs with cut-off bloody jeans to the knees. He had a cane that he'd bang on the floor while he was screaming, then start rolling towards the crowd. Kinda TCM and very effective.

[jabberwocky]

Go radio controlled.
Chase people up and down the block.

[Frankie-s Girl]

There is a video game series called Silent Hill, that had a hospital scene... the medical stuff just broken and left in the corroded hallways was uber creepy. :D

I think it would be scarier to have it empty, but the wheels moving. Either having it moving forwards and backwards slowly, or having it leaned up at an angle against a wall with one wheel that just keeps turning and squeaking. It could be the atmospheric sort of prop that distracts people from the scary jump-out-at-you thing while building tension... since they'll be looking at the wheelchair and expecting the big scare from that. :D

[HibLaGrande]

I would use heavy duty fishing line to move it around with no one in it.

[Uruk-Hai]

Anytime I see an old wheelchair I think back to the old George C. Scott movie, The Changeling. It totally creeped me out as a kid! I think it was the first horror movie I saw. Just having it sitting there empty covered in cobwebs would be enough to give me the jitters but having it move by fishing line or other means would be great. Maybe a take on the wiper motor/rocking chair prop but have it swivel around to face your visitors when triggered?

[Zombies R Us]

Here are some photos of the wheelchair, I think this one is close to the Changeling one Uruk-Hai was spooked by. Hope this link works.



Pictures by ZombiesRUs_photos - Photobucket

[scareme]

Link worked. Wheelchair looks great. Will look spooky whatever you do with it.