# Knowing your lighting and how to light your haunt!



## osenator (Nov 3, 2009)

Many haunts have this problem and don't realise it, not enough lighting! You may have the best haunt and props, but if no ones can see them, what is the point. 

Here is a quick giude into lighting and what to use. I use lots of different lights, as you can see in my latess youtube link below. In out very first year of haunting, we understood right away how use lighting and how much effects it makes. I use mulpitples spotlights, as others form of lighting in my haunts. Also, the colors plays a big role too, as you want to balance your colors and your themes.

I associate colors to themes myself 

Green, witches, Red, Demons and vampires, Blue to ghosts and haunting figures. Yellow, pumpkins and scarecrows. 

Here a few exemples from my home haunt


















Inside a tunnel, make sure to use lighting that doesn't heat up! Killing people by fire is not good! 








When doing an entrance, going into the dark, is very good to do, as people are not sure what to expect!








Also, here, my lighting was done by light up skeletons! Battery Props like this are perfect for were you have no extensions going there.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

I hate when "professional" haunted houses make this mistake. I hate walking through and not being able to see their scenes. Everything is just too dark because it seems they want a jump scare instead of a genuine scare.

We have a neighbor who decorates their yard very elaborately, but you can't see half of it because of the lighting. This is something I myself am constantly trying to improve too.


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## osenator (Nov 3, 2009)

using fog and lighting together makes a haunt really cool too!









Lighting can really enhance a prop very well too!

















Also, your cemetary, had lots of life to it!

















Also, having props with light up eyes makes also make a difference


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## osenator (Nov 3, 2009)

Yellow lights can be very suttled









Multiple colors also can creat some really cool effects









As mentionned, colors also help creat the character









Also, sometimes, to much of one colors can be bad. (the camera also didn't help, it went HYPER RED SENSATIVE MODE). 









As you can see, lighting plays a huge factor. Please see in my new youtube vid all the diffrence lighting I use and I hope it helps you into your haunt!


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## Paint It Black (Sep 15, 2011)

This is a great, instructive thread, Osenator. Great ideas on the colors to use for the various moods you are trying to create too. Thanks!


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## BobbyA (Aug 20, 2010)

Good point on lighting. 
BTW your attachments aren't visible.

I too have seen pro (Universal's Halloween Horror Nights included) poorly light a haunt. Or worse shoving a conga line along quickly after having bright lighting at the entrance (Howloscream), or after a brightly lit area right into a dark area. I carried a pocket camera that worked well in the dark to some theme park houses , and took a couple pics just using light from others cell phones etc. Was very surprised at the amount of details no one in our party had been able to see.


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## His and Hearse (May 19, 2011)

Good thread. I will say that lighting is a fine line. For every too-dark haunt I have seen, I have seen at least one that has TOO MUCH light to the point where it isn't as scary. Dim and dark are inherently scary, so you have to play the shadows and wattages accordingly. For example, I love using greens. But the newer florescent and some led bulbs are just too darn bright. I went back to using 40 watt incandescent bulbs in some areas. 

Overall I prefer a cast of green and black lights, with a sprinkling of oranges and reds. See my profile pic. 

Strobes have their place, too, but I find these are often the most overused. If people have to concentrate more on not falling down or going into seizures while going through the haunt, they aren't going to be looking at you stuff.


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## osenator (Nov 3, 2009)

Sadly, every room I did BLACK LIGHTS, the pics sucks. Always use white or bright colors in black light lighted rooms. dark colors props won't show!

Not big on strobes.I might use a few, but not much.

here a few pics that came out well in the room


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## rigo (Sep 17, 2008)

His and Hearse said:


> For every too-dark haunt I have seen, I have seen at least one that has TOO MUCH light to the point where it isn't as scary. Dim and dark are inherently scary, so you have to play the shadows and wattages accordingly.


