# Cleanfreak's Haunt



## lucidhalloween (Feb 23, 2017)

Wow! You will definitely not got any ridicule, only praise.. your display looks great already and it sounds as if you're expanding quite a bit.. I'm very jealous of the props you guys are able to get across the pond. Well done on an already fantastic job, and I can't wait to see pics of the new batch of figures and this year's display. Keep the inspiration coming!


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## debbiedowner67 (Sep 13, 2015)

I bow down to you.

You must be doing something right to get 1000-1500 TOT. Dang I thought my 250 was a lot LOL

I agree with the fencing. I have people going thru my display also. I'm finally putting up a fence this year. 

I would move the graveyard to the garage side yard. Add a few more stones and lights. Add the grim reaper to the graveyard scene.

Put a few witches in a scene where you have the graveyard now. 

The rocking chair witch I would add another rocking chair with someone dressed as a witch to it. Make it so people won't know which one is real or fake. Have the real one do things to scare people. Do a scene on your driveway. 

I would put the dragon in the yard with a skeleton wearing burned clothes and running from the dragon

Thats all I have for now. Can't wait to see your finished display


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## Spirits Vineyard (Oct 23, 2016)

You’ve definitely perfected the “giving out candy” routine with your headless horseman costume. I loved watching the kids run away!

And yeah, I doubt anyone is going to ridicule you here!


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## Spirits Vineyard (Oct 23, 2016)

debbiedowner67 said:


> I bow down to you.
> 
> You must be doing something right to get 1000-1500 TOT. Dang I thought my 250 was a lot LOL
> 
> ...


Great ideas about adding a 2nd rocking chair and adding burnt clothes to a skeleton and have him running from the dragon!


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

debbiedowner67 said:


> I bow down to you.
> 
> You must be doing something right to get 1000-1500 TOT. Dang I thought my 250 was a lot LOL
> 
> ...



Great ideas! Thank you!

The only drawback to moving the graveyard is the fog machine. I have all the lines, etc. exactly where the need to be to create the effect. So much so, that the lines remain all year. Moving them will be a pain, but I will definitely think on this.


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## debbiedowner67 (Sep 13, 2015)

I would keep the fog machine there to swirl around the witches. If you can find moss to hang from the trees or build/buy a witch's shack that would be a great scene.

I don't know where you live but if you have a 99c store around invest in the vultures, or any of their rodent skellies to add to the witch's scene. They have a great assortment this year.

I would try and add another fog machine to the front. If not then great lighting will work wonders. 

And if you haven't invested in Atmosfx then do so. You have some fantastic windows that I am very jealous of LOL I only have 2 I can work with


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

debbiedowner67 said:


> I would keep the fog machine there to swirl around the witches. If you can find moss to hang from the trees or build/buy a witch's shack that would be a great scene.
> 
> I don't know where you live but if you have a 99c store around invest in the vultures, or any of their rodent skellies to add to the witch's scene. They have a great assortment this year.
> 
> ...


Really thinking hard on this!

AtmosfearFX is in the Garage Bays. 9'x8' viewing!


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## Kwll2112 (Sep 14, 2016)

The headless horseman costume is freaking awesome! Excellent job! I love how people react to it. They know it's not real, then they have an emotional reaction and are repelled, then they rationalize it's "no big deal" then get freaked out when you move closer. LOL, love it!




cleanfreak said:


> Now about the video. I dress up as the Headless Horseman each year and I have a few friends as Freddy & the Texas Chainsaw guy roaming up and down the driveway. The Costume has evolved over the past 3 years (noting my Skeleton Horse Rider now wears the old costume,LOL).
> I bought one of the creepy pumpkin mask years ago and placed a bowl inside of the mask upside down. Large enough to hold 20-30 pieces of candy. The pumpkin is then carefully placed on what would be my neck. The TOT rings the doorbell and I answer the door with the pumpkin head on........then I remove my pumpkin head, revealing I am headless, freaking them out in the process and hand out the candy from my head. I then go back inside and fill the head up again for the next group. I do this over and over again all night and have pretty much perfected it, I think.
> 
> 
> ...


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## debbiedowner67 (Sep 13, 2015)

I do have a total now of 5 projectors but I bought a $50 one from Amazon. It has the USB port and all the gadgets so you dont have to invest in a Micca like the older projectors. And a cheap $3 shower curtain from Walmart hung on those upper attic windows would be freaking amazing !!! 

Im going to need to buy a different house LOL


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## Mayor of Haddonfield (Jul 15, 2015)

First, let me say that I absolutely love your style of home. It's awesome. 

