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Non
Flying Ghost ( NFG™ )
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I'll work my way from the ground up. I removed the oscillating fan from its stand and tossed the fan. Then, inserted an extendable curtain rod into the stand [ this was really cool because I was able to *EASILY* adjust the height ]. The wig head already had a hole on its underside and I simply shoved her head down onto my rod. The shoulders and upper-arms are made from scrap wood. I used my body to approximate the lengths for each of the pieces. Unfortunately, this gave *her* a very broad appearance so I trimmed a bit off the horizontal wooden piece. Each arm was attached to the shoulders using the wood screws. These three pieces [ (1) shoulders, and (2) arms ] were then duct tape to the curtain rod. The hands and forearms consist of masking tape and wire hangers. Also known as the Ghostly Hands. The forearms were duct taped to the ends of the upper-arms. Cool part for a more human-feel was that I was able to give a slightly different angle for each arm and the arms were adjustable due to the wood screw. Lousy part was that duct tape and wood screws sagged under the weight of the dress and occasional wind. |
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After dressing my NFG™ I realized she looked really flat. I sliced an old paint can with a jigsaw to obtain two long curved pieces which were taped to the top side of the shoulders [ not shown ]. And, for you Tree-Hugger types: This was Recycling at its finest ! |
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The veil is the back of the robe pulled over the head. Both of these items had previously been given a RIT Whitener bath and a four-foot black light stood about 5 feet in front of my NFG™ to give her that ever sexy eerie blue glow. I also had a few faux tombstones scattered about. |
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The masking tape / wire hanger arms took about 30 minutes and total build time was just under an hour. The Trick-or-Treaters didn't fear my ghost, so I think I'll swap out the Wig Head for something a little more gruesome - like a fleshy skull. Also, I'll take the time to dig down into the ground to cover up the stand's cross-bars. An immediate dead giveaway that it's NOT real. I'll also add a small oscillating personal fan between the neck and head for a low cost animation. Or, you can get high tech and incorporate a Star Wars Sith Droid that rotates in a random manner for that Exorcist look! And, to add a disorienting effect - a strobe light, too! |
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A nice touch would be to add some ambiance by having a CD player nearby generating wonderful eerie music by the Midnight Syndicate's Born of the Night. Click on the CD cover to the left to access on-line samples. Haunting Tips And, if you'd like to get a hold of a book with tips on giving your visitors a good scare, then take a look at Pfieffer's Give Them a Real Scare This Halloween. Animating Props If you're interested in learning the basics for animating your props, then I'd like to suggest Edwin Wise's Animatronics: A Guide to Animated Holiday Displays. |
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Other
Halloween Stuff to Look At:
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Ghost
Prop
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More Stuff Soon
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