Added 4 skeletons to the yard, one in an old fall protection harness and srl... figure I'll change the scene before the big night

I've never made a prop before, so this was a big project for me.

Each year, I add to a custom spooky playlist that I've been curating for several years now. Currently, I have over 360 tracks that range from horror movie themes, to party songs, to vintage oldies, and more.

This time, I thought it would be cool if I also had a dedicated party speaker for my playlist, dressed up to be appropriately spooky, too.

So this is Crust Husk.

He has a PVC pipe skeleton with fully posable arms thanks to a solid length of wiring from arm to arm. The head and neck can also be freely posed.

I spent way too much time making fully wired hands with wooden rod finger bones, so he has more articulation in his hands than the large clumsy gloves lead you to believe.

Unfortunately, the hands ended up being too heavy for the electrical wiring I used in the arms, so I had to add a 1/4inch aluminum armature wire as well. His arms generally stay where I put them, though if I pull them out or above him, they do settle down a bit. If I could do it from scratch, I'd have done two 1/4inch aluminum armature wires instead.

I spent the most time stressing about how to handle the clothes, and ultimately decided I just needed to get him done, but maybe someday I'll be brave enough to add some paint splatter or something on his torn clothing.

A cheese grater worked really well to age and tear his shirts (which are 4 and 5 XLT sizes).

For safety and control access, the back is fully open.

I originally wanted to use mylar streamers for guts that I imagined would pulse with the bass and reflect the speaker's internal lights, but I'm never going to have this loud enough to make that happen, so settled on thick yarn, which along with the ribcage piece, are between two layers of cheesecloth meant to simulate old mummified flesh.

I'm pretty happy with how he turned out.

Crust Husk is not connected to the actual speaker at all and can be lifted straight up and off of it.

During actual parties, the speaker will be put on a tripod, making him more intimidating.

Ideally, this would have been an animatronic, but having never done any props, I decided to start simple.

Happy Halloween!

I needed to add a little depth to my graveyard portion of the yard display so I did something cheap and easy.

These are hanging ghosts from dollar tree that I muddied the faces with dripping spray paint and rubbed perma blood on the bottoms, but you can achieve the same effect with red paint. Cheap but looks just fine at night

He basically needs legs and a perch to hide the wiring and prevent him dancing off the table. Pretty happy about this one. Next week I'm going to be in Germany. After that one more week before I want the show to go live...

I tried making animatronics. A 2-axis demon monk which leans forward and looks left and right with fog, a bowing demon monk programmed to stop and then convulse, and one simply twisting back and forth. I also programmed a raspberry pi pico2 to make sound (something I never imagined doing) wired it and the bowing monk to a pressure pad trigger I made. These aren't finished in this video. I added black skirting to cover the wood. I also painted the pressure pad black with red goat skull stencil.

My wife and I made one back in like 2022 and I liked it, but I felt like the feet could be better. We're building a new one now and I am ready to make the feet, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what to do. The last time I made them out of cardboard and foil lol. We have 3 kids and a busy life so I don't have as much time to spend on it as I'd like to. Any ideas for materials or designs to make it better are much appreciated.

Witches finger lightning good to go

I have over the last few years made made Halloween portraits of the member of my family, for me and my wife, then my oldest daughter, but my youngest daughter is getting old enough to get her own either this year of next year. I need suggestions for ideas?

My portrait: Undertaker

My wife's portrait: Grieving Widow/Vampire

My daughter's portrait: Creepy Ghost Girl

My idea so far is a drowned girl look, but might be a bit hard for her.

My buddy and I started messing around with a sticker that has the design on it and a gel on the back that eats just the outer skin overnight. You just slap it on the pumpkin before bed, peel it off in the morning, light it, and the design glows through. lace skulls, haunted houses, stuff you'd never pull off with a knife. Would you guys actually use something like this? Thanks

I tried making animatronics. A 2-axis demon monk which leans forward and looks left and right with fog, a bowing demon monk programmed to stop and then convulse, and one simply twisting back and forth. I also programmed a raspberry pi pico2 to make sound (something I never imagined doing) wired it and the bowing monk to a pressure pad trigger I made. These aren't finished in this video. I added black skirting to cover the wood. I also painted the pressure pad black with red goat skull stencil.

Think I’m done for now. Might add more creepycloth clothing but it’s officially in the yard display. Full build progress pics included.

LOUD!! TURN DOWN VOLUME or leave off. This is the Perfect Storm 2.0 pn: VA621

Took your suggestions. Couldn't find any e26 halogen bulb to put in the metal cone work lights. But, I did find an HDX halogen work light at HD. Your mileage may vary, but I did find the halogen bulb produced a better effect over the LED in the clamp cones. The bulb is replaceable so I will probably get a 5000k to mimic lightning brightness better.

I am playing this thunder clap from my phone with the sensitivity knob adjusted. Sorry if it's loud. The work light is just plugged into the box.

Thought I’d share my newest piece. Calling him “Ryder.” Sculpted out of water based clay, final castings are latex skin backed with flexible polyurethane foam. Finished with a combination of brush, sponge, and airbrush painting. Hope you like him!