Second, you have zero reason to be ashamed of your display. It's nice and clean and isn't all cluttered up. Sometimes people go way overboard, and next thing you know it looks junky. Keep it nice and simple!

Third, I would die to have all of those windows available to decorate! I personally love making windowkins for my windows. I can make any pattern I want, I adjust the size to fit the window and people love them. After a few years I make different ones to switch it up. They are incredibly easy to make, they don't take too terribly long to make (maybe an hour and a half, to two hours each), they don't take up a lot of room to store at all, and each one cost about $2. I've attached a few that I've done over the years. 









View attachment 555581


Each window can hold two windowkins, so by my count, you could put in 40 of them!!! Now that would take quite awhile to do, but it would look unbelievable if you had all of the windows covered in windowkins. 

However you decide to set up this year, I honestly can't wait to see the results. You have a really nice canvas to work with!


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## halloween71 (Apr 22, 2007)

awesome yard!!!!!


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## SlayKnotV1 (Jul 6, 2012)

*first things first that headless horseman costume is AWESOME and so is your display. we started our display in 2013 and it just grew every year. since 2015 me and my friends dress up and walk the driveway scaring people. this year we're adding pinhead, the miner from my bloody valentine and one other that's gonna be a secret until halloween. our TOT'er count last year was close to 1,400. im afraid of how many people are gonna come this year. do you have a Facebook page for your house? *


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## Jezebel82 (Oct 4, 2007)

I love your headless horseman costume!!! I made my own a few years back for Comic Con when Sleepy Hollow was a big hit but using the pumpkin head for candy is genius! Would you consider showing more detail in how you do that? And how you made your costume?

I can't wait to see your review of the HD headless horseman and horse. I have the skeleton horse and had always planned to turn my costume into a prop with the skeleton horse but never had the time. When I saw that one this year I said screw it I need to buy the one that moves. 

On a side note, not that there is anything to ridicule about your setup, but I have always found HF to be a pretty welcoming and positive place and surprisingly low on trolls (well the internet ones anyway). There are some pretty fantastic moderators here so please don't ever hesitate to post your awesome work because we all gotta start somewhere


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## 66539 (Feb 20, 2016)

cleanfreak said:


> Please let me know your thoughts and especially where to place the new displays.


What a great display, and your approach to handing out candy has to be one of the major reasons you're seeing so many kids dropping by. It's that perfect combination of scary but not gory that allows every age group to enjoy your efforts.

I do have one suggestion that I think your home could pull of with great effect because of all those wonderful windows. Hopelesslyinsane had a wonderful post in another forum about the importance of lighting. https://www.halloweenforum.com/gene...one-girl-200-dollars-decorating-budget-3.html. Her use of lighting to add an extra layer of spooky ambiance seems well suited for your home. Whether it's every window in the house lit up the way Hopelesslyinsane did; or keeping the candles the way you have it, but just one lit window at the top; or a lone figure silhouetted against the window, you have those marvelous windows, and I think lighting them up as part of your display would be a great addition. 


Here's Hopelesslyinsane's insanely creative use of inside house lighting to make a really great outside statement.








Yeah, I know I didn't tell you where to put a single one of your new additions, but I think you're getting great suggestions, and you're actually pretty good with the layouts yourself. Your idea of fencing in your props might also limit where they can be placed, but I totally agree that it's the way to go. But, those windows fascinate me as the only underutilized part of your magnificent display. Besides... kids and parents can't walk all over them in an effort to get a picture.


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## Hallopois (Sep 3, 2017)

Very impressive Haunt! I especially like the Headless Horseman costume. I wonder how you and others deal with using ready made props that have animation since almost all the ones I have seen say they are not for use outside unless in a covered location and yours are not. This has been a problem for me when significant rain is forecast. Do we just pray for dry conditions?


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## pumpkinpatchbook (Jun 18, 2014)

Ummm if anyone criticizes you on this display, they are just jealous or..... no they would just have to be jealous. Your display is fantastic.


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## Montanabel (Sep 10, 2017)

Amazing display! Well done, can't wait to see what you do this year


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## PutnamHaunt (Jul 30, 2018)

Looks awesome! Great job! I hope to up my display this year


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

Thank you all for the kind remarks!



SlayKnotV1 said:


> *do you have a Facebook page for your house? *


I do not have a Facebook page.



Jezebel82 said:


> I love your headless horseman costume!!! I made my own a few years back for Comic Con when Sleepy Hollow was a big hit but using the pumpkin head for candy is genius! Would you consider showing more detail in how you do that? And how you made your costume?