I completely agree.....in the pro haunt world...it's about making the "average" person scared.....no one is scared of light....there are many scared of dark....truth of the matter is, even if we did spend hundreds of hours lighting to create "moods"....the average haunt go-er isn't going to notice anyway......they are more entertained by watching someone in there group get startle scared.....

rigo


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## kuroneko (Mar 31, 2011)

Yes, even a new haunter can do something as simple as changing the light bulbs on the outside of their house to something other than white!
I don't have any night pictures of my first year, but my white porch light was driving me crazy. I tried to tone it down with some paper hanging around it to keep it from lighting up the whole porch in bright white light. My walkway was really dark too.
The next year I bought a blue CFL bulb and put in skull stake lights along my walkway. There was also a pumpkin candy bucket I put over my sidelight. It was 1000 times better and it was simple and cheap!


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## osenator (Nov 3, 2009)

nice pic, Kuroneko! I totally agree, it makes a world of difference!


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## Pumpkinhead625 (Oct 12, 2009)

> nice pic, Kuroneko! I totally agree, it makes a world of difference!


I agree. Nicely done.

Skullandbone.com also has a great tutorial on lighting theory:

http://www.robertdbrown.com/haunt/

Click on the link, then click on "YardHauntLighting"


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## GhostTown (Jul 6, 2011)

Pumpkinhead625 said:


> I agree. Nicely done.
> 
> Skullandbone.com also has a great tutorial on lighting theory:
> 
> ...



This is the best tutorial out there when it comes to lighting your display for Halloween. Very intuitive in how he explains proper lighting layout so you get excellent shadowing. It's all too easy to over do your lighting.


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## osenator (Nov 3, 2009)

Something about lighting I think people also don't realise, is how easy it makes it to find your haunt. I know if I am driving around in October, and see some colored lights far away, I'll drive to it quickly, knowing it's might be a haunt to see. 

Inflatables are easy to see a mile away too, as they are pretty lighted at night. Fan or not, they are also a great tool to use to light up your haunt.


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## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

GhostTown said:


> This is the best tutorial out there when it comes to lighting your display for Halloween. Very intuitive in how he explains proper lighting layout so you get excellent shadowing. It's all to easy to over do your lighting.


^^this^^
We have gradually scaled back on our lighting over the years, believing that shadows and dark areas lend so much to the atmosphere we're shooting for. I used to think that every square inch of the display had to be lit in order to see every prop, but we've gotten away from that mindset, in favor of subtle lighting that allows everything to be visible, even though everything is not lit up.


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## Scatterbrains (Nov 16, 2008)

Yeah, don't over do the lighting


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## GhostTown (Jul 6, 2011)

Scatterbrains said:


> Yeah, don't over do the lighting



*FOR THOSE WHO NEED EXTREME CLARIFICATION: * When the draw to your display revolves around animated lighting, over doing it is the whole idea.


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## osenator (Nov 3, 2009)

I LOVE IT, SCATTERBRAIN! (L)!

Every haunt is unique. But I seen it myself so many haunts are hard to see anything!


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## Scatterbrains (Nov 16, 2008)

string lights in a white 55 gal plastic drum


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## Dminor (Jul 21, 2006)

*Everything I'm about to say is my opinion and is not a reflection on anyone's displays.*

I'm going to go out on a limb here and disagree with some of the suggestions in this thread. 

I, like jdubbya, take the approach of "less is more" when it comes to lighting my props/tombstones/etc. I think it's too easy to throw hundreds of watts of light, in a variety of unnatural colors, at our displays and calling it good. 

What Skull & Bone did is quite different from what most haunters do. They took the approach of creating ambient lighting, knowing that it would create shadows and give a subtle, overall visibility and then highlighted certain props/areas. 

Case in point:









This scene (from the Skull & Bone lighting guide) has a blue wash of light over the whole scene, then the orange light from the lantern to highlight the cross and base of the column, and lastly a purple spot on the cherub. Nothing higher than 100w. Because of the subtle lighting choices, it makes this relative plain scene look far more eerie then it really is.

Understanding that you don't need the highest watt bulb for every light fixture is a tough concept to wrap your head around, but the outcome is far greater (in my opinion).

