Spooky Window Silhouettes With Follow-Me Eyes

Halloween is almost here. But you still have time to put together some really spooky decorations. One great kind of decoration is the window silhouette. To make these, all you have to do set up a monster cutout in your window. This blocks some of the light behind it and casts a spooky shadow. You can even add eyes that follow a person as they walk by.

For step by step instructions, check out the Instructable:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Spooky-Window-Silhouettes-With-Follow-Me-Eyes/

Arduino Controlled Halloween Props

Animated Halloween props are a lot of fun. But the props that you buy at the store have some major limitations.

One problem is that each prop is activated by its own sensor. So it is difficult to get them to work together in unison. If the props are out of sync, the overall effect isn't as scary.

Another problem is that the built-in "motion sensors" aren't very effective. Most props are activated by a light sensor that detects the change in light when someone walks by. So in order for them to work, they need light to be shining on them. They won't work at all in the dark. They can also be falsely triggered if the lighting in the room changes.

So I worked out a system that lets you control all your animated Halloween props with a single microcontroller (such as an Arduino). This lets you exactly choreograph how and when each prop will turn on an off. It also lets you use external sensors that you can customize for your exact setup.

For step by step instructions, check out the instructable:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Control-Your-Halloween-Decorations-With-Arduino/

Silhouette Forest Wall Mural

When we were decorating our nursery, we decided to make the accent wall a silhouette forest. This was made by applying painter's tape where all the trees were located. Then I painted over them with a light green paint. Then I stippled on dark green paint to create a color gradient. When the tape was removed, it let clear outlines of all the trees. 

For step by step instructions, check out the instructable:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Silhouette-Forest-Wall-Mural/

Decorative Foam Tombstones For Halloween

Tombstones can make a great addition to your Halloween Decorations. In this project, I show you how to make decorative tombstones from plain sheets of Styrofoam. Carved details are made be melting lines in the stryofoam with a hot glue gun. Then paint is applied to give it the appearance of weathered stone.

For step by step instructions, check out the instructable:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Decorative-Halloween-Tombstones/

Ultrasonic Spider-Sense

We would all love to have superpowers. But you probably don't want to expose yourself to toxic chemicals or radiation in order to get them. Fortunately, there are some abilities that we can closely approximate with a little technology.

For example, Spider-Man has a "spider sense" that alerts him to nearby danger, and Daredevil's "radar sense" lets him see nearby objects even in the dark. Using an ultrasonic range sensor we can sense how far away objects are. This would let you navigate in the dark or detect when someone is sneaking up behind you.

For step by step instructions, check out the instructable:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Ultrasonic-Spider-Sense/

Automatic Moving Halloween Props

In this project, I show you how to use magnets to make Halloween props on a table move without anything touching them.

To accomplish this, I first embedded magnets inside a severed hand prop. Then I took a second set of magnets and attached them to the end of a linear motor. This motor was mounted to the bottom of a table. When the hand is placed on top of the table, the motor is able to move the hand with the magnets. This process can be controlled manually or with various sensors and a microcontroller.

For step by step instructions, check out the Instructable:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Automatic-Moving-Halloween-Props/