Thank You! Please see below for a few pic, links, and explanation.



chubstuff said:


> Here's Hopelesslyinsane's insanely creative use of inside house lighting to make a really great outside statement.
> View attachment 556359


Thanks you for the link. I will definitely be working this lighting effect into my house this year.





Hallopois said:


> Very impressive Haunt! I especially like the Headless Horseman costume. I wonder how you and others deal with using ready made props that have animation since almost all the ones I have seen say they are not for use outside unless in a covered location and yours are not. This has been a problem for me when significant rain is forecast. Do we just pray for dry conditions?


I have a rather large mudroom. I assemble all of the 'characters' and stage them in the mudroom. I will do a couple of 'dry runs' within the next 3 months placing them in the yard until I think they are perfect with lighting, etc. I then take each one and place back into the mud room until Oct 30th. I then place all of them in their per-determined locations and do a final check. No sleep on Oct 30th. Lol. Oct 31st come early with me making sure all is correct.


Now onto the costume. It's very simple, really:

I started out with the Original idea of the head/candy, but I needed a head and a good costume:

The head can be found here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EU2TALY/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_c_W44BBbHV8K72S

The original costume can be found here:
https://www.amazon.com/California-C...top?_encoding=UTF8&pi=SL110&ref_=cts_ap_3_vtp

I placed a plastic bowl upside down into the pumpkin head and secured with duct tape. Before doing so, I put paper, etc, to fill out the top of the head.





















Place the candy into the head and carefully lean over and place the pumpkin head onto the neck without spindling the candy. Notice the move I make in the original video taking the head off, this is to make sure the candy does not fall out.

Now, when I wanted to upgrade the costume to something more realistic, I ordered the following:

https://www.amazon.com/Very-Last-Sh...d=76d9a177a79874ebd6b9c2f9fbafc492&th=1&psc=1

Be sure to order 2 sizes bigger as you will need the extra room for the "shoulders" I use the shoulders and 'mask/neck' from the original costume.

I also ordered the following to complete the look:
Boots
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002M09OVC/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_c_b-4BBbRCVFD62
Spurs
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007UQ21Y/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_c_o94BBbCGM74NA
Spur Straps
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005JET1DO/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_c_L84BBb2KWCQE8
Gloves (this out out of stock, any pirate type gloves will do)
https://www.museumreplicas.com/hessian-horseman-leather-gloves
Face covering (use this to actually cover the mask. Hard to see thru, but worth it.)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S0YA5GM/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_c_MU5BBbWHVXZHW
And the secret to making it all work:
Velcro
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IC2T/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_c_464BBbSB1W8AK

Put on the 'shoulders' and then the shirt. Pop up the collar and see where the collar 'touches the face mask on each side and rear. You will need to sew , yes sew, the Velcro onto the mask:






























Then pop up the collar of the Jacket. Using the same process, add the Velro to the appropriate place on each side of the shirt collar. On the inside collar to to where they would attach to the mask, and outside of the collar to where the attach to the jacket. No need to sew these, as they will stick good to the shirt and jacket.


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## SATX (Jul 20, 2018)

Dope yard and one of the best I've ever seen. Bar none!!

Quick question, where do you get your lights from? It was always the biggest issue with my haunt.


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

SATX said:


> Dope yard and one of the best I've ever seen. Bar none!!
> 
> Quick question, where do you get your lights from? It was always the biggest issue with my haunt.


These are the best I have found. Choose your color via remote. 
10W for very small displays or if you have that hard spot to reach. Other than that, the 20w is a must. The price can add up quick, but worth it IMO. 

https://www.amazon.com/Warmoon-Changing-Waterproof-Security-Spotlights/dp/B01GO1DQWW


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

Above post edited with correct link.


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## GiantSpiderHouse (Jul 15, 2018)

cleanfreak said:


> View attachment 555559
> 
> 
> Please let me know your thoughts and especially where to place the new displays.


very nice! I like the spider, did you make it or buy it


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

GiantSpiderHouse said:


> very nice! I like the spider, did you make it or buy it


I bought it. It is the 9’ Gargantuan Spider from Home Depot. 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Home-Accents-Holiday-9-ft-Gargantuan-Spider-5124419/301200861

I did modified the base to hang it on the porch beam.


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## matrixmom (Oct 29, 2010)

As many above has said-- yes!! the windows and so many projections to choose from! Also, Mr Chicken Props has some great outdoor projections on tombstones, and check out Defenestrator and Depp Master here on the forum ( hopefully their pics are still up ) they have homes similar to yours if I recall.


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## tinafromidaho (May 8, 2008)

I absolutely LOVE your witch with that skull fire and cauldron. Can you Please give me a quick description of how you made it. Please!!! Thank You.