Sometimes it's just best to hint at what is there and let the ToTers minds do the rest...especially since their imaginations are far better than any prop you can put in their face.

Lastly, as we all know too well, most ToTers are there long enough to get candy and leave...so their ability to read every epitaph shouldn't be a high priority. Letting their imagination go wild during the walk up to your front door is.


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## osenator (Nov 3, 2009)

I guess also the lighting is different in what kind of haunt you do too. If only a front yard, then, I totally agree, being less suddles is better. 

Myself, my home haunt, I have (when Mother Nature lets me) a tunnel/maze, a big walkthrought and have a tons of kids and tots coming throught, so lighting is very important for people to see where they are walking. I am planning to maybe make a lighted pathway, with ropelights. 

I love Scatterbrain barrels ideal!

I am also going to have a light show too this year. I might test it this weekend.


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## walk7856 (Mar 21, 2011)

Lighting is the key concept to my Halloween party every year! I take a whole week of vacation just to get the lighting right fr one night of partying. My guests have come to appreciate the attention to detail and lighting that I put into every scene throughout the party. I haven't seen an awesome product mentioned yet, but the E27 color changing Led lights on eBay are amazing! They turn whatever color you want, via wireless remote, and the 5watt bulbs are pretty bright. They are somewhat expensive, but an example of how they look can be seen in the pumpkin rot I did for last years party below. They also dim with the remote adding another dimension you can play with, all wirelessly!!!


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## Scatterbrains (Nov 16, 2008)

Lots of good advice above and as with all things Halloween, lighting is also about personal preference. 

I tend focus on highlighting individual props and don't use wash lights. .Despite the fact that I use a lot of lights, my haunt is actually pretty dark, so I end up adding more lights for safety. 

Another good lighting tip is to use rope light to mark out the path you want the ToTs to use. I've had a lot of success with this, especially when my haunt went around the house.

BTW: I cut the barrels and put made pvc frames (basically boxes) inside them and wrapped the lights around the PVC frames and then put them in the drum. This helped make the barrels light up evenly. I also like the way they "contain" the light


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## terri73 (Dec 7, 2009)

We are still workin the bugs out of our lighting. Every year it looks better and better. We do our set up at camp ground and people there want and expect over the top lighting. The first couple of years we heard from people that they loved everything but couldn't see enough in the dark. So we have been trying to figure a way to have enough lighting to satisfy the kids and camp goers but no end up looking like a circus. 

The lighting in these posts are pretty amazing.


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## GhostTown (Jul 6, 2011)

I 'spose my lighting is a mixture of suddle, and not-so-suddle. That's possible, right?


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## TheDarkening (Aug 23, 2011)

Where do you get the lights for this? I can never find the LED ones!


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## Shockwave199 (Jan 18, 2007)

Lighting is tough, no doubt. The more you display, the more you fine tune every facet of it. I find it very hard to get away from wash lighting because I do this myself and I wait until the last two days to set it up- the morning and early afternoon of halloween being the bulk of the grunt work. Even though I have a front yard display, I still try and make separate scenes. Each scene has a primary wash and that color changes from year to year. This year the graveyard will be blue, for instance. And even though I do a wash, I still try to stick to the rule of not dirtying up adjacent colors so they remain true to the color. Not always easy, and sometimes colors that overlap can be cool too. 

Back in 2007, my wash was...well, one hell of a wash! Them's was the days! Three 100w color bulbs and bang- you had yourself a display. At least I put a blind in front of the spots! 


People came, and people raved. It doesn't take much to become THE house to visit. We are often our own worst critics, and we knit pick ourselves into insanity. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not.

The following years I got into CFL bulbs, maily to save power to balance out all the other electric stuff that would be added along the way. Here again, I use washes but I try to keep them focused and not overlap














































Here's color being dirty, but it still looks cool-










Old school; orange, yellow, and white. Where we ALL came from back when....


