Decorations Billowing Ghost The Decoration: A glowing ghost can be seen billowing in the window. Overview: A white shirt with a styrofoam head attached is hung at the window and blown from underneath by a fan. Black lights in the room along with a colored light placed inside of the shirt make the ghost appear to glow. Materials: White shirt and/or White fabric Wire coathanger or figure form Styrofoam Head Black Light Colored light bulb (blue) Fan Approximate Cost: $5.00 - $8.00 The blue lightbulb known as "fiesta light" sold at several stores actually appears dim green and is not recommended. Displaying the Ghost: The ghost should be positioned just inside a window, preferrably an upstairs window if possible. There are several possible ways to put together your Billowing Ghost. I have a flexible figure form from a costume store that I drape with a white shirt and fabric and balance a styrofoam head on top. Otherwise, you can create a support for your ghost using a coat rack, floor lamp, or anything else that's tall with a base. In this case, you can use a wire coat hanger to add some bulk to the frame at the shoulder level of the ghost and duct tape to hold the head on top. For my 2000 haunt, I simply used string to suspend a coat in front of the window and inserted the styrofoam head into the collar of the shirt to help support it. In any case, expect to spend some time experimenting with and adjusting the ghost. At this point, you should have a white shirt suspended with a styrofoam head attached on top. If you have extra scraps of white fabric, you can drape the ghost with tattered cloth to make it look more haunting. For lighting, securely attach a blue lightbulb within the shirt, inside the center of the ghost. This will make the entire ghost appear to glow. Lightbulbs can get hot, so make absolutely sure it won't be touching any of the fabric of the shirt, or you risk burning the fabric. If more light is needed, place a few blacklights around the ghost. Adding a glow in the dark mask will make the head stand out and be more visible from the street. Finally, position a good fan directly underneath the ghost facing upward. When the fan is turned on, the shirt and fabric should billow outward around the lightbulb. This gives the ghost more form and a sense of movement. Back		Decorations Completed Projects: - Fanimatronic - Billowing Ghost - Tombstones - Cemetery Fence

All original content copyright 2004 Raymond Fero

Home | Haunts | Effects | Decorations | Costumes | Other | Links | Contact