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

tinafromidaho said:


> I absolutely LOVE your witch with that skull fire and cauldron. Can you Please give me a quick description of how you made it. Please!!! Thank You.


Hi Tina-
It is fairly simple.
First The Cauldron: I purchased a simple, large black cauldron and used the oatmeal method to age the cauldron. The oatmeal will "slide" around as you are rubbing it on. I then used spray glue (which also creates a cool webbing effect) to hold the oatmeal in place. I let it dry overnight and then painted with black, silver, and copper spray paint as desired. 

Next, I drilled a hole in the bottom to allow for a fog machine pipe and I bought a battery operated neon green string light that I hot glued to the underside of the lip of the cauldron. I also purchased 2 mini green LED flashlights and drilled 2 holes in the cauldron and used these for handles on each side. I drilled a hole on the back of a skeleton head from the Dollar Tree to place on the flashlight handles.......this leads me to the stand.

The Dollar Tree Skeletons can be found here:

https://www.dollartree.com/Plastic-...MI8PS99tj73AIVgp-fCh2izQmgEAQYAiABEgLU2vD_BwE

I believe I purchased 2 cases.

You will also need a vegetable wire stand for support. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BJD8B2G/ref=psdc_3480674011_t4_B00KN6MQXU

Note, only one is needed and can be found at your local hardware store.

You will cut this stand to your desired height and hot glue the skeleton heads onto the stand and onto themselves starting at the bottom and going around the stand until you reach the top. Using the oatmeal method (without the oatmeal this time) I sprayed the glue and the painted with the same colors to age them. Lastly, run a Red LED light and let it hang from the top facing down to create the fire light.

It should end up looking something like this: (this pic was before I added the green LED lights)


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

Here is some quick pics of the home dept items:

Dragon:
The dragon is large and arrives in a refrigerator size box. Assembly is easy and the prop will look good at night with good lightning.
The only negative about the dragon is the fog machine that comes with it. It only has a remote and can only be ON or OFF. Which means someone will have to press the ON button for fog and after a few seconds press OFF. I will probably hook him up to my existing Fog machine pipes so he will be on a timer.















Headless Horseman:
Horseman is a great prop and will good with some lighting and good placement in the yard. The size is a little off meaning he is about 20% smaller than real life. He looks like a Kentucky Derby jockey. LOL.















Werewolf and Lunging Witch:
Werewolf is super tall and will be a great addition. I have no negatives to report on him.
The Lunging Witch is my favorite this year. Her quick lunging movement will get the TOT's as the reach for candy in the Cauldron pot.








Creeper:
The creeper is nice and will look good placed in the graveyard. I have no negatives to report on him.








Rocking Chair Witch:
The witch will work, but I do not recommended purchasing this item. Her legs are super flimsy and boots are material (like a stuffed animal) and just flop around. Her hat is sewn on and cannot be adjusted, since her head was upside down in the box, the hat was crushed and cannot be stuffed to straighten. The Rocking chair motion is "iffy" at best and looks unnatural. I actually had to tie a rope on the back of her to the chair to get her to rock more naturally.








Swamp Witch:
Swamp Witch is nice. The only negative I found is the size of her hands are GARGANTUAN and do not look normal.








Cauldron Witches:
Cauldron Witches are nice and the stirring of the pot motion is 'vigorous' to the point of knocking them over. A few anchors will solve this issue. The only negative I have is the size of the Witches. They are short, less than 5' tall without the hat and will be placed in a different location from the other witches so it is not so noticeable.








Piano Playing Skeleton:
I do not recommend this purchase. It is flimsy wire with a black mesh material. The keys on the keyboard are super large and not proportionate. The skeleton is the simple HD skeleton with red LED eyes. The piano makes no sound and the Skeleton makes no sound.


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

The Flying Witch finally arrived. She is nice with several "sayings" and worth the money IMO. Forgot to snap a pic before I put her into storage.

Attached is (1) window out of 16 that I will be making glow per several suggestions. This is not cheap, one 20W flood light per each window is required along with a cloth shower curtain cut in half for each window to get the glowing effect. Extension cords for each, etc. I hope it is worth it!!









This is my 1st chandelier at the front door. Thoughts?


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## LouNroxLuv (Sep 15, 2014)

That chandelier is dope. The light in the window looks really good too.


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## debbiedowner67 (Sep 13, 2015)

Love the chandelier. Have you checked the prices at Joanns or Hobby Lobby for the same material ? Especially after a coupon ? It might be cheaper. What kind of lights are required for the windows ?

