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Ever wondered how our spooky effects are created? Well now you can go behind the scenes for a sneaky peek at how our animatronic halloween props work!
Haunted
Opening
Coffin
A
life-size coffin prop which opens animatronically, complete with sounds and
strobe lighting effects, when a visitor walks up the path.
How Does it Work?
The coffin is a complex combination of motion and sound sensors. As a trick-or-treater
walks up the path, the motion sensor in the mouth of the Halloween Experience
goblin entrance sign detects them, and switches on a CD player inside the
coffin. After an initial five second delay for the player to cue the CD up, the
sound is played. This in turn is detected by the sound sensor, which switches on
the lighting inside, and also the motor which slides the lid off halfway. The
internal lighting consists of a strobe and a sideways mounted mirrorball, which
sends vertical streams of light up and out of the coffin, which gives a great,
spooky effect. When the sound effect is finished, the sound detector turns the
lighting off again, and the motion detector resets, waiting for the next group
of visitors to approach the garden.
13 Hour Clock
An animatronic pendulum clock with fast spinning hands and swinging pendulum.
How Does it Work?
A motor and cog system spins the hands round with a simple motor drive, and the
pendulum is driven by a rotating wheel with the drive shaft mounted of the edge
of it. The diagram to the left shows the gear layout.
Shaking
Gravestones
Gravestones which shake and rock backwards and
forwards as though something is trying to get out from underneath them.
How Does it Work?
Two cardboard gravestones are fixed with elastic to a backboard, which
contains two rotating wheels, with rods of irregular lengths. The rods touch
the back of the gravestones, and as they rotate, the gravestones are pushed
out by these and quickly pulled back in by the elastic. The rotating rods
make the gravestones rattle and shake violently, producing an unnerving
effect in the dark.
A candelabra with glowing flames mysteriously floats around in mid-air, with no visible human support.
How Does it Work?
This is probably our most simplistic effect, in that the candelabra is
suspended on thin black thread in the trees, with a rotating motor making it
float up and down. The wind blows it around making it twirl and tilt as it
floats. The glowing flames are created by a concealed ultra-violet light in
the tree, as anything white will glow under this.
A skeleton which dangles upside down from the porch and swings backwards and forwards wildly.
How Does it Work?
A simple motor makes the skeleton swing backwards and forwards. Similar to the pendulum mechanism in the clock, the motor consists of a gear with a rotating arm which slides the skeleton arm backwards and forwards. The skeleton itself is made from cardboard as it is lightweight, and also the arms and head are pivoted with fasteners so the momentum of the swing keeps the skeleton's arms dangling around.
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