[cmanos]

So I just bought a house. The neighbors have been telling me that the previous owners usually put on quite a scene for Halloween and have high expectations of me.

Having just bought a house...my funds are not huge but they are there. I do need to spend money on doing other things around the house...like buying a new split box spring so I don't have to sleep on a mattress on the floor....

I'm trying to assemble a few ideas to make an effective first try.

The List

Cemetery Column and Fence - I'm a woodworker and know the merits od Dow insulation well.
Tombstones - foam - may make one open if I have time and money
Flying Crank Ghost - put this in my front bay window, until I can build a mausoleum.

If I have the time and money, I'll put in a fog machine under the mulch and make some eerie light fixtures for the front of the house.

Question is, what cheap and easy ideas would you suggest?

Thanks in Advance.

 

[cmanos]

Clarification....any idea should also be easily stored. very small house without much storage. The fence columns are going to double as storage for everything.

 

[skeletonowl]

well I usually stuff masks aand make bodies. Make wood frames, dress them in clothes, even make paper mache heads. Use anything you can and try to make it something! Your bond to make something for free! EX. Coat Hanger ghosts.

 

[Lakeside Haunt]

make a fog chiller so your fog stays low to the ground to create that spooky cemetary feel.

 

[mikeq91]

I've found that making wooden crosses is very easy, quick and cost effective. Also, spend time on lighting. It can make something pretty good look like its professionally done, without spending much money.

 

[Samhain]

Like skeleton owl said, a few convincing figures can do wonders. Stop looking after the garden from september onwards, overgrown lawns look so much better in a graveyard than perfectly manicured versions.
Visit the mark butlers halloween list to get loads of cheap ideas. Go to http://www.hauntproject.com and look through the forums. You'll have the best display in the history of your neighbourhood when you're done!

 

[Otaku]

Paper mache groundbreakers. Check Pumpkinrot's site for some great examples. Cheap and quick to make, but storage may be an issue.

 

[slimy]

I gotta go with Mike on this one. Lighting can make or break the 'feel' of your place.

Tombstones are great, but tombstones with eery shadows are awesome.

Spend some time with angles of light and color. Lighting is what separates 'ooh' from 'aahh'.

Good luck.

 

[Long_Tom]

Coathanger ghosts get my vote because even full-sized ones wrap up small for storage.

 

[NickG]

neon green kite string for a spider web, get it while it''s in season. glows brilliantly under a blacklight

 

[Lilly]

creepy cloth
webbing on trees etc.
spiders
web victims
beepems idea of stuffed bodies would be good you use old clothes you don't wear and toss them after. can also bloody them up with ketchup.
if you dont have trees find some barnches to make a few
maybe some crows...owl
how about a toe pincher since you do woodwork

 

[Gothic Nightmare]

All good advise. I have several cheap prop tutorials on my site if your interested. You are lucky your neighborhood is already used to it. That makes everything so much easier. Good luck!

 

[slightlymad]

Wouldnt it be funny if when searching the forum for ideas you saw pics of your house

 

[widowsbluff]

There is nothing better than a yard full of tombstones, and you can stack them at the end of the season.

 

[The Mortician]

I've found that making wooden crosses is very easy, quick and cost effective. Also, spend time on lighting. It can make something pretty good look like its professionally done, without spending much money.

I gotta go with Mike on this one. Lighting can make or break the 'feel' of your place.

Tombstones are great, but tombstones with eery shadows are awesome.

Spend some time with angles of light and color. Lighting is what separates 'ooh' from 'aahh'.

Good luck.

I couldn't agree more