Thursday, October 12, 2023

Something Stirring

There are stirring Witch props, and then there are stirring Witch Props.

Dear Lord!

Click below to see The Riggs Coven's Mother Witch in action:


Posted by Rot at 8:21 AM
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4 comments:

Haunted Eve said...

That prop definitely an impressive stirring motion. We've often contemplated having one or two home built animated props in our haunts but the logistics with weather and just having a successful/realistic looking range of motion (like that stirring witch is) always seems too daunting. Back in 2011 we had purchased an animated "Gatekeeper" prop from Spirit Halloween. The arm holding the lantern (lantern worked on batteries) was on a constantly moving motor, but the light up eyes and the random talking voice were motion activated. We had painstakingly positioned the prop along our walkway/front porch so that when trick-or-treaters approached it would activate. We tested it multiple times during the day on Halloween, but as the sun set and temperatures dropped the motion sensor stopped working, so no light up eyes or talking voice when trick-or-treaters walked up to our porch. It was a huge disappointment on our end, especially considering we paid like $140 for it back in 2011. And it turned out it had to do with the cold temperatures that night or the low light because after Halloween it was working again. We basically said "Nope!" to animated props after that debacle. Sometimes the urge to have one resurfaces but as you once wrote about your philosophy regarding static props, we feel that static props have their own magic and can actually be quite scary because there's an air of uncertainty regarding the prop to haunt visitors. It's fun to watch trick-or-treaters and even their parents/chaperones approach with caution, unsure what to expect from the prop, or if it's even a prop and not actually someone in a costume.

October 12, 2023 at 10:16 AM
Rot said...

Definitely on the same page. Animation was always very appealing to me, but so risky...as I would love to do an actual stirring witch prop, as it's my personal favorite motion due to how logical it is...a witch would stir all night long. The floating flying crank ghost is a close second...here's to whomever invented those things. Legends.

October 12, 2023 at 10:35 AM
MR. Macabre said...

I agree, I've never acquired any animatronic props because of the expense, and because they're not realistic enough for me. You know it's not real the instant you see it.
With static props, you do see people who are unsure whether or not it's a real person. In years past, I'd put on my old man corpse mask and just stand in the front yard without moving for a period of time. I'd wait until some kids were walking by on the sidewalk staring at me, and all it took to freak them out was to turn my head to follow them as they went by.
It was awesome.
I love this time of year.

October 12, 2023 at 4:33 PM
Evil Vines Cemetery said...

Legends, indeed! Thank you to those early home haunters that paved the way for me!

November 14, 2023 at 4:59 PM

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