Graveyard Fence
-
The graveyard we set up every Halloween covers over 3600 square
feet. The gothic entrance way and fence columns were bought from
an on-line source. We built the simulated wrought-iron
fence itself - Check back to see our "Simulated Wrought-Iron
Fence" plans and instructions coming soon. Small pieces of Spanish Moss
are added around
the base of the fence. Artificial ivy garlands are used to
further enhance the idea of an overgrown and untended
graveyard, these are available from craft stores.. We then use a Cobweb
Spinner or Cobwebs in a Can to spray webs over many, but not all parts of
the fence.
Burial Mounds -
We have a small truck-load of dirt brought in from a local
landscaper and use it to
make six to eight inch high burial mounds for about a
third of our tombstones. These mounds give the impression of
fresh graves in the graveyard. We then scatter old
leaves and twigs around the area to give it that
untended look.
Tombstones - We
use over two dozen high quality tombstones and monuments
bought from
both Halloween retail stores and on-line stores,
attaching some of them to the ground at angles or slightly crooked.
All of them are lightly dusted with fine dust. We add some small pieces of
Spanish Moss around the bottoms of some of the tombstones
and even glue a very small amount to a few of the
tombstones. We then use a Cobweb Spinner on most of the
tombstones to add webs from the tombstones to the ground. On
one of the tombstones we attach an artificial raven to the top as
thought he was watching over that grave.
Lights - We illuminate our graveyard with blue
colored outdoor flood lights that are hidden from the view of
passing trick or treaters. The pumpkin patch in the back
area is illuminated
with three small orange colored flood lights.
At the very back
of our graveyard and behind the trees, we place a lightning
generator. This is a very creepy effect
and even has timed sound effects.
Fog - We place three small fog machines each with a
Fog Chiller attached that make "ground hugging" fog in the
graveyard (visit
Got Fog!
for their Fog Chiller plans). These fog machines are all on
automatic timers and hidden behind some of our larger
tombstones. A larger fog machine is hidden at the very back
of the graveyard to produce a thin veil of fog in the air.
Sounds Effects - A CD player is hidden at the back of the
graveyard in a tree and set to auto-repeat. We use a special
effects CD that has night sounds on it such as wind, an owl
hooting, crickets, occasional thunder, etc.
Halloween Only
has a great selection of sound effects CD's.
Pumpkin Patch - We even build a fake pumpkin patch towards
the back of the graveyard using artificial pumpkins and
vines. A large selection of artificial pumpkins and vines can usually be bought at craft
stores during the fall months.
