Halloween is coming soon. It is time to prepare scary hacks. Different web pages show Halloween hacking ideas. Here are links to so ideas picked from different sources:
Halloween Knock Box. So what is it anyway? Well, as the name implies, when you knock on it, it knocks back. And if you knock on it a special number of times, it’ll play a secret tune. Halloween Knock Box article says that it is a great little item to have at any Halloween event — and kids love it!
Another knocking project was presented in DIY office door castle knocker article. Instead of the door making the standard boring door noise, make your door to sound like the castle door knockers from Young Frankenstein.
What better time to try your hand at a twinkling, illuminated project? Just winging it! article says that LED wings make an awesome accent to your costume or a fun project to share with your little fairy or dragon! Mixed-signal costume article shows another LED costume idea.
Kids, Halloween and Arduino article shows how to build an Arduino powered LED message display. A suitable Halloween gadget for kid.
Pumpkin lanterns are traditional Halloween props. 10 Cyborg Jack-o’-Lanterns for Terrifying the Neighborhood Kids article gives examples how you can juice up your traditional jack-o’-lanterns into something a little bit more impressive for scaring all-comers.
Here is one really scary looking lantern. Fire Breathing Jack-O-Lantern of Death page tells about a very dangerous Halloween effect hack. This isn’t a new idea but it is a very unique and simple implementation based on re-purposing existing commercial products controlled with Arduino + ultrasound distance sensor.
What is inside professionally made Halloween effects? Blue Ribbon Editor’s Choice Award at Maker Faire! article shows what runs “Trash Can Man” effect at Gravesend Inn haunted hotel.
For more Halloween hack ideas check also my older postings Halloween hack ideas.
15 Comments
Tomi says:
Halloween Links: October 30th, 2013
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/31/halloween-links-october-30th-2013/
a set of motion tracking eyeballs
use a PIR sensor to light up the skull.
is using a photoresistor and comparator to turn on some LEDs
Tomi says:
Light Controller Goes Overboard for Halloween
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/31/light-controller-goes-overboard-for-halloween/
This Halloween decoration goes way overboard… and we love it!
Fail of the Week: 27 Face Jack-o’-Lantern
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/31/fail-of-the-week-27-face-jack-o-lantern/
A Killer Arcade Cabinet for Halloween
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/31/a-killer-arcade-cabinet-for-halloween/
Spark-Up Your Halloween Party with this Double Helix Jacob’s Ladder
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/31/spark-up-your-halloween-party-with-this-double-helix-jacobs-ladder/
Impressive Laser Harp
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/30/impressive-laser-harp/
LED Magic Staff Just in Time for Halloween!
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/29/led-magic-staff-just-in-time-for-halloween/
Class Up your Haunted House with a Disney Mansion Prop
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/26/class-up-your-haunted-house-with-a-disney-mansion-prop/
An Impressively Large LED Matrix
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/26/an-impressively-large-led-matrix/
Tomi says:
“Professor Kill A. Volt” Shocks Pumpkins with his Tesla Coil
http://hackaday.com/2013/11/03/professor-kill-a-volt-shocks-pumpkins-with-his-tesla-coil/
[JJ Dasher] is back again this year, shocking some pumpkins!
two years ago for his Halloween candy shocking Tesla coil. He apparently has been busy in his mad scientist laboratory doing some upgrades.
made things a bit more interesting by installing a couple of fluorescent bulbs inside a pumpkin near the coil. The coil lights them easily,
Tomi Engdahl says:
Halloween Slideshow: Essential cabling skills for the coming zombie apocalypse
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/slideshow/2013/10/13-essential-cabling-skills.html
Zombie pop culture widely pervades now, and has for the past 45 years, at least cinematically speaking, ever since George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968). This puts the zombie pop culture phenomenon at about the same vintage as the earliest forms of Ethernet and DARPA’s first forays into developing the nest of wide-area data communications technologies that would in short order breed the phenomenon now fondly known, but especially at Halloween, as ” the World Wide Web.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Video: 3D Printing Gets Spooky
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=269310
Here’s a spooky way to demonstrate the power and creativity of 3D printing. Take a look at this video that shows what 3D printing can bring to a scary Halloween costume.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Most Popular Halloween Costumes in 2013
http://live.wsj.com/video/most-popular-halloween-costumes-in-2013/87210132-0B49-4443-A3FE-632AD9CF7666.html?mod=WSJ_article_outbrain&obref=obnetwork#!87210132-0B49-4443-A3FE-632AD9CF7666
Tomi Engdahl says:
These Haunting Sculptures Are Made From Thousands of Hot Glue Sticks
http://www.wired.com/design/2013/10/this-artist-makes-haunting-sculptures-out-of-hot-glue/
Give most suburban crafters a glue gun and the best you can hope for is a tangle of pipe cleaners with googly eyes glued on. But in the hands of Japanese artist Yasuaki Onishi, the humble craft tool becomes a magic wand that can reveal hidden spaces.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Baby LED light suit halloween costume preview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkBDRUO8hAo
Tomi Engdahl says:
Enter the Scary Door… If You Dare!
