Budget Bodies

[dave the dead]

I came up with this idea last year when I needed to make a butt-load of bodies for a meat-locker type room. If you can get on good terms with your local furniture retailer, there is alway going to be an abundance of body building scrap that they will let you have for free (ask nicely folks....this is an awesome resource!!) These bodies ended up costing me about 30 cents each....just the price of the tape used to wrap them up and a few squirts of red paint!
I don't know if a how-to is really necessary, but let me know if you have any questions.....

Packing Foam ( EVERYTHING comes wrapped in this stuff.....free-free-free)
Plastic bags (sofa or mattress packing....free-free-free!)
red spraypaint
colored duct taped (cheapo from Biglots)

Body forms wrapped up and ready to bag
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m240/davethedead/halloween2006053.jpg

A few hanging in my front yard (yes, my neighbors love me)
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m240/davethedead/halloween2006047.jpg

the group laid out and ready to go to the haunt.....which one is real?
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m240/davethedead/halloween2006045.jpg

in the haunt!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m240/davethedead/Nightmare%202006/halloween2006028.jpg

[Lauriebeast]

Geeze dave, those look sweet! I think the one in the denim pants just might be real, but then again, knowing you, maybe not:D

[Beepem]

wow those are pretty cool

[Sickie Ickie]

I hadn't thought of this. Nice tips, man!

[Lilly]

Good thinking there Dave...

[Richie]

Holy cow, those look real!

[Dr Morbius]

THose always give me a chuckle. I'm just sick that way.

[dacostasr]

Very GOOD idea!!! Time to start collecting packing stuff from work...my wife will love it...lol

Dennis

[dave the dead]

I think the one in the denim pants just might be real, but then again, knowing you, maybe not:D

Laurie found waldo.....

Ya know....in the actual haunt, I was dressed up as one of the bodies.....he he he......I wore black pants so my legs couldnt be seen, and had someone wrap me up just like the other dummies, including the duct tape, and just stood amongst the bodies.......:cool:
The room was dark exept for a stobe, so you couldn't tell I was there until I let out a huge scream of pain.....then they had to try to find their way out of the room through another dozen bodies.:D

[turtle2778]

Dave now that is just sick sick sick....i definately gotta try that one. TOO FUNNY!!

[Doomsday Cult Leader]

Niiice!

[Haunted Bayou]

Me and Morbius must think alike. I'm sitting here laughing and thinking OMG those look real. LOL!

[dave the dead]

Me and Morbius must think alike. I'm sitting here laughing and thinking OMG those look real. LOL!

Ok, now I just HAVE to know.....what is it about these that's making you guys laugh?

[slimy]

If you hung up Morbius and Haunted Bayou, now THAT would make me laugh.......

Bodies look great Dave. Good use of materials. Turned out VERY nice.

[Frighteners Entertainment]

Very good use of materials!

[Haunted Bayou]

Hey Dave,
Can't say for sure. I guess because I know they are fake but they look so real. It is a laugh of appreciation.

It is a good question. A really good gory prop usually draws a chuckle from me. Scareshack's gory challenge entry did the same thing. Usually, it is a laugh followed by, "That is awesome!" Maybe I should be psychoanalyzed or something but I think it is part of my morbid sense of humor. I know the prop was built to freak people out, and if it is done well then I appreciate it.

Trust me, it is not meant to be insulting to your work. I called my hubby in from the other room to look at your pics. He thought they looked real too.

Sorry, if I made you think I was making fun of your props. Certainly, it was the opposite. It is difficult to make a really good gory prop. You pulled it off without spending hardly any money.

I don't do gore in my little garage haunt because of all the small kids in the neighborhood, but if I did I would be trying to copy your bodies. As it is, they are scared of my lame static props, that don't even come close to reality.

I like gore. I will be making an appointment with the shrink tomorrow.
http://bestsmileys.com/violent/11.gif

BTW, I liked the Waldo photo.

[dave the dead]

:D no sorry neccesary HB! I was just curious, that's all.

also, you don't have to wrap the bodies up like a body bag......dress them up and slap a mask on 'em for a real cheap character prop that doesn't look like a bloated dummy stuffed with leaves.

[Dr Morbius]

I laugh not because the props themselves are funny, but it's a situation of absurdity. I mean, come on! A pile of bodybagged corpses on your front lawn! or hanging from a tree! What's not to laugh?

[GraveDiggerGreg]

Ok, now I just HAVE to know.....what is it about these that's making you guys laugh?

i'm laughing too.... but before you get mad or upset... i am laughing at all the money I have spent trying to make a person look real only to find that you have created real people out of someone elses trash.

good job.