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## Blarghity (Sep 2, 2012)

osenator said:


> I guess also the lighting is different in what kind of haunt you do too. If only a front yard, then, I totally agree, being less suddles is better.
> 
> Myself, my home haunt, I have (when Mother Nature lets me) a tunnel/maze, a big walkthrought and have a tons of kids and tots coming throught, so lighting is very important for people to see where they are walking. I am planning to maybe make a lighted pathway, with ropelights.
> 
> ...


For my haunted trail, which runs through woods and a meadow, we found that those cheap solar lights you can get for $1 each at places like Big Lots or Dollar Tree work well as pathway lighting when placed at 8-10 foot intervals. The light stays low to the ground, doesn't interfere with scenery lighting, and doesn't illuminate props you want to stay dark. And when you have a half mile long trail through dark, dark woods, that white light provides a sense of safety to visitors that all the colored lighting doesn't provide.



TheDarkening said:


> Where do you get the lights for this? I can never find the LED ones!


Most of us manufacture our own LED lighting, usually using bulk-purchased LEDs off ebay, whatever wire we can scrounge (spools of stereo speaker wire bought on the cheap or wire salvaged from broken headphones, USB peripherals or other electronics) and PVC pipe from the local hardware store. A lot of us also use converted ATX computer power supplies to power all of it. There are threads in the step-by-step section on how to do this.

The reason we do this is we can build small DIY spotlights for a few dollars each, whereas the cheap end of mass manufactured LED spotlights can cost $60 each and up (not including the cost of various adapters to let you plug the theatrical power supply cable connectors into a standard household wall socket). Hell, I 300 5mm LEDs for about $12, which will let me build at least 100 spotlights, using two or three LEDs per spotlight depending upon my color needs.


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## Halloween Scream (Sep 29, 2010)

Great thread! Nothing gets me in the mood for planning the year's haunt like looking at great lighting photos. Thank you to the people who recommended the tutorial, I can't wait to check it out. I like my lighting, but I hope to love it this year with a few tweaks. Hopefully that means getting rid of the red wash on the garage area that my husband is attached to for some reason.


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## Atomic Mystery Monster (Jul 29, 2003)

This site has a brief look at creating a spooky mood using only a few lights.


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## theundeadofnight (Aug 14, 2011)

GhostTown said:


>


 GhostTown , the lighting and props in these photos are great , off to check out your Forum galleries .


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## BlueFrog (Oct 20, 2009)

Lighting, my old nemesis, you've come back to haunt me - and it's only May! 

I've whined about my lighting challenges before, but after seeing all these beautiful displays and getting some unexpected money burning a hole in my PayPal account, I might actually be in a position to defeat my demon this year - with everyone's help.

Let us pretend for the moment that I own not a single light of any sort, aside from the BRIGHT GIANT GLARING streetlight on one end of my lengthy but shallow yard, and a small porchlight at the other end. Let us further pretend that the electrical for the entire house runs off a single 60amp circuit breaker, and as such operating the microwave, let alone an extensive lighting arrangement, constitutes "a problem." And to top it all off, let us also pretend that my co-haunter is a property manager convinced that anything and everything is a trip hazard, and who paces like a nervous racehorse convinced we're going to be sued into oblivion if a ToT stumbles.

Oh wait, there's no need to pretend because _it's all true_! 

I need very specific recommendations as to LED lights, preferably battery-operated, both wash lights and spotlights, for this nightmarish scenario. I have nothing besides a few camp flash lights so this is all new territory for me. I won't say money is no object, but I'm temporarily in a position where I might actually be able to invest in the right equipment from the outset rather than getting a little here, a little there, and then winding up having to upgrade it later on. Energy efficiency will be paramount, along with versatility (esp with respect to color changing) and lowest likelihood of presenting a trip hazard with cords.

Talk to me, and by that I mean "Lead me by the hand complete with links and explanations of why this and probably not that." I have perhaps $200-300 to throw at this, although I'd prefer to keep the cost down as low as possible.


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## BlueFrog (Oct 20, 2009)

What, did I kill this thread? C'mon, peoples, keep the education and inspiration going!