I posted on an earlier thread about the money we spend and how we look for ways to do it cheaper. Maybe some people have a better idea to help keep the cost down.


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## VenomStorm (Aug 11, 2016)

I love your headless horseman costume and method for handing out candy, although it sounds like you are changing that up for this year. Couple of things that jumped out to me in addition to things people already mentioned. If you arent going to be handing out candy, I think this gives you an opportunity to start working on crowd control. You mentioned people running up to props to take pictures and you are going to add a fence, which is awesome and should help. But I also noticed general chaos going to and from your front door. Maybe it wasnt as bad as it looked in the video, but it would have bothered me if I had all these people running around. You might want to consider creating an entrance and exit to your driveway. You could stand at street level and direct groups up one side and they would head up to get candy, then come down the other side (you would need a simple divider down the middle of your driveway) to exit. You could also hold groups if there were also a lot of people getting candy. This would work best the more people you have helping you out Halloween night. You could have someone watching the candy, guarding the exit, and helping along the line/ driveway. Lots of people on here do massive haunts dealing with the numbers you do and probably have better more specific ideas than me, (I get 150 and that is plenty!) but I think your haunt would benefit from some structure in its flow for the safety of people and your props.

Edit: oh I forgot to add, with that headless horseman’s scale being slightly off you might be able to put him off in the distance to get away with making him look normal sized.


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

Beef netting is hung and I hung the spider today. 















Here is the back side at stated in the Home Depot thread:








I also decided to go with LED strip lights on the inside of the windows. To create the glow effect, requires 2 pieces of shower curtain with the light “sandwiched” in the middle. The window on the right does not have the extra shower curtain and the shadows show all of the wrinkles.......cost is $30 per window not counting all of the extension cords required.....2 down and only 14 more windows to go.....


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

I have no idea why my pics are sideways.


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## 66539 (Feb 20, 2016)

cleanfreak said:


> I have no idea why my pics are sideways.


While there is a logical explanation, it's long and boring, and the fix requires you to reformat the pictures. Fortunately, humans come with neck bones that allow us to tilt our head to see the wonderful displays you're putting up just fine.  Great work!


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## VenomStorm (Aug 11, 2016)

I agree that the double shower curtain looks better. Too bad there isn’t a cheaper method per window, but the reults look well worth it!


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

Now we’re getting somewhere...
2 windows to go on the main house and 5 on the Garage....unfortunately the 3 windows on the very top are not accessible at this time.


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## 66539 (Feb 20, 2016)

The windows do make your house really come alive... or dead... or whatever is the right word for a great Halloween effect.


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

All windows are done. It is super hard to get a ‘clear’ night pic. I will take any iPhone settings ideas. I have the iPhone X...

A couple of pics. They do not do justice. It looks amazing.


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## Mayor of Haddonfield (Jul 15, 2015)

cleanfreak said:


> All windows are done. It is super hard to get a ‘clear’ night pic. I will take any iPhone settings ideas. I have the iPhone X...
> 
> A couple of pics. They do not do justice. It looks amazing.
> 
> ...


This looks amazing and really puts the house over the top! Well done!!!


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## Kwll2112 (Sep 14, 2016)

That looks really good with all the windows lit up like that!

I have an iPhone 8+ and it takes pretty good photos in low light conditions, like Halloween props and scenes. Especially considering the conditions under which you're taking the photos. However, I still use a real camera to take long exposure photos, as the saturation and details come out better. The long exposure makes for a much more richly colored photo. 

I don't know if the iPhone X has any extra "features" that would allow it to take better photos, but nothing I change on my phone produces a better pic, so I use the real camera. And, it's not even a newer camera. I'm using a Sony H1 that's over 12 years old.

As an example, here's a photo taken with the iPhone. It really is amazing at how much detail was captured, given that it wasn't a long exposure and the lighting was not great. But, you can see the compromises in resolution quality, color saturation and overall "goodness" of the picture:









Compare that to a long exposure (in this case, it was 8 seconds) taken with a digital camera:

View attachment 567877


The photo simply looks better and is more appealing. It can be a pain to take a ton of photos using long exposure, as it's quite the time investment, but I think it's worth the effort.



cleanfreak said:


> All windows are done. It is super hard to get a ‘clear’ night pic. I will take any iPhone settings ideas. I have the iPhone X...


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## DandyBrit (Sep 6, 2013)

I think your display is absolutely amazing! And I think I'm in love with the Horseman.


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## dawnski (Jun 16, 2012)

I love it all. Brilliant job on making everyone's childhood a little more fun!


