Halloween Graveyard Show - Video

[caniac]

my question is how is the ghost illuminated? is there a light inside the ghost or is there a black light on it? or is a blue spot on it. inquiring minds want to know.

[PMC]

Black light, and when you want a whiter/brighter ghost you need to soak the cheesecloth in RIT Brightner for around 5 minutes and let it dry naturally, no dryer

[caniac]

PMC wrote:

Black light, and when you want a whiter/brighter ghost you need to soak the cheesecloth in RIT Brightner for around 5 minutes and let it dry naturally, no dryer

tube? bulb? or is there such thing as a black light flood?

[Guest guest]

caniac wrote:

PMC wrote:

Black light, and when you want a whiter/brighter ghost you need to soak the cheesecloth in RIT Brightner for around 5 minutes and let it dry naturally, no dryer

tube? bulb? or is there such thing as a black light flood?

I bought my blacklights at Wal-Mart, these were 24 inch flourescents with fixture and only $9.98. They sell these ALL YEAR ROUND, not just at Halloween, they can be found in the electrical/light bulb area. Last time I looked they were still $9.98 and that was just a coupole days ago.

The standard base Black Light bulbs usually don't work very well.

Yes, there is an Black Light Flood, Spirit Halloween Superstores sold them last year(2010), however they are NOT OUTDOOR friendly. I bought 3 of them, they get extremely HOT, and one evening when it rained, I had some nice EXPLODED Black Light Floodlamps and a lot of glass shards to clean up,that was the only GFCI trip I had. Removed the floodlight fixtures and the broken bulbs from the display all together and just added some white L.E.D. strings throughout my cemetery scene for illumination on light ground stakes.

I have seen outdoor rated black light spotlights, but they were extremely expensive (I think the last price I saw for one was like $120 for one bulb). Best to use any black light inside or make it as weather-proof from water and rain as much as possible.

Some folks will actually build a make-shift mausoleum for their crank ghosts for this very reason, then they just mount their interior blacklight and fixture on a wall, ceiling or floor below or above the ghost and out of sight.

[JHolmes]

That fire effect is pretty sweet
Never thought about using cloth fire before like that. Well done!

[caniac]

Orville wrote:

caniac wrote:

PMC wrote:

Black light, and when you want a whiter/brighter ghost you need to soak the cheesecloth in RIT Brightner for around 5 minutes and let it dry naturally, no dryer

tube? bulb? or is there such thing as a black light flood?

I bought my blacklights at Wal-Mart, these were 24 inch flourescents with fixture and only $9.98. They sell these ALL YEAR ROUND, not just at Halloween, they can be found in the electrical/light bulb area. Last time I looked they were still $9.98 and that was just a coupole days ago.

The standard base Black Light bulbs usually don't work very well.

Yes, there is an Black Light Flood, Spirit Halloween Superstores sold them last year(2010), however they are NOT OUTDOOR friendly. I bought 3 of them, they get extremely HOT, and one evening when it rained, I had some nice EXPLODED Black Light Floodlamps and a lot of glass shards to clean up,that was the only GFCI trip I had. Removed the floodlight fixtures and the broken bulbs from the display all together and just added some white L.E.D. strings throughout my cemetery scene for illumination on light ground stakes.

I have seen outdoor rated black light spotlights, but they were extremely expensive (I think the last price I saw for one was like $120 for one bulb). Best to use any black light inside or make it as weather-proof from water and rain as much as possible.

Some folks will actually build a make-shift mausoleum for their crank ghosts for this very reason, then they just mount their interior blacklight and fixture on a wall, ceiling or floor below or above the ghost and out of sight.

what would you recommend? this will be outside near a wooded area. there may be other lights or lighting effects and I want this piece to really stand out.

[Guest guest]

caniac wrote:

Orville wrote:

I bought my blacklights at Wal-Mart, these were 24 inch flourescents with fixture and only $9.98. They sell these ALL YEAR ROUND, not just at Halloween, they can be found in the electrical/light bulb area. Last time I looked they were still $9.98 and that was just a coupole days ago.

The standard base Black Light bulbs usually don't work very well.

Yes, there is an Black Light Flood, Spirit Halloween Superstores sold them last year(2010), however they are NOT OUTDOOR friendly. I bought 3 of them, they get extremely HOT, and one evening when it rained, I had some nice EXPLODED Black Light Floodlamps and a lot of glass shards to clean up,that was the only GFCI trip I had. Removed the floodlight fixtures and the broken bulbs from the display all together and just added some white L.E.D. strings throughout my cemetery scene for illumination on light ground stakes.

I have seen outdoor rated black light spotlights, but they were extremely expensive (I think the last price I saw for one was like $120 for one bulb). Best to use any black light inside or make it as weather-proof from water and rain as much as possible.

Some folks will actually build a make-shift mausoleum for their crank ghosts for this very reason, then they just mount their interior blacklight and fixture on a wall, ceiling or floor below or above the ghost and out of sight.

what would you recommend? this will be outside near a wooded area. there may be other lights or lighting effects and I want this piece to really stand out.

Caniac,

If I were to try this again I do believe I'd build some type of wooden boxed enclosure with a plexiglass front that would fit around the floodlamp socket. Drill some breathing holes, like said those black light floods get extremely hot, so allow air in/out flow from the box. And I'd probably add in a 120V~AC~ muffin style fan to pull the hot air out of the box. Then you'd have a nice little outdoor black light floodlight housing. I would also make these housings at least have 6" at a minumum around the diameter of the floodlight bulb itself. I would also use treated wood or treat the wood with a spray paint that also treated wood for the elements. I would also probably line the interior with aluminum foil, shiny side out as a reflector for inside the box for better illumination from these blacklight floods. Of course paint and treat, add aluminum foil and then secure the plexiglass lense. I'd probably make a track around the square and slightly bend the plexigas to get it to fit. This is so you can squeeze or pry it back out to change the bul when it finally burns out.

Hope this gives you some idea on how to make them a bit more weatherproof. Because once they are on and if water hits them, even just a few small drops, they go POP and explode glass all around the fixture and into the display area.

When mine exploded I had glass in a semi(half)-circle all around the front and sides of the floodlamp holder, these shards actually blew apart and were as far away as 4' from the floodlamp holders!:shock: If it weren't for the fact they blew outward toward the display, into an area I had covered with large river rock and the glass being dark purple, made it easy to find and clean up the shards of glass. Although any small pieces were probably buried between the rocks.

So, I'd definitely attempt building some sort of housing if I ever try to use the Spirit Halloween or any other store bought BlackLight Floods outside again.

Good Luck!

[james campbell]

cool video

[fhuggins98]

That was awsome!!!