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=269134&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,aid_269134&dfpLayout=blog
These attractions have sure come a long way from those back in the ’80s when I was growing up. Back then, kids used their imaginations as we ventured through the local haunted houses, which were usually erected in a shopping plaza’s parking lot.
Fast-forward to today’s multi-million dollar haunts, and the difference in technology is night and day. The pulleys and fishing line have been replaced with pneumatic actuators that allow finely-detailed monsters to move. Gone are the simple black lights — they’ve been replaced with IR (infrared) sensors and precision lasers that are able to detect movement and activate horrific props as patrons walk by.
All the technology these places feature (on a large scale) are controlled by a central hub or computer system, which controls everything from haunting sounds to incredibly realistic animatronic displays. For some of the bigger venues, fans are required to sign waivers as they proceed through the attraction, as well as required to wear an RFID bracelet that not only lets supervisors know your location, but are also used to trigger some of the displays themselves. Technology isn’t just centered on large attractions alone — home-brew haunted houses are taking advantage of it as well.
My Scary Door project is a prime example of how new technology is being implemented in at-home attractions. The door was designed using a 24-inch monitor that displays Halloween-themed videos embedded in a creepy sheet-metal laden door.
Lebron says:
1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan and saut?? the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, water, cream, salt, red pepper flakes, celery seed, oregano, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Straightjacket with a heartbeat
http://edn.com/electronics-blogs/hackwire/4435497/Straightjacket-with-a-heartbeat-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20141003&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20141003&elq=a5bbe5fd3f2744f9b900975b9be36f0f&elqCampaignId=19490
Wait, wait, what? The heartbeat straightjacket is a standard canvas straightjacket, with some fancy electronics, to create a sweet costume with remote wireless capabilities. To get the full effect, a person holds a special stethoscope to their heart, and they see their heartbeat displayed on the straightjacket that I am wearing. This tutorial is about my Halloween costume from 2007.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Evil remote controlled ghost
http://edn.com/electronics-blogs/the-workbench/4435488/Evil-remote-controlled-ghost-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20141003&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20141003&elq=a5bbe5fd3f2744f9b900975b9be36f0f&elqCampaignId=19490
Tomi Engdahl says:
Laser Dog Goggles Make Halloween a Nice Night for a Walk
http://hackaday.com/2014/10/08/laser-dog-goggles-make-halloween-a-nice-night-for-a-walk/#more-134317
[Becky Stern] will help you out of your pet costume rut with the tutorial for her latest creation, laser dog goggles.
These are based on Doggles brand dog goggles and the Adafruit Trinket. The laser is mounted on a micro servo so that it pivots back and forth, allowing your dog to scan the ground like RoboCop or Terminator.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Straightjacket with a heartbeat
http://edn.com/electronics-blogs/hackwire/4435497/Straightjacket-with-a-heartbeat-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_weekly_20141009&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_weekly_20141009&elq=8a300a26fe9f4eaea1466239b9fd9cff&elqCampaignId=19594
Wait, wait, what? The heartbeat straightjacket is a standard canvas straightjacket, with some fancy electronics, to create a sweet costume with remote wireless capabilities. To get the full effect, a person holds a special stethoscope to their heart, and they see their heartbeat displayed on the straightjacket that I am wearing. This tutorial is about my Halloween costume from 2007.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Write Spooky Messages with an Ultrasonic Phased Array Device
By using the power of ultrasonic sound waves, shapes can be drawn on a plate while not requiring any visible interactions.
https://www.hackster.io/news/write-spooky-messages-with-an-ultrasonic-phased-array-device-59a4b90f0f25
Halloween is a great time of year to build projects that showcase something new and exciting, which is exactly what Dan Beaven who runs the Adventures in DIY Engineering blog set out to do. His project aims to create a spooky drawing system that utilizes invisible sound waves to draw shapes, text, and images onto a metal plate covered in baking soda with a human-like quality for an extra scary effect.