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## Blarghity (Sep 2, 2012)

BlueFrog said:


> Lighting, my old nemesis, you've come back to haunt me - and it's only May!
> 
> I've whined about my lighting challenges before, but after seeing all these beautiful displays and getting some unexpected money burning a hole in my PayPal account, I might actually be in a position to defeat my demon this year - with everyone's help.
> 
> ...


What color is that street light? That will have a big effect on your lighting. A lot of people did their lighting with the old white street lights in mind, and had it all ruined by the switch to amber street lights.

Fast and cheap lighting would be in the form of bundling LED flashlights with rubber bands and dropping them in canisters. A coffee can will hold 4 of them, which provides anywhere from a total of 12 to 36 LEDs. Create a ground post by mounting the can on a foot long scrap of 1x2 lumber using a bolt, washers and wingnut so it swivels. Buy a few sheets of theatrical color gels (the plastic film they use to color theatrical lighting) and just cut to fit and tape over the mouth of the canisters with transparent tape. You'll also want black paint to paint the outside of the canister and the wood so they vanish in the night. And there are all kinds of cans you can use, from the cans used for canned veggies, to coffee cans, to oatmeal or iced tea cans.

Individual flashlights could also be used for smaller spotlights (3 to 9 LEDs per flashlight, depending on the price and source). Paint it black, hot glue to a stick, and glue a scrap of color gel over the lens. Harbor Freight sells for about $3 a fairly nice combo 3 LED flashlight/24 LED worklight that would work well in this manner, too.

You'll shell out $1 to $4 per flashlight, $8 per 20x24 sheet of color gel, $2 per 1"x2"x8' piece of lumber on a bad day, and basic black interior/exterior spray paint is $3 a can. I could probably whip up 30-40 lights in this fashion for about $150. That cheap enough for you? But then there is the cost of all those batteries. At the best sale prices locally, changing them all at once will set me back about $25 each time.
,


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## matrixmom (Oct 29, 2010)

Bluefrog - I have a similar prob. I have 2 outlets outside. Thats it. I bought 2 of these: http://www.improvementscatalog.com/.../10511?defattrib=&defattribvalue=&listIndex=9 (or get something similar)
Plus added some of these I already had: http://www.improvementscatalog.com/...267240?defattrib=&defattribvalue=&listIndex=8
AND USE LED BULBS. I had a ton of lights out there with out even reaching max capacity. I have bought alot of this on sale though, my spot LED i bought at spirit after halloween for 50% off. My flood LEDs I buy on sale at ledholidaylighting.com

I can't do the batteries, you will be turning on and off every night. Instead go with candles with timers, or solar lights.


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## GhostTown (Jul 6, 2011)

BlueFrog said:


> I need very specific recommendations as to LED lights,
> 
> preferably battery-operated,
> 
> ...


If you're willing to do a little compromising, I can direct you to a very cool system that I started with last season. It hits all but one of your marks, and that is that it's not battery operated (wireless). However, it is EXTREMELY energy efficient. 

http://www.darklightsystem.com/

Very high quality system that is built to withstand any weather, you can run up to 80 spots (ridiculous amount...) on one power supply, using one electrical outlet, and puts out amazing light, and the lights are tiny, even the floods, so they can be hidden anywhere. You will need wires, but only small gauge speaker wire that can be easily tucked away. Awesome system that can be built on each year. I bought 4 Precision Z spots and 4 Precision Alpha spots last yeart. The Precision Alphas come with gels so you can change them to any color you desire. Do some reading on their site. If you have any questions, send me a message or ask here.

I can't say enough about how great they are. I even used it at xmas time, and left the lights and the power supply out buried in the snow until late January.

I'll be adding more lights this year.


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## GhostTown (Jul 6, 2011)

Atomic Mystery Monster said:


> This site has a brief look at creating a spooky mood using only a few lights.