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## halloween71 (Apr 22, 2007)

Love it all


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## jmax5105 (Oct 25, 2016)

I absolutely LOVE the giant spider hanging over the porch... I need to try something like that! VERY nice work!


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## HauntedClog (Oct 6, 2017)

The spider looks great! I have wanted one of those for some time but the price is just too much for me right now.
Your windows look AMAZING!! I will need to figure out how to do something similar as it just makes the entire house come alive, great work I am super jealous.


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## giantstogie (Oct 26, 2016)

i think you are doing a great job. the windows look great. keep up the good work. I love the headless horseman costume. It works really well. nice jump scare. and yes i am jealuse


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## Jezebel82 (Oct 4, 2007)

Kwll2112 said:


> That looks really good with all the windows lit up like that!
> 
> I have an iPhone 8+ and it takes pretty good photos in low light conditions, like Halloween props and scenes. Especially considering the conditions under which you're taking the photos. However, I still use a real camera to take long exposure photos, as the saturation and details come out better. The long exposure makes for a much more richly colored photo.
> 
> ...


Kwll2112 - Not to hijack the thread but I checked out your page and your house is AWESOME! Can I ask where you got the room roll (assuming that's what it is) that you used in the kitchen and skeleton dining room last year?


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## sneakykid (Sep 19, 2010)

Wow, your Headless Horseman costume/candy distribution is brilliant!!

Your windows are looking fabulous! What does the setup of those look like from the inside?

Do you decorate inside at all?

Keep up the awesome work and thanks for posting all your updates!


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

sneakykid said:


> Wow, your Headless Horseman costume/candy distribution is brilliant!!
> 
> Your windows are looking fabulous! What does the setup of those look like from the inside?
> 
> ...


Thanks! 
I do a small scene inside the front door at the foyer. The piano skeleton will be set up there as if he is playing my “intro” song. 

I will try and snap a pic or two of the inside windows. I am at Disney this week and will do so when I get back. Hopefully Hurricane Michael takes it easy on me as we are currently in the direct projected path.


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## Kwll2112 (Sep 14, 2016)

Thanks! I used a photo backdrop printer from AliExpress (https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1541092?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.5f3e4c4dSYQE8W). They were easy to work with and had them print 1 custom backdrop (the Damask was my image) and had them modify the color on one of theirs (the purplish-blue wallpaper).



Jezebel82 said:


> Kwll2112 - Not to hijack the thread but I checked out your page and your house is AWESOME! Can I ask where you got the room roll (assuming that's what it is) that you used in the kitchen and skeleton dining room last year?


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## sneakykid (Sep 19, 2010)

cleanfreak said:


> Thanks!
> I do a small scene inside the front door at the foyer. The piano skeleton will be set up there as if he is playing my “intro” song.
> 
> I will try and snap a pic or two of the inside windows. I am at Disney this week and will do so when I get back. Hopefully Hurricane Michael takes it easy on me as we are currently in the direct projected path.


Yes, please!

You're at Disney?! Man, you are living the dream! ? I hope you get to attend a Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party! 
I pray the hurricane doesn't affect your vacation too much!


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## Kwll2112 (Sep 14, 2016)

Here's hoping Hurricane Michael dwindles to nothing in the next couple of days.



cleanfreak said:


> Hopefully Hurricane Michael takes it easy on me as we are currently in the direct projected path.


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

Thanks for the well wishes. We got lucky. The eye where the major winds were ended being just 30-40 miles west of me. Total devastation on the panhandle of Florida, especially Mexico beach and Panama City beach where the storm made landfall.

We have a lot of trees down in my city and most folks are without power. I only have a few small branches and I never lost power. My Spider on the front porch only has a small "tilt", otherwise you would never know a storm of this magnitude even came thru.

I'll try and snap some pics later.


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

Pic from the inside. Polyester shower curtain cut in half. No need to iron as it is only used a reflector, but is needed. 
Hung using Command hooks. 









Inside the window has the same Polyester shower curtain cut in half and ironed. I used 4 pieces of Velcro in the corners to fasten to the window. I had to hot glue the curtain the the backside of the Velcro as the curtain did not stick well. Once in place I then ran the LED light strip around the window using the 3M sticky back to hold in place. Last step was to connect power. I have all 16 windows connected to the main lights so all are on one switch. 

















This is the small center window so it is only 3’ tall.


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## sneakykid (Sep 19, 2010)

Do you have the red light on the inside? If so, how do you make it not awkward to walk around?


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

sneakykid said:


> Do you have the red light on the inside? If so, how do you make it not awkward to walk around?


The light is the thin LED strip you see in the pic that goes around the entire window. I had to remove the blinds to get it to work. 

