R.M. Renfield Tombstone How-To

The first tombstone for 2016 is done! I wanted to add some smaller stones into my yard haunt display this year and the scrap 2-inch foam that I have in the garage would work perfect.

Because of the time that will be dedicated to my main project this year, I needed a streamlined process to whip these small stones out quickly, and I think I now have a process that will do just that.

Let me show you what I did.


I've always wanted to pay homage to Dwight Frye and his masterful performance as Renfield in the 1931 Universal classic, Dracula, so I decided that this first stone would be in his honor.

With the subject quickly identified, I set out to create the epitaph. Like all epitaphs, I created this in Adobe Illustrator at 100% scale of the already-cut shape of the stone. I then tiled it into separate 8.5" x 11" printouts.

Here's where I actually found a new method to help save a lot of time. A BIG thanks goes out to fellow home haunter Big Ant Petrone from Eerie Acres Cemetery for posting this video. I never would have thought about this method, but it worked great!!

Not only was I able to save a TON of time by skipping the old "stencil cutout" step and simply gluing the printout to the foam, but I was also able to get greater detail with my lettering and flourishes. This is how I'm going to do the rest of my stones from here on out. Thanks, Ant!!

With the epitaph glued in place, I set about carving it out with the Dremel with exceptional results...

PLEASE NOTE that after completing the carving, I ended up adding a step to Ant's process. After wetting a towel and soaking the paper, a lot of glue remained on the stone and was getting quite messy. On a whim, I took the foam stone out and sprayed it off with my garden hose, using a gentle "shower" setting on my nozzle. Using anything stronger would have probably damaged the stone, but after a quick spray, the remaining glue washed off and left a clean stone, ready for paint.

I started by painting a flat black coat into all of the recessed lettering, flourishes and cracked and weathered edge areas...

After the black paint dried, I mixed up a medium gray color and applied it to the rest of the stone, making sure not to get any into the recessed black areas...

After the gray base coat dried, I added the standard watered-down black paint wash, giving the stone a nice decayed and aged look...

And in record time, the stone was done. The only thing left to do was to add a way to mount it. I ended up getting a 7/16" x 12" drill bit. It was a bit expensive at $15, but I'll use this to drill the pilot holes in all the remaining tombstones.

Along with the drill bit, I bought a piece of 3/8" x 10' SharkBite PEX pipe. Apparently, it's used for water lines, but the cheap cost makes it a great solution for this project! A ten foot section costs just $4, and this piece can be cut into smaller pieces and used in many stones...

I ended up cutting a piece that would measure slightly less than half the height of the tombstone. This will be inserted into the stone and would act as a sleeve that would fit over a dowel rod that would be driven into the ground...

I measured the length of tubing and then put a piece of tape at the same measurement onto the drill bit (see the drill bit photo above). I then simply drilled a hole (up to the tape) into the bottom of the stone, and then slid the tube into the hole. It went right in, fitting nice and snug!

Now, on Halloween night, I simply drive a piece of 5/16" dowel rod into the ground and slide the tombstone over it. Perfectly snug and perfectly sturdy! (If you're making a larger tombstone, you can add a second pipe for added sturdiness, like I have on my larger stones).

Enjoy!