# Haunted Mansion Graveyard, Disney



## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

This year I decided to create a graveyard scene with a bit of Disney inspiration. Throughout the year I continually scaled back my plans due to costs. The pictures do not show much of the detail that went into each piece, but will give a general overview to hopefully inspire you in the future! A video is still to come...


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

*More pictures*

pictures cont'd...


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## a witch from canada (Jul 13, 2005)

great pictures , the caretaker looks awsome


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## StanFam3 (Oct 5, 2009)

Wow, it looks great lit up! Good job!


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## Guest (Nov 3, 2009)

Wow!!! Great job!!!


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## Bella LaGhostly (Aug 10, 2009)

minicooper, that's an AMAZING job you did! Looking forward to the video.


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## pumpkinman (Apr 18, 2006)

Very cool stuff... I like the guy with the lantern!


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

I appreciate all the great feedback. This evening I'll make an attempt to get the video up.


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## SpookyMuFu (Sep 14, 2009)

very cool!!! I really like this one!


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## Homemade Haunts (Nov 2, 2009)

Nice lighting! The Caretaker looks great too!


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## halloween71 (Apr 22, 2007)

you may have scaled back but it looks great!!!Great job.


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## CraigInPA (Sep 11, 2007)

Fantastic!


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## Mizerella (Aug 6, 2009)

So great! I love your caretaker he looks so much like the ride.


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

*Short Video*

Here's a short video that I hope will come through. Let me know if you have any trouble viewing this..


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## Sam_Hain (Oct 29, 2009)

wow cool pillar how did u do that Im going to need a cool display for my haunt mansion busts i wanna do next year. that would look great for it


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

The entire column is constructed out of foam with an additional layer to create the raised front panel effect. Thicker foam allowed me to carve bricks into the top and bottom sections. Then by masking the brick sections carefully, I created a defined edge to each colored section makes it look more realistic.


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## Rynnye (Oct 24, 2010)

It looks fantastic!! I love the Haunted Mansion and you emulated it perfectly! Did you make the caretaker?


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## MrNightmare (Mar 2, 2009)

Excellent work! Love the caretaker!


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

Yes, the caretaker was built entirely from the ground up. First a poseable frame, then covered with filler and clothing. The hands and head were culpted from a plaster/mache then painted. He is full size.


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## JenniferRene (Jul 14, 2011)

holy cow this is amazing! i cant believe you made the caretaker yourself, you did an awesome job. i also love the lightning effect in the vid. very cool mini coop!


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## magnusius (Mar 6, 2011)

I absolutely love it. I think by scaling back, you added more, if that makes sense. You have yards like mine that are so crammed full of props and other goodies it becomes visually noisy. This is simple, effective and awesome. And by simple I don't mean your props, just the outlay. Very good job!


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

The second set of photos are based on the graveyard tombs of Master Gracey and Wathel R. Bender from Disney's Haunted Mansion attraction. What other props would you like to see from the ride? I'm thinking about the invisible horse buggy from the ride entrance. Other posts mention a strong interest in the stretch room elevator...


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## pumpkinspirit (Oct 19, 2010)

OMG that is awesome! I like it you did a great job


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## creepyhomemaker (May 10, 2008)

I love your setup! I am going to be building a column for my lifesize Haunted Mansion plaque here in the next couple of weeks. Because of my recent trip to Disney, that is my theme this year. Hadn't thought of the caretaker but it's great.


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## Gatordave (Dec 13, 2008)

Excellent job!! A lot of hard work evident here! If you had the scared little dog near the caretaker I would swear it was the Disney ride!


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## obsessedjack (Sep 3, 2010)

I love it! Can't believe you made the caretaker yourself! Nice work!


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## spooktown1 (Dec 23, 2010)

That is pretty great!..all you need is a haunted mansion plaque for the brick column and your good to go..of course i know you were going for more spirit of the attractuion rather than accurate props but i think you did just that!...great set up!

ST1


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

Yes, I went for the spirit indeed. Instead of the plaque I decided to spend time on the tombstones to figure out how to accurately carve letters into foam. The plaque is rather intricate...


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## Pumpkinprincess (Aug 8, 2007)

Thanks for sharing!