After Halloween, I will re-install the blinds, but leave the light. It will not be seen since the blinds will cover it. The little black wires you see is the power supply which unplugs from a pigtail at the light. This allows for the light to NOT be in the way at all. The only issue I had was carefully running all of the extension cords throughout the house so no one would trip over them. All of the lights are on the same switch as the outside lights. So when flip the switch, all come on at the same time.


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

Also-
We have a weather front coming thru tonight and tomorrow, and then clearing so all looks good for Halloween weather wise. This means all displays will be put out this Saturday except the the AtmosFX garage bays that will be going up Monday night. 


I cant wait to light it all up!


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

A few pics. Garage doors are the last to do on Tuesday night.


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

A quick video. As you can tell, my photos and video need some work. Hopefully this works....


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## Spirits Vineyard (Oct 23, 2016)

I’m sure those windows were a lot of effort, but they look amazing!


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

A few videos of Halloween night. Forgive the amateur quality.


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

Ordered from Home Depot:
Pirate Ship
Pirates
Animated Pirate
Towering Jack O Man
Grave Zombie 

Spirit Halloween:
Graveyard Ghoul
Smoldering Zombie


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## jmax5105 (Oct 25, 2016)

Loved all those videos! I wish I had room to store HALF of the stuff that you have setup!!! Looks Super cool and I can't wait to see what it looks like this year!


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## Nypdwife (Oct 13, 2013)

Spirits Vineyard said:


> I’m sure those windows were a lot of effort, but they look amazing!


Looks wonderful Love the windows LOVE the headless horseman Have never seen him on sale anyplace


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## Nypdwife (Oct 13, 2013)

cleanfreak said:


> After posting last night in the Home Dept thread about what I have on order, I had a few request to post some pictures. Granted, none of the items have arrived yet, but here is last years Haunt.
> 
> I hesitate to post, as you guys are on the extreme level with a lot of you are making your own props. This year only makes my 4th year doing this, with last year being the biggest haunt for me. The biggest hit last year was the Motorcycle Skeleton and the Gargantuan Spider. The biggest drawbacks are parents sitting their TOT's on/in the displays for pictures. They completely ruined the lights along the driveway. This year I will add a black metal fence all around the front yard with a sign to deter this behavior. I have grown to 1000 TOT's over the past 3 years and expect 1500 TOT's this year (some traveling as far as an hour away) so display casualties are expected.
> 
> ...


Just wow No ridicule here Your house looks great Love the way you have the fences I have problems with people trampling through the scenes... Also here in northern Va we get rain and wind in Oct so I put up the cemetaries but the big props go up the day before.... Its always a mad dash Your house and haunt are awesome


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## Nypdwife (Oct 13, 2013)

Hallopois said:


> Very impressive Haunt! I especially like the Headless Horseman costume. I wonder how you and others deal with using ready made props that have animation since almost all the ones I have seen say they are not for use outside unless in a covered location and yours are not. This has been a problem for me when significant rain is forecast. Do we just pray for dry conditions?


Thats the problem we have Im n northern Va and Oct we get wind and rain so Im always garbage bagging the ones who can stay outside and taking the bigger more delicate ones in and out


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

Nypdwife said:


> Thats the problem we have Im n northern Va and Oct we get wind and rain so Im always garbage bagging the ones who can stay outside and taking the bigger more delicate ones in and out


Thanks!
I stage all props (except the porch spider) inside and typically only put them out on the 28th depending on the weather forecast. All have been tested days before and all lighting is sound is in place just waiting on the forecast. 
The garage bays atmosfx video screens go up the day of and the singing pumpkins projector goes out early Halloween morning while it’s still dark so I can see the menu, etc. 
Timing is everything with these props and weather.


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## Nypdwife (Oct 13, 2013)

cleanfreak said:


> The Flying Witch finally arrived. She is nice with several "sayings" and worth the money IMO. Forgot to snap a pic before I put her into storage.
> 
> Attached is (1) window out of 16 that I will be making glow per several suggestions. This is not cheap, one 20W flood light per each window is required along with a cloth shower curtain cut in half for each window to get the glowing effect. Extension cords for each, etc. I hope it is worth it!!
> 
> ...


Love the window and the chandelier


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## Nypdwife (Oct 13, 2013)

cleanfreak said:


> Thanks!
> I stage all props (except the porch spider) inside and typically only put them out on the 28th depending on the weather forecast. All have been tested days before and all lighting is sound is in place just waiting on the forecast.
> The garage bays atmosfx video screens go up the day of and the singing pumpkins projector goes out early Halloween morning while it’s still dark so I can see the menu, etc.
> Timing is everything with these props and weather.


