We Made Chicken Wire Ghosts!

Happy Tuesday, foolish mortals. WELCOME... to my first Haunted Mansion Halloween post of 2022.

These are your hosts. Your... GHOST... hosts.

And also what we're making today.

Yep, despite the blistering heat and monsoon-level humidity here in Orlando, John and I are in full spoopy brain-space. We picked a new theme for our outside decor this year: HAUNTED MANSION - and I'm so excited to brainstorm with you over which projects and costumes we should make!

First, though, is something I've wanted to try ever since seeing the jaw-dropping creations of Brandon Hardy: chicken wire ghosts.

We started with a small roll of chicken wire, a mannequin we bought on FB Marketplace for $25, and a Styrofoam head. (The foam heads run small, so I recommend using the male one.) You'll also need wire cutters, gloves, eye protection, a silicon thimble (which was a LIFE SAVER), and a spool of extra wire for making connections.

While you could easily do this without a mannequin, the torso is super helpful for getting all those tricky curves just right:

In fact the torso is the only piece we used; no need for the arms or legs. We wrapped, squished, and trimmed off the excess chicken wire in the back.

Same process for the head: wrap & squish the wire around the foam head, then trim off the excess and close up the back.

When you cut your chicken wire aim for the middle of each row, so you have wire ends you can bend/twist together to join with other pieces. Then add wire twists anywhere you need extra support.

This was for the skirt. We started with a smaller form-fitting skirt, then added on pieces to give it volume.

I adore Rachel Maksy - and highly recommend her ghost video - but her process is pure chaos gremlin and hard to follow, haha. So mostly we squinted at her end product sleeves and tried to match them.

Our one roll of chicken wire got us this far:

I gotta say, this was pretty exciting for a first try! You'll see later I go back and re-work her hands and hair, but overall she's good to go.

That was the week before Dragon Con, so last week we dove back in with a larger roll of wire to make our ghost a dancing partner.

I *highly* recommend working on a plastic table like this, btw. The chicken wire could easily scratch your wood tables or floors, so be careful!

For our next ghost we didn't use a mannequin at all: instead we started with what look like a big body pillow:

Next we added a head and thin tubes for arms.

My favorite part was making the pants: they're two larger tubes, with the top section left open and joined together:

Like so. (Surprisingly sturdy, too; he almost stands on his own, just a little tippy.)

The torso - which we made freakishly long to look like a suit jacket - slots over the pants to give the illusion of a higher waist.

Although I just realized the overlap also kinda looks like his boxers under there.

::head tilt:: Huh.

We'll call that a bonus.

:D

Once the body's structure was done we started adding fun details like the hat, collar, ascot, and hands. Well, the hands weren't fun; those are HARD. I ended up making sort of open-ended mittens and calling it a day.

I also re-did the lady ghost's hair roll and added a top bun:

This is very much a "trust the process" DIY, especially with top hat ghost. He looked so boxy and wrong for the majority of the build, it wasn't til the very end that we liked him at all.

I'm still debating adding a short cape or jacket tails to give him something more flowy.

These end photos are directly off my phone; no editing at all! We just set the pair in front of our closed curtains and turned on one of those LED flood lights I keep raving about.

Playing with different lighting colors:

 I like the purple best:

Here's an outside test from when we had just the one:

We'll also have a fog machine going on Halloween. Awww yeeeeeeah.

 

What I'm most excited about with these dancers is we can leave them outside, so we'll actually have some decor up BEFORE Halloween night. Usually our builds are so fragile we have to set it all up the day of. This year we're aiming to have at least a few elements that are sturdier, so the house will look more spirited through October.

Now, please, HELP US BRAINSTORM. What do you want to see for our Haunted Mansion Halloween? Which elements are a must-have? What costumes should we and our friends wear? (Keep in mind it's 80+ degrees here at Halloween, so nothing too sweaty!)

Oh, and should we make more chicken wire ghosts, to replicate the ballroom scene, or should we just have a spot light on these two and leave room for other, bigger builds?

Speaking of, I'm too friggin' excited to keep our next big project a secret, so hold onto to your severed heads, boos: we're planning to use our thestral to make a (skeleton) horse-drawn Doom Buggy. A one-horse open SLAY, if you will. Except it'll have wheels. ;)

Our inspiration comes from Victorian hansom cabs, which already have a similar feel to the ride vehicle Doom Buggies:

In fact I have to wonder if this was the inspo for the ride vehicles to begin with.

Ours will be an interpretation, of course, and we're HOPING to make our Doom Buggy a photo opp the neighborhood kids can sit in. Stay tuned! There's no turning back now.

*****

If you're new here and love Halloween, be sure to check out our Ghostbusters year with a life-sized Stay Puft head, and last year's big Beetlejuice build, complete with an ENORMOUS candy-spitting Sand Worm. Needless to say we've been bitten by the Halloween bug, and every year we go a little bigger.




Also if you like the silly stuff we do and feature here on Epbot, and want to help fund the fun, you can support me and John through Paypal! Whether it's a one time tip or a monthly donation, every little bit helps us keep pouring our time and hearts into this little corner of the internet, so thank you, truly.


::GHOST HUGS::