The master.... ::bows::


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## osenator (Nov 3, 2009)

I just discovered I am featured on PUMPKINROT a 2nd time! YOO! Such a honor! I must be doing something right! (L)


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## mamadada (Aug 18, 2008)

That house lets the imagination run wild. That's Halloween! Put some faint creepy music around the outside or voices. Wow!!! 

can some of you experts tell me if u have ever used a screw in black light from spirit. i cant post the pic for some reason. i am looking for something to really light a space from a lamp in a room.


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## BobbyA (Aug 20, 2010)

mamadada said:


> That house lets the imagination run wild. That's Halloween! Put some faint creepy music around the outside or voices. Wow!!!
> 
> can some of you experts tell me if u have ever used a screw in black light from spirit. i cant post the pic for some reason. i am looking for something to really light a space from a lamp in a room.


I would suggest one or more blacklight compact fluorescent (CFL) they cost about $6, fit an E-27 (normal house lamp) base, and produce UV light.in the correct color.
Versus the incandescent bulbs painted purple, which filter out everything except the tiny amount of UV left over, or the LED blacklights which tend to be directional, and put out quite a bit of extra non-uv light.


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## mamadada (Aug 18, 2008)

if u are talking about the spiral ones from like home depot mod lights or something like that... they dont light up an area. i couldnt put them in the bathroom. maybe blacklights arent supposed to.


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## BobbyA (Aug 20, 2010)

mamadada said:


> if u are talking about the spiral ones from like home depot mod lights or something like that... they dont light up an area. i couldnt put them in the bathroom. maybe blacklights arent supposed to.


Bingo, you hit it right on the head. You can't really see UV aka blacklight. 
You can see other colors that leak out of some bulbs and diodes, which look various shades of purple. The "spiral" bulbs do a good job emitting UV.
What you can see really well is pigments that shift UV light and bounce the shifted light as glowing colors, white tee shirts, etc.

You also asked for something that could be screwed into lamps.

The long tube fluorescent bulbs might work for you, but they don't screw in.


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## katshead42 (Aug 5, 2010)

Scatterbrains said:


> string lights in a white 55 gal plastic drum


Where do you find those 55 gallon drums


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## Scatterbrains (Nov 16, 2008)

katshead42 said:


> Where do you find those 55 gallon drums


Local online classifieds like this: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=231&nocache=1&search=55+gallon+drum&zip=&distance=&min_price=&max_price=&type=&x=0&y=0

The "blue" barrels above are the bottoms of the "Red" and "Green" barrels. When I cut the barrels, I put plywood circles in the bottom to help them hold there shape. I also made frames out of PVC that I wrapped the lights around and stuck in the barrels to evenly distribute the light


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## mamadada (Aug 18, 2008)

Bobby, if I use blacklight screw-ins in lamps or sconces in the bathroom. What would u suggest using in the ceiling light to light the room but not compromise the blacklight effect? Or in any room for that matter?


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## BobbyA (Aug 20, 2010)

Using a small light in the bathroom overhead would probably be my third or fourth choice.
I don't know what your room looks like so you have to decide what if any of this makes sense for you.

First I would try to place a few theme things in the room that could transform enough blacklight into other colors to make the room useable. 
Next I would try a small spot light from the overhead to highlight something interesting in the room with more eye friendly light, select level to give the room the boost.
Third, put a nightlight in the overhead, enough to make the room functional, but not bright enough to destroy the blacklight effects.

Good luck.


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## ecto1 (Jul 15, 2012)

katshead42 said:


> Where do you find those 55 gallon drums


Katshead-- I would greatly suggest going to one of the local car washes. The chemicals they use comes in them and they only use them once most times. I have gotten a ton from there to use for my toxic/biological waste barrels. Normally they will be glad to have you remove them.


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## Scatterbrains (Nov 16, 2008)

Scatterbrains said:


> string lights in a white 55 gal plastic drum


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## Witchful Thinking (Jun 3, 2011)

Last year I finally decided I need to try and tackle lighting. I felt intimidated because like others I had only tried black lights with little success in areas that are not full dark. I read a lot of advice on the forum and made my first attempt with varying degrees of sucess. I used mostly CFL's and clamp lights indoors and lights and floods made for the outdoors as we get snow many years by Halloween. It definately needs work but at least the initial investment is done and I want to try highlighting with color in areas of other color this year. I most especially need to remember to actual take pictures with the special lighting which I was frustrated to discover I had forgotten in many areas. I am excited to tackle refining this and have started to research adding a lightning element. Has anyone else done this with success in just a home haunt situation? Here are a few of what I ended up with last year - thanks for this great thread to help me on my way!