Glad to hear Im not the only one putting stuff out last minute Here where I live the TNTers can only go out from 5pm to 9 ( When I lived in Long Island it was all day from noon) So Im actually out there on Halloween day setting stuff up


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## benjamin (Oct 26, 2016)

Nypdwife said:


> Thats the problem we have Im n northern Va and Oct we get wind and rain so Im always garbage bagging the ones who can stay outside and taking the bigger more delicate ones in and out


Same problem here in Sydney Australia in October....windy, lots of often unpredictable rain. I have to invest in some garbage bags this year.


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

Scored this Gem today. An original from the 1860’s.


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## benjamin (Oct 26, 2016)

That is gorgeous! Did it cost a fortune?



cleanfreak said:


> Scored this Gem today. An original from the 1860’s.
> View attachment 716731


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

benjamin said:


> That is gorgeous! Did it cost a fortune?


I’m not sure how much these types
of items are worth from the 1860’s. I paid $1000.00. I will be modifying it to have a pull behind and adding an old casket. Add a Skeleton Driver and the Home Depot Skeleton horse and I will have an old fashion hearse methinks.


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## benjamin (Oct 26, 2016)

cleanfreak said:


> I’m not sure how much these types
> of items are worth from the 1860’s. I paid $1000.00. I will be modifying it to have a pull behind and adding an old casket. Add a Skeleton Driver and the Home Depot Skeleton horse and I will have an old fashion hearse methinks.


I'm so looking forward to see what you do with it!


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## bobby2003 (Oct 5, 2017)

cleanfreak said:


> I’m not sure how much these types
> of items are worth from the 1860’s. I paid $1000.00. I will be modifying it to have a pull behind and adding an old casket. Add a Skeleton Driver and the Home Depot Skeleton horse and I will have an old fashion hearse methinks.


Not sure about the age of these, but $1000.00 seems a fair price and probably a good deal.









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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

Window la are done and old fashion horse and buggy pulling a casket done....


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## Lazyacres (Sep 21, 2019)

cleanfreak said:


> Scored this Gem today. An original from the 1860’s.
> View attachment 716731


That’s awesome! You could do a lot with that, but I wouldn’t change it. What did you end up doing with it? I also love the other pics of the yard.


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## Lazyacres (Sep 21, 2019)

Lazyacres said:


> That’s awesome! You could do a lot with that, but I wouldn’t change it. What did you end up doing with it? I also love the other pics of the yard.


I see the pics now I’m still learning how to use this site


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## curiusgeorge (Oct 25, 2018)

That buggy is freaking sweet! And the windows look fantastic! I'm going to try and duplicate your windows but was thinking about trying red cellophane taped to the windows and leave all the lights on in the rooms instead of having to buy floodlights and red bulbs for every room.


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## debbiedowner67 (Sep 13, 2015)

cleanfreak said:


> Window la are done and old fashion horse and buggy pulling a casket done....
> 
> View attachment 723458
> 
> ...



Looks great. How did you hang the spider ? Isn't it the HD spider ?


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## 66539 (Feb 20, 2016)

curiusgeorge said:


> That buggy is freaking sweet! And the windows look fantastic! I'm going to try and duplicate your windows but was thinking about trying red cellophane taped to the windows and leave all the lights on in the rooms instead of having to buy floodlights and red bulbs for every room.


Don't forget to post your results, preferably with pictures of the outcome. That's a much less expensive way to pull off the look if it works.


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

curiusgeorge said:


> That buggy is freaking sweet! And the windows look fantastic! I'm going to try and duplicate your windows but was thinking about trying red cellophane taped to the windows and leave all the lights on in the rooms instead of having to buy floodlights and red bulbs for every room.


As Debbie said, that will definitely be cheaper, but it did not produce the glow effect I wanted. I actually did not use flood lights as it was disappointing as well. The only thing that worked was Led Light strips hung on the inside all around the perimeter of the window and I had to “sandwich” the lights between 2 polyester shower curtains. Perhaps you will have better luck.


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

debbiedowner67 said:


> Looks great. How did you hang the spider ? Isn't it the HD spider ?


It is the HD spider. Pics are on page 2 of this thread.


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## kakugori (Aug 26, 2013)

curiusgeorge said:


> I'm going to try and duplicate your windows but was thinking about trying red cellophane taped to the windows and leave all the lights on in the rooms instead of having to buy floodlights and red bulbs for every room.


You can do it with your regular room lighting and some cheap plastic party tablecloths. Works really well. Here's a pic from last year.


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