# **Swamp Witch puppet/costume progress**



## mikieofthedead (Aug 12, 2005)

Hey Ghoulies,

Just wanted to let you in on a costume/puppet im building for this years yard haunted entitled "swamp witch" I'll be posting pics of the progress so keep checking back  

- Happy Haunting


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## mikieofthedead (Aug 12, 2005)

Here are the first pics - the head is just made from a styro head, masking tape and newspaper. paper mache is the next step...i think i want to make her overbite i little more larger as well.


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## mikieofthedead (Aug 12, 2005)

Alrighty, So i made the witches overbite a little more larger...think we are ready for paper mache...oh yeah..pay no attention to the tea stains on her face...i was carrying the head to the car whilst holding the leash of my darling hound from hell as well as a cup of tea . The pup saw another pup and yeah..tea everywhere


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## mikieofthedead (Aug 12, 2005)

I used Stolloweens paper mache recipe which i give two amputated thumbs up....really awesome stuff only needed 3 coats ...cant wait to start adding details to her face


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## mikieofthedead (Aug 12, 2005)

Started to add details to her face by putting an eye into her head . There is a backstory to the haunt in which the witch looses her eye so i had to incorporate that into the costume. Her one eye will glow and the other will be covered with an eye patch of sorts.


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## mikieofthedead (Aug 12, 2005)

time for some skin!!!! I used cheap paper towel and white glue mixed with water to apply skin to witchy-poo's face. Pattern on the paper towel looked like reptile skin...purrfect for a swamp witch


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## mikieofthedead (Aug 12, 2005)

Began using a layer of toilet paper and paper mache which kinda turned into a clay when the toilet paper disintegrated...really great to use for warts and wrinkles!! I also made some teeth out of brown polymer clay ( im gonna paint them a rotten yellow/green later on)


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## mikieofthedead (Aug 12, 2005)

began making the witches humpback using paper mache. My head will be up in the hump once the puppet is completed and her head will be moved with my hands...Its a little hard to explain lol


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## mikieofthedead (Aug 12, 2005)

Mounted the humpback onto pvc pipe using great stuff. I'll be wearing the whole puppet on my back like a school bag.....lets hope it doesnt get too heavy


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## mikieofthedead (Aug 12, 2005)

Heres the finished costume- turned out not too bad. definetely gave some little ones nightmares that night.


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## Veckah (Apr 5, 2010)

She is great! I love the height of her back compared to the placement of her head


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## Pennywise (Oct 21, 2004)

That looks great. I am currently making a costume just like this, only it's a zombie instead of the witch. Can you show more of how the PVC frame goes together? Does the head move at all? I have the head nearly done and I plan on starting the hands this weekend, but I have no idea how to make the frame. Thanks


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## Raven's Hollow Cemetery (Jul 3, 2011)

Ooooh AWESOME!!! Very nicely done!


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## mikieofthedead (Aug 12, 2005)

Hey Pennywise- the frame is attacked with straps that go around the shoulder like a back pack and then a belt that goes around the waist..i'll try to get a pic of it later today fer ya. Yeah, she was fully functional arms and head could move.

Raven's Hollow Cemetery- thanks so much...wish i had more time to detail her


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## Pennywise (Oct 21, 2004)

Cool. It's really great.


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## Raven's Hollow Cemetery (Jul 3, 2011)

mikieofthedead said:


> Raven's Hollow Cemetery- thanks so much...wish i had more time to detail her




Lol! Yeah, that's a common problem for me too. The devil is in the details, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!  You have nothing to worry about amigo, she looks as good as any professionally made stalker suit I've seen, and better than most!


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## Scarydad (Jun 7, 2012)

This is awesome!

May I ask you the story behind the loss of the eye?


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## mikieofthedead (Aug 12, 2005)

Hey scarydad, Thanks for asking!! here is the back story I made for her :

Little Mary Anne had not been seen or heard from in three days. The town searched high and low unable to find a trace or a footprint. The children of the town knew that it was the Witch that lived deep in the swamplands. They believed the witch had taken little Mary Anne and turn her into sticks or even worse…a stew. They told the adults in town about the witch, but, were punished for making up such silly stories. The children decided to find Mary Anne themselves. They had overheard an old man in the village say the best way to kill a witch was to draw her on a piece of wood then hammer a nail into the picture a little bit every day for 4 days. That morning the children went into the forest and drew a picture of the witch on the wooden bridge along the swamp. A rusty nail was driven deep into the eye of the drawing .A loud hideous scream was heard from the swamp the children became quite frightened and ran away. The next morning two children Troy and Lori lee were found to be missing from the town. The children quickly returned to the drawing of the witch and hammered the nail in a little further. They heard an even louder scream this time which seemed to be much closer then the last time. They gasped and ran away quickly. The morning after they discovered that Jeromy and Zach had been taken during the night. The five remaining children returned to the drawing of the witch and hammered the nail even further. It was then that they heard the loudest scream they had ever heard but this time it was coming from behind them They turned and tried to run but where stopped by a large dark figure with one glowing eye. The figure cackled and opened her cloak and the children were never seen again. Sometimes in the night if the wind is just right you can hear the children calling from the swamps.


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