Thursday, October 31, 2013

Halloween Projection: Cloudy with a Chance of Ghosts

Happy Halloween, everyone.  In addition to my love for garage and estate sales, I also have a passion for Halloween.  Occasionally, the streams cross.  Such was the case last weekend. 

I had been looking for a new feature for my Halloween decorations and had come across these projectors from holidayprojector.com.  Essentially, they are rear-projection systems you can place in a window and gives the illusion of ghosts walking around in your house.  The kits cost $269, way more than I was willing to spend on a Halloween prop.

Coincidentally enough, I spied a similar projector in an ad for an estate sale in Des Peres, Missouri.  That's a little bit further than I usually drive, but I was hoping for a bargain.  As it turned out, they wanted $45 for it.  I checked ebay and found with shipping, the same projector costs between $25 and $30.  I told the person running the sale this and despite it being the first day of the sale, they dropped the price to $20 on the spot.






Having secured the projector, I ordered the Ghostly Appartions DVD from Atmosfear FX.  It was pretty pricey at $40, but since I'd gotten a deal on the projector, I justified it.

The next thing I needed was a screen.  The kit contained a sheet of mylar.  You can order them separately for $20 online, but I was short on time.  I tried a white bedsheet and worked fine (cost $10).

I hung the sheet in my sons' bedroom window in the front of our house and projected from their bunk beds.  There are options to project horizontal or vertical.  I chose vertical to fill up one side of the window, which is why the projector is on its side in the above pictures.

The effect is pretty good.  Here's a video I shot.  I don't have a great camera for low light, so it's a little blurry at times, but you get the idea.




It's premiering tonight.  Currently, it's pouring rain here in St. Louis.  Hopefully, it will let up for Trick or Treating.

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