I am doing a garage walkthrough with a Haunted Mansion theme this year. I use Terra's chromadepth 3d technique. I have a form for the caretaker, but I'm having trouble finding a good mask. Did you do the face yourself? Thx!


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## spooktown1 (Dec 23, 2010)

minicooper82 said:


> Yes, I went for the spirit indeed. Instead of the plaque I decided to spend time on the tombstones to figure out how to accurately carve letters into foam. The plaque is rather intricate...




Well i have a few full sized versions if you are ever in need of one...again great set up

ST1


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

I'd love to see them, do you have any pics posted?


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

Pumpkinprincess said:


> Thanks for sharing!
> 
> I am doing a garage walkthrough with a Haunted Mansion theme this year. I use Terra's chromadepth 3d technique. I have a form for the caretaker, but I'm having trouble finding a good mask. Did you do the face yourself? Thx!


Yes, I made the face myself using a styrofoam base, then adding mache over the top to create the expression. After it dried I handpainted a basecoat then added accents and layered paint over the top. The hardest part was the eyeballs, which I would probaby do differently next time by inserting eyes, rather than sculpting them in mache...


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## Junit (Sep 1, 2008)

Nicely done! Everything is great!


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

spooktown1 said:


> Well i have a few full sized versions if you are ever in need of one...again great set up
> 
> ST1


Yes, I'd love to see some pictures, can you post?


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## spooktown1 (Dec 23, 2010)

i dont have any pics because I am currently in los angeles but i will post some asap.

ST1


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

> i dont have any pics because I am currently in los angeles but i will post some asap.
> 
> ST1


back from your trip? pm when you can, I'm intersted to see the plaque you were talking about..


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

Anyone have any success making the hitchhiking ghosts?


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## im the goddess (Mar 10, 2012)

I've seen them online someplace. Can't remember where, but I know they are out there. Did you search this forum? Here is a link to a video of someones prop. They said they have no how to. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL4_5YsCnuQ


minicooper82 said:


> Anyone have any success making the hitchhiking ghosts?


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

Thanks for posting, it started me on some other videos with great close-ups of the actual props. We'll see if there's time this year to get started on them.


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## jollygorilla (Oct 10, 2011)

they are static though


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## Junit (Sep 1, 2008)

Nicey nice! Great job on the lighting, that finishes the whole scene off!


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

Anyone doing something haunted mansion themed this year?


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## Kcurry (Jul 27, 2011)

I LOVE your display!!!! Simple but sooo effective! Can I ask where you got your lighting? I tried ordering from Minion's Web last year and it was a disaster! I can't find outdoor LED spotlights anywhere else though. Also, did you use insulation foam (the pink stuff) for your columns? How did you add the lanterns on top? Sorry for all the questions...I just love what you did!!!


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

Is anyone doing a Disney Haunted Mansion theme this year?


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

minicooper82 said:


> Anyone doing something haunted mansion themed this year?


Sorry for the YEAR of delay! 

1. The lighting was made by placing landscape lights inside of empty paint cans and directing the light upwards. First, cut a hole in the bottom of the can large enough so that only the spike on the bottom of your landscape light will feed through the paint can and secure in the ground. Then paint the outside of the can black so it doesn't stand out during the day. Lastly, I placed a color filter over the lights that I bought from a local DJ supply house. 

2. Columns were made using WHITE foam, not pink. I like white foam because it's thicker, so it enabled me to cut/melt away large sections to create heavy relief for the the exposed brickwork. I also ripped large sections of foam about 1/2" wide and glued over the front of the column to create the raised panel area (not sure if you can tell from the pictures or not). I have a rather large foam cutter that I made a few years ago, so I can stand a piece of 18" foam upright and rip into thinner pieces. Also, the columns are only 3 sided (front and 2 sides). The back is totally open so that I can access the lantern wire and stake the whole piece into the ground. On Halloween, everyone in our neighborhood sits in the driveway and passes out candy. It's actually a lot of fun, like a giant community block party. So none of the kids come to the door and look at the back side of our decorations, which is how the 3 sided column worked for me.