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## Guest (Jul 30, 2013)

Thank you for this post! One thing I want to do this year is create a cemetery in my natural area in front of my house. I want to add a fogger but was thinking about lights too. If I should just leave it dark and have natural light create the shadows or use lighting myself. I found this post very helpful!


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## Guest (Jul 30, 2013)

and, this is my first year so ALL advice is welcomed


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## S.O.S. (Mar 7, 2011)

Childofthecorn87 said:


> and, this is my first year so ALL advice is welcomed


The key is to always have fun. And don't worry if you don't get everything up this year: that is what next year is for! There is always something to tweak and make better.

Good luck.


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## mamadada (Aug 18, 2008)

my dillema is that i like all of the different colored lights on my house, but it doesnt do much in the way of party decorations for me as i start the party at 5:30. With daylight savings time there is ZERO wow factor when they show up.


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## Wifeofrankie (Apr 12, 2012)

I really like this thread. Thank you for starting it.


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## katshead42 (Aug 5, 2010)

walk7856 said:


> Lighting is the key concept to my Halloween party every year! I take a whole week of vacation just to get the lighting right fr one night of partying. My guests have come to appreciate the attention to detail and lighting that I put into every scene throughout the party. I haven't seen an awesome product mentioned yet, but the E27 color changing Led lights on eBay are amazing! They turn whatever color you want, via wireless remote, and the 5watt bulbs are pretty bright. They are somewhat expensive, but an example of how they look can be seen in the pumpkin rot I did for last years party below. They also dim with the remote adding another dimension you can play with, all wirelessly!!!


 I have bought a few of those light bulbs and a couple spots that are basically the same concept and I love them!


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## pumpkinpie (Jul 9, 2011)

The more and more I think about my party plans for 2013, I'm considering adding black lights. Last year we used a combination of black lights and colored lights and I absolutely loved the effect (we did a CarnEVIL theme). This year however, we are doing a zombie theme. For the most part the majority of the decor (zombies) will be outside. Inside I will have white sheets on the furniture (one splattered with blood), bloody hand towels, blood gels spelling out Forgive Us on the wall (may have to line them with white so they show)...my question is how can I make all the blood look like blood if I'm using black lights.


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## mamadada (Aug 18, 2008)

Don't put the blood gels directly on your painted walls. They bleed into the paint!!! Put them on glass or mirror.


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## pumpkinpie (Jul 9, 2011)

Good point (i was actually curious if they did) Being a worry wart I had already decided to make mine on sheets of plastic. I figure if I cut closely to the gel edge noone should be able to tell plus it will give me a way to tack them to the wall...at least that's the idea, we'll see if my plan actually works lol


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## Halloweenie1 (Sep 28, 2008)

Osenator awesome thread. I like _all_ the pics & posts so far... interesting and very valuable lighting information! 
Thanks for sharing everyone, I am enjoying it. 

My lighting is pretty simple, I follow the basic concepts mentioned here. 
I don't try to blow it out with too much light. These pics are from Halloween over the years....


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## osenator (Nov 3, 2009)

Wow, Halloweenie1, amazing!!!!!!!


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## Jottle (Aug 17, 2006)

Anyone have new lighting tips or new lights they've particularly liked using for this year?


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## Jerseyscare (Oct 2, 2012)

Old thread but I'll play.
Second year using the flicker bulbs (LED design) in my lamps by the door.
I love the effect, but since I do have steps, I have added lighting on the steps. so when they flicker out, there still is lighting.


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## tarpleyg (Oct 28, 2014)

I am really digging the newer LED floodlights that are becoming available. The old incandescents were dull and got really hot but these LEDs are awesome. This is my second year using them. There are 4 LED floods here and another dozen or so LED spotlights.