[GraveDiggerGreg]

Which one is real? easy the bag on the bottom left.. I can tell due to the moisture from their breath... wait no.. upper right? middle bottom? I give up.. good job

[ScareShack]

dave, great idea, and cheap too!

[dave the dead]

wait a second here everyone....I am in no way mad or upset.....just curious, that's all! believe me....it cracked me up to have them all laid out on the lawn, and cracked me up even more to see my neighbor across the street shaking his head as he pulled in from work....but he knows what to expect out of my garage...he laughs along with the rest of us!

My biggest laugh came when the open pickup truck pulled away from my house with 3 coffins and a mounded pile of bodies headed for my haunt!

[Haunted Bayou]

I figured you had a morbid sense of humor (bodies everywhere) but you never know how somebody is going to react to something written. I have a dry sense of humor that, at times, doesn't go over well in writing.

Thanks for the tip about the bodies. I think I am going to use your method to make some dummies. I guess I need to make friends with the local furniture stores.:D

Still laughing...my nephew just saw the pics. He likes them too.

[PeeWeePinson]

Copied everything you did and making some for myself this year, it is just what I needed for a spot on the trail! Thank you for sharing!!

[dave the dead]

Copied everything you did and making some for myself this year, it is just what I needed for a spot on the trail! Thank you for sharing!!

Awesome! Glad I could help!:D

[Lakeside Haunt]

awesome bodies love the way they look I should make some for myself.

[gimpboy76]

Hey dave I was searching around the 'net looking for cheap realistic bodies in bags and came across your post making them from foam packaging and furniture bags. We are opening on Sat. night (oct 13) and these bags are crucial to the room I'm designing, so I just want to make sure I'm doing this right. Judging by your picutures it looks like I just roll the foam up to make the arms and legs and then tape them at the shoulder, wrist, elbow, knee, thigh and ankle. Those look easy enough, however I'm not sure how you do the torso or head, do you just wad the foam into the correct shape and start taping? Thanks for your help, I just don't have a lot of time for trial and error.

[dave the dead]

Hey dave I was searching around the 'net looking for cheap realistic bodies in bags and came across your post making them from foam packaging and furniture bags. We are opening on Sat. night (oct 13) and these bags are crucial to the room I'm designing, so I just want to make sure I'm doing this right. Judging by your picutures it looks like I just roll the foam up to make the arms and legs and then tape them at the shoulder, wrist, elbow, knee, thigh and ankle. Those look easy enough, however I'm not sure how you do the torso or head, do you just wad the foam into the correct shape and start taping? Thanks for your help, I just don't have a lot of time for trial and error.

LOL...budget bodies risen from the grave!

yep, that's basically what I do gimpboy.

[edwood saucer]

Dave - you creep me out brother!

[Monk]

I hate the fact that I have to wait until I get home tonught to look at any pictures. I cannot look at photobucket pics at work and it drives me nuts sometimes.

[Haasmama]

I made body bags last year using clear painters drop cloths for the bag (tied at the top and bottom with sisal rope) and used two pairs of pantyhose and one knee-high stocking (head) for the body. This worked out pretty good and was cheap.

[dacostasr]

Haasmama,

Do you have pics?

Thanks
Dennis

[Haasmama]

Give me a few minutes...

[Haasmama]

Here it is... Two pairs of pantyhose filled with fiberfill and plastic bags (bags inside the fiberfill)

Wrapped in plastic drop cloth. The "blood" is the cheap fake stuff from WallyWorld.

[mickkell]

Nice recycle job.

[dacostasr]

Very COOL! THanks for the pics. I was trying to find a way to do this economically...I think you gave me the answer!

Thanks again.

Dennis

[Just Whisper]

I needed body bags for my haunt last year, but couldn't figure out a way to make them that I liked. This looks like it will work great with a small modification (mine won't be wearing clothes...I know, I am sick. LOL). thanks for sharing this.

[DeadRN]

Cool! So many of you make the neatest stuff out of the most random materials!

[dominic81]

Hey Dave awesome thread. I was talking the other night on how to make a bunch for cheap and you nailed this right on the head. Thanks for sharing!!!

[Gorylovescene]

I found this post while I was doing a google search on how to make decent bodies for my upcoming costume party and it made my day. This is fantastic! And as an added bonus I now know about these forums, which I've been missing out on.

[dave the dead]

Muhahaha...the Budget Bodies thread strikes again! Glad you found it, and welcome to Hauntforum.

[Gorylovescene]

Thank you for the maniacal laughter. I feel most at home:jol:

[Headless]

I can see I'm going to have to read this thread further. Love the pantyhose idea....