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The Haunted Library Click for a larger view.
Haunted Library Click for a larger view.
A
fresh from the grave skeleton sits in his drawing room reading his favorite Poe poems while his pet cat and raven listen with interest. Around him poltergeists play with the books on his bookshelf, make his family portrait bleed and write ominous messages on the wall.

The animated elements include a skeleton with jaw movement and head pan and tilt movement. A raven that turns its head left and right. A black cat that wags its tail. A haunted bookshelf whose books move in and out. A portrait with a 3D skeleton face that bleeds. An appearing message. The entire scene is controled by a PC..

Raven Click for a larger view.
The raven (actually a crow) is a hollow feather covered prop with plastic beak and feet. Ours was purchased from an after halloween sale but a similar prop is available from BuyCostumes.ComAF. Since the prop was hollow it was a relatively simple matter to decapitate the bird and fasten its head to standard R/C servo. The servo is hidden in its body and the servo leads exit near its legs and run into the bird stand. The stand was made from PVC pipe with a wood base. Plaster skulls were added for decoration. Watch a flash movie of the Raven in action.

Bleeding Portrait Click for a larger view.
The bleeding portrait was created by combining a bleeding skull maskAF with a portrait from the Goul Gallery of Scene Setters. The blood is water, food coloring and a small amount of UV dye contained in an enclosed plastic bottle behind the portrait. The blood is circulated using a small 120V submersible pump. When the portrait is bleeding it is illuminated with a UV lamp giving the blood a slight glow. The portrait in action.

Haunted Bookcase Click for a larger view.
Haunted Bookcase Click for a larger view.
The bookcase is an example of a cam driven haunted bookcase where the books slide in and out of the shelf. The bookcase was built with the help of the instructions provieded by DemonWare, Little Eddie Productions and Chris's Crypt. The bookcase was decorated with some plaster half skulls, a couple of glow in the dark skullsAF lit by red LEDs and a skull candle, made with a plastic skullAF, some books, a short length of pvc pipe and a flicker bulb, sits on top. The bookcase in action.

Secret Message Click for a larger view.
The appearing message is a simple but effective addition. A cryptic message is written on the wall using invisble U/V paint. At random intervals a U/V light is turned on for a short period. If a white light is also directed onto the message very little of the purple from the U/V light will be visible. Much less than the pictures would suggest. We got our U/V paint from Performance PCs but similar products are available from a number of dealers.

Black Cat Click for a larger view.
The black cat was made by adding a tail mechanism and green LED eyes to a plush black cat toy. Locating a suitable stuffed cat proved more difficult than we thought, so despite adding fangs and a bloody mouse, the cat ended up looking more friendly than frightful. It will be swapped out as soon as a more suitable replacement is found.A Flash movie of the cat.

Sekelton Click for a larger view.
Sekelton Click for a larger view.
The skeleton is a 4th quality bucky skeleton from Anatomical Chart Company.. It had a servo added to the inside of its skull to animate mouth movements and a two servo pan and tilt mechanism was created to animate skull movements. Bucky was dressed in a dapper fresh from the grave tuxedo and stringy gray hair was added (the hair helped to hide the pan/tilt mechanism and balancing springs). Bucky in action.

 

Control Electronics Click for a larger view.
The control system electronics is composed of a Pontech SV203 controller board, a Scary Terry audio servo driver board from Cowlacious Designs and 12V relay driver circuits for each of the 120V props (portrait, bookcase, secret message). The scene is controlled via a PC using a custom program and is triggered using a PIR motion detector.
Control Interface Click for a larger view.
When motion is detected the software randomly selects on of three Poe poems (The Raven, Alone, and Annabel Lee). The poems are from the Edgar Allan Poe Audio Collection and are read by Basil Rathbone. The audio is played within the control program and is sent out from the computer to the Scary Terry board and then to an amplified computer speaker buried in Bucky's chest. Each poem has a script, linked to the timing of the audio, to control the on and off timing of the props and Bucky's head movement. To simplify the control board and to increase the flexibility of the use of the props the relay control circuit for the 120V props is included in the prop itself. Logic voltage from SV203 board trips the 12V DC relay which in turn activates the prop. A schematic of the relay control circuit is available.

 

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