3. The lantern is an actual lantern purchased from home depot. I spent a lot of time looking for supplies to customize a surge protector for the flicker light effect, but then I happened to find flicker lantern bulbs for a fraction of the cost and purchased them instead. The one key thing to mention on the lantern is that I mounted it to a thin piece of plywood as a base. SInce the whole column is foam, I did not trust the integrity of the foam alone to support the lantern's weight while outside in the rain and wind during hurricane season here in FL. The foam base, which was made of 1/4" plywood and roughly the perimeter dimensions of the column itself, provided all the support needed.

Hope that helps, feel free to ask any other questions. And sorry for the long delay!


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## Dr. Paul Bearer (Sep 22, 2005)

Awesome, great job! We all have fond memories of the Disney Haunted Graveyard sound effects. I wore that record out.


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## SGT623 (Aug 24, 2013)

Outstanding work!


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## Palmdale Haunter (Sep 26, 2010)

Very nice!


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## 48894 (Nov 15, 2012)

I love seeing this, it brings back a lot of fond memories of Disneyland when I was a kid.


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## weeping angel (Oct 27, 2012)

WAAAUGH!!! I can't see the video anymore! This is my favorite HM haunt.

minicooper82, I implore you, please hurry baaaaaack! 

insert crying face :*(


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

*New link for video*

Let me know if this works for you:

http://vid539.photobucket.com/albums/ff360/fjscerbo/P1060467-1.mp4


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## ThePirateHouse (Aug 9, 2009)

That is amazing! Just what my display is lacking. Couldn't get the tombstones right so I finally gave up. Yours look like the originals. How did you do it?


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

ThePirateHouse said:


> That is amazing! Just what my display is lacking. Couldn't get the tombstones right so I finally gave up. Yours look like the originals. How did you do it?


Hey PirateHouse thanks so much. I sketched the tombstone shape by eye as best I could, then I played with font sizes on my computer until I got the letter spacing just right. I found a font that was close enough in style and printed the words on paper, then laid the sheets of paper on top of the tomb until it looked right. Then I traced each letter with pen over the top of the paper, pressing hard enough to mark the foam tombstone underneath and provide an outline of each letter. Then using an exacto blade I traced over the outlines again, not digging the letters out with the exacto, but creating slices on the same lines that i created with the pen. After that, I used a wood burning tool to melt the insides of the letters. Since I created edges to the insides of the letters, like a barrier to each letter with the slice marks, that when I melted the foam inside each letter, the melting did not spread beyond the edges of where I sliced. Instead, it gave an etched or carved look and held the font shape so it looked very clean. It took some time and patience, but it turned out great. Let me know if this makes sense or I have to go into more detail. I'd also love to see some pictures of your haunts as well! Happy Halloween


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## Spookytownking4810 (Aug 31, 2014)

lighting is everything!!..And although you have these lights etc directly on the stones,figure and pillar it still says "planned" too much..I know I know your getting yes man answers from everyone else but ill tell you straight up...It would be better not to light up the caretaker so much but to use more subtle lighting for him..perhaps even cast light off another object...or light him using his own lantern.Also ,try a second or third light source from behind this objects but subtle and not so bright..youll find itll leave more to the imagination and wont look so desperate for attention.Neat stuff.

STK


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## zombieprincess (Nov 1, 2013)

This is amazing. There are no words to celebrate the intricate details.


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## Spookytownking4810 (Aug 31, 2014)

zombieprincess said:


> This is amazing. There are no words to celebrate the intricate details.


..case and point

STK


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

I am so glad this thread was brought back to life for this year. This is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!
Fabulous work. Truly inspirational. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. 
Happy Halloween!


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

Hey Spookytown, I totally agree with you on the lighting. In fact, I spent a great deal of time creating my light canisters to hide the glare that's typically created from standard landscape floods. I would have loved to setup theatre lighting at multiple angles. It's definitely a challenge to accomplish this without areas to hide your lights, and I ran into that problem a bit on this display. Next time I'll definitely commit more time to it and find new creative ways to get it done. There's always a way.... And, uh, it's ok if people want to praise  It's what keeps me coming back. I do appreciate constructive feedback but no need to condemn the others.

Thanks again!


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## weeping angel (Oct 27, 2012)

minicoop, you made my day! THANK YOU for reposting the video!!!  It's so inspirational to me. Thanks also for typing out how you made your tombstones. I think I'm going to try your method of xacto knife with a hotwire tool.

