Sheet Ghost No.3 Prop

My final ghost prop for the year is now checked off the list! These Sheet Ghosts are meant to be quick, cheap, stylized ghosts that add a little bit more organic flow and character to my cemetery display. You can see the full, quick how-to tutorial on them here.

This final ghost was based on a white bed sheet that I had laying around, and then quickly and sporadically dyed brown. I wanted to have a bold, emoting, high-contrast skull face, while adding slight dark wash accent tints to the overall form to give it a more patchy, "earthen" feel. I purposely left the bottom portion of each ghost with less detail, as the lower section of sheet cloth will be wrapped around tombstones in different ways.

The trinity of non-traditional ghosts are now ready to roam the Cemetery for all eternity. I'm pretty happy with the results on all three of these ghosts. There are going to add a bit of much-needed character to this year's display.

  

Sheet Ghost No.2 Prop

Another ghost prop is checked off the list for 2022! These Sheet Ghosts are meant to be quick, cheap, stylized ghosts that add a little bit more organic flow and character to my cemetery display. You can see the full, quick how-to tutorial here.

This ghost was based on a white bed sheet that I had laying around. I wanted to have a bold, emoting, high-contrast face, while adding slight brown and orange accent tints to the overall form to give it a more "earthen" feel. 

Another non-traditional ghost is now ready to roam the Cemetery for all eternity. I'm pretty happy with the results on this one, with new ideas for number three already bouncing around in my head. Time to get back to work!

  

Sheet Ghost No.1 Prop

Here's a quick and easy prop that I threw together in about a week, and will stand out nicely among the tombstones in the Cemetery...

I decided that I needed to add a few figures to my Cemetery display this year, and the first idea that came to mind was a group of sheet ghosts. But not the standard, white sheets with two eyes variety. I wanted to make them much darker and creepier...

I had the old sheet for this prop sitting in a bin, as it was used as a backdrop for an old prop years ago. It had already been dyed a patchy grey black color, perfect for this ghost. So with this sheet as the focal point, I went to work...

I ended up using a styrofoam skull head, as I wanted the sheet to form around the skull features on the face.

I also wanted to keep this light and cheap, so I simply used a 1-1/2" PVC pipe for the main body shaft and the shoulders, connected with a 4-way PVC junction.

I then drilled into the bottom of the skull with a 1-1/2" hole saw bit, and then Gorilla Glued the neck portion of the PVC pipe into the bottom of the skull, finishing it with a full coat of flat black latex paint that I had down in the basement. I ended up drilling the hole slightly off-center, as to give the head a slight cock to the right...

I then assembled the main body shaft to the connector section, attaching shoulder sections to both sides. To give the upper part of the body a bit of form, I simply wrapped the shoulder sections with a bit of bubble wrap that I had laying around...

I ended up spray mounting the sheet around the skull head, as I wanted to make sure it adhered tightly to the skull features of the face.

I then finished the prop off with detail work to the sheet. I cut small eyes and a slit for the mouth, adding various washes of watered-down black paint, streaking and dripping across the entire head.

I ended up using fabric glue and a few concealed safety pins to ensure a tight bunching of the sheet around the neck portion, accentuating the folds with black paint.

I simply gave the rest of the body a slight wash of watered-down paint. Nothing too detailed, as I wanted to keep the focus on the head.

This one came together REALLY quickly and easily, and I'm REALLY happy with the end product. I think this ghost is going to look super creepy with some colored lighting to accentuate the horrific contrast of the face as it sits behind one of my tombstones in the display.

I have a few more sheets and one more foam skull, so I'm going to throw another one together this weekend. A family of new ghosts will bring some much-needed life to my cemetery this Halloween.

  

Johannes Highbury Tombstone Prop

I know I should be a lot farther ahead on my 2017 haunt build list, but I figured a quick tombstone prop would be the perfect project to get the juices flowing...


Johannes Highbury, Died October 31, 1738. Morte Perpetua.

In looking at my cemetery tombstone props from previous years' displays, I noticed that unlike a real cemetery, mine had a lot of stones that were roughly the same size and shape. I knew I wanted to start off by adding some new stones of differing sizes and shapes to add visual interest for this year's display. 

I quickly found a photo from an October trip through Mount Hope Cemetery back in 2013.

No clue what this epitaph says, but the shape was really interesting, so I decided to use it for the new stone. I drew up measurements based on the size of a scrap piece of 2" blue foam that was in my garage. I added another member of the Highbury family for the epitaph, Johannes Highbury, and decided that he, along with many other family members, met his fate on All Hallows Eve (I'm currently developing a "Halloween Death Curse" backstory for all the members of the Highbury family buried in the cemetery...).

I started with the tombstone shape and then created an epitaph in Adobe Illustrator. I tiled the printouts at 100%, carefully cut the pieces and taped them all together, and then finally cut out the outer stone shape...

I traced the outer shape onto the tombstone and then cut it out of the foam sheet.

I then coated the backside of the printout with a repositionable (usually purple in color) glue stick, making sure that all of the areas around the lettering stuck firmly to the foam. Once the printout was completely and firmly attached, I began to carve out the letters using my Dremel. Once all the letters and flourishes were cut out, I removed the printout. A lot of small pieces of paper and extra glue globs were still on the foam, so I used a gentle shower setting on my garden hose nozzle (don't use anything harder, as the spray of water could damage the foam!) and sprayed off all the remaining pieces, leaving a clean, carved tombstone. Once dry, I took a sheet of sandpaper and sanded down all the edges, adding weathering, knicks and chips...

After all edges were sanded and the shape was properly weathered, it was time for paint. I stated with a full dark grey coat. This would be primarily for the lettering and any recessed or chipped areas.

When the basecoat was dry, I went back and added a coat of lighter, stone grey to the raised areas. This would help the lettering and chips remain darker and more legible.

For a final bit of detail, I went in with a mossy green color and added a few dry brush "stain" areas around the corners, in the creases, and down the front and back. I find that this little accent really sells the "been outside for over 100 years" moldy look and feel.

When the stone was completely dry, I drilled out the 3/8" hole in the base, inserting a length of 3/8" SharkBite PEX Pipe. When it comes time to display the stone, this piece of pipe will slide over a piece of 5/16" dowel rod that will be driven into the ground, holding the tombstone in place.

*For a more detailed how-to on this step, take a look at my R.M. Renfield Tombstone How-To. I have continually refined my tombstone-making process, and this is now the most efficient method that I use. 

This stone took very little time to complete and I think it turned out great. The unique shape will definitely stand out in a cemetery full of rectangular tombstones and will help my yard display look more authentic. I already have two more stones in progress, now including a tribute to a legend that we just lost. Check back soon, as the creative juices are flowing. I'll be attacking my haunt list with a fury as we rapidly count down the days until the big night!

  

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!