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## Jottle (Aug 17, 2006)

tarpleyg said:


> I am really digging the newer LED floodlights that are becoming available. The old incandescents were dull and got really hot but these LEDs are awesome. This is my second year using them. There are 4 LED floods here and another dozen or so LED spotlights.


tarpleyg, can you provide links to the led lights you're using in these great pics?


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## tarpleyg (Oct 28, 2014)

Jottle said:


> tarpleyg, can you provide links to the led lights you're using in these great pics?


On Amazon, look for Sunlite PAR38 LEDs. The smaller ones I'll have to dig up a link.


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## tarpleyg (Oct 28, 2014)

I use these color changing RGB LEDs for spot lights.

HDE Dimmable LED Lamp Light Bulb Color Changing E27 Standard Screw Base with Remote Control

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009UZD81Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_iIacybB17F7HH


And these are the PAR38 floods.
Sunlite 80042-SU PAR38/130LED/6W/G LED 120-volt 6-watt Medium Based PAR38 Lamp, Green

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZAF6RO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_8JacybMES3STN


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## MummyOf5 (Sep 6, 2012)

I have a question about rope lights. How can you take the curl out of a rope that has been coiled? I've got an 18 ft rope that I need to straighten


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## lilibat (Aug 10, 2015)

These have been fantastic. So much so i am getting a few more. Their wide angle I find more useful than the more focused LED spots that have become ubiquitous. The spots still have their place but these wide angle lights are great for setting the general color of your scene. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GO1DQWW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1








blue in the tree on the left, red off scene to the right.

These black lights do illuminate non fluorescing objects purple but things that can glow seriously do. I am removing the internal lighting from my banshee because she glowed so well from one of these UV LED floods in a tree in the graveyard. I used another one on my porch. 








you can see how well the banshee and stuff on the porch is glowing.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/6w-UV-LED-O...209776?hash=item1a1f3c85b0:g:p5IAAOSwOyJX9vRi









again you can see how good these are. I actually really like the non glowing stuff being lit purple.


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## Rigormortor (Sep 7, 2009)

Lights look awesome.... I need a large flood light that changes colors like every 30 sec to 1 minutes or so


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## Gym Whourlfeld (Jan 22, 2003)

I have always loved "Challenges". Make a room brightly lit, leave it like that, then scare them anyway, with all the lights "On!"
I give them light, then take it away. But I make sure everyone is comfortably seated before this happens.
I have a large number of motion-detecting light switches here, so if they are in the dark, they will not remain in extreme dark if and /or when they take that one more step....
I used to illuminate the wine cellar with two real candles.. but the Fire Marshall guy didn't approve.. even though the room is all stone and mortar, and steel.
I bought the little cheapy solar trail lights, junked very quickly, not worth the trip to buy them.
I use outdoor low-voltage yard lights outside for my "maze" and trail, the only big problem was the raccoons removing the warm bulbs, so I had to rebuild them to eliminate this.
Two years ago I bought five solar sets each set has three flood lights. The solar collectors are only about 6 by 5 inches, but they work very well, and during a bright day they give off many hours of very bright light those nights, and if there are a couple of cloudy days they still work, sometimes more dimly but it's a haunted house , it then offers a more subtle effect which is often actually desired here with so much to notice outside on the house and in the yard..
I have mostly accidentally put together lighting that had more than one colored bulb, they looked nice, artsy, different.
I have a huge collection of all kinds of bulbs here and still can't seem to find the bulb I need when needed.

Years ago in a small hardware store I purchased a very small, cheap item that has worked very well for me ever since. They are flat, metallic discs that you insert into a light bulb socket (then screw in the bulb) Turn on the switch, the light lights up normally. Turn it on quickly a few times, then leave it turned on, and the small device will keep the bulb flashing.
They were manufactured for elderly people to have in their porch light so they could use the flash-effect to summon a neighbor for help if all else somehow failed.


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