STK, would you care to post a tutorial on lighting? It would be neat if you could show picture examples of what you are talking about, like casting light off of another object.


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

Yes, a lighting tutorial would be awesome


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## weeping angel (Oct 27, 2012)

minicooper, are you going to do a HM themed haunt this year? I love your caretaker especially. How does paper mache hold up over the years? 

And how did you fill his body? Today I was wrestling with filling out my phantom (ala DLP Phantom Manor). I was using newspaper and the bags they are delivered in with blue painters tape. I used a small kitchen trash bag looped around the neck for his chest. Everything was falling apart as I was trying to dress him. Clearly I need stronger tape. His pants won't stay up, and he looks lumpy in all the wrong places. So now I'm thinking bags and newspapers is not the way to go.


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

I bought a long sleeve shirt and had someone wrap my body in duct tape. Then we cut it off my body and dressed the pose-able frame, then filled with packing foam and other misc things sort of like you did, but the duct tape "shirt" if you will, held everything together. This year I sidestepped the Haunted Mansion theme simply because I didn't have enough time. Remember, I started this in July of the year it was used! The mache face turned into stone, basically. It's hard as a rock. You could always spray over the top to protect from the elements. It's lasted perfectly in storage, nothing has deteriorated.

Last year and this year I went with a Charlie Brown theme from the TV special "It's the Great Pumpkin", I started another thread about this but here are a couple pictures for a sneak peak.


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## weeping angel (Oct 27, 2012)

LOVE IT!!! Are those wood cut outs? I like how Linus and Sally are set back. Nice paint job! I grew up watching that every Halloween. My brother always kinda reminded me of Charlie Brown. I can't help but smile whenever I see his holey ghost costume.  I'll look for your other thread.

Thanks for the tips on how to fill out a prop frame. I'll try the duct tape for my other phantom. Blue tape definitely is not cutting it.


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

Here's the other thread for Charlie Brown FYI - http://www.halloweenforum.com/general-halloween/138642-its-great-pumpkin-charlie-brown-theme.html


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

You do beautiful work mini cooper. Thank you for sharing.


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

2015 bump to help folks get new ideas for this year's Halloween season. Just visited the parks this weekend and Halloween is in full effect at the Magic Kingdom. Ideas are flowing


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## Queen Of Spades (Jun 7, 2013)

Thank you for sharing! This is amazing. I wish we had the talent to do something like that. I was just at Disneyland and mansion is down to get its nightmare before Christmas overlay. Your post helped to illeaviate some of the anxiety from missing the ride!


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

Hah! I'm glad you got your "fix"  Thanks for the kind words. Would love to do the hitchhiking ghosts eventually. I need to experiment more with mesh materials and figure out how to support a flexible and porous material while holding a specific shape.


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## sneakykid (Sep 19, 2010)

minicooper82 said:


> 2015 bump to help folks get new ideas for this year's Halloween season. Just visited the parks this weekend and Halloween is in full effect at the Magic Kingdom. Ideas are flowing


Will you enlighten us or give us some hints as to your ideas?


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

I'm in the process of building a scaled down haunted house. Right now it's measuring 7ft tall by about 6 feet wide. Will link a new post after I make a little more progress.


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

Heres a sneak peak of the haunted house I'm making this year (hopefully I finish in time!)


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## TosaTerror (Oct 1, 2015)

So far so good...how you getting that out the door?


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## sneakykid (Sep 19, 2010)

Wow so fun!! What kind of colors are you thinking?


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

Black and white siding. would love to have had more time to stain the surface like wooden slats but ran up against the deadline of Halloween! I literally set this up on Oct 31 last year right after the paint dried..


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

TosaTerror said:


> So far so good...how you getting that out the door?


Here's the link to the finished haunted house project Haunted House prop, lights up and folds away for storage, cardboard build


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## minicooper82 (Sep 13, 2008)

Might break this one back out again for 2017


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## sneakykid (Sep 19, 2010)

minicooper82 said:


> Might break this one back out again for 2017


YASSSSS. Please post pics of the set up!


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## wickedwillingwench (Sep 16, 2011)

minicooper82 said:


> Might break this one back out again for 2017


that is awesome!!!


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