We all know that creepy property at the end of the lane that … just … isn’t … quite … right. Normally, neighbors might complain about the gnarly trees that never quite leaf out, or how the house’s creaky beams can be heard at the end of the block when the wind blows – which is always. And let’s not even start about the ghosts!
But during the Halloween season, this house is an invaluable asset to the community. And now, with AtmosFX’s newest Halloween-themed decoration, Ghostly Mansion Decoration, you can be that house in mere minutes.
Ghostly Mansion, like Crypt of Creeps and last year’s Hall of Haunts, fills a need for many Halloween enthusiasts: longer-running decorations that focus on atmospherics as a way to really “set the scene” at a Halloween decoration display. All three do exactly that.
Of course, Ghostly Mansion adds a twist. While the other aforementioned decorations feature the interior of a crypt or a stately home, Ghostly Mansion highlights the exterior of a dilapidated residence. There’s still all the mesmerizing detail you’ve come to expect – hovering spirits, menacing manservants and even some startle scares. By providing a different visual perspective, decorators now have an additional tool when it comes to creating the perfect decoration display.
And speaking of that, there is one important thing to note about spirits you see materializing throughout Ghostly Mansion. They also haunt other AtmosFX Decorations! That gives you a great opportunity to develop themes and reinforce ideas elsewhere in your Halloween display. For instance, if a viewer spots the Brooding Butler (from Halloween Hosts Decoration Collection) answering the door in Ghostly Mansion, it is a great opportunity to place him elsewhere (perhaps as a 3DFX Form Display) elsewhere in your yard!
How might you use Ghostly Mansion at your home? Let us show you how!
Change the Perspective
When thinking about where to use Ghostly Mansion, ask yourself: How can I create an immersive haunted experience? The answer will give you some clues as to how best to use this new decoration. Let’s start Halloween parties and haunted houses.
If you are having a Halloween party, there’s probably no better way to create the feeling that everyone is trapped in haunted house than by using a television or monitor and disguising it as window that looks out into a blustery full-moon night, where the next-door house is having serious phantom-infestation problems. If that television is mounted on the wall, you are set – and if you add some curtains or even a fake window frame and panes to the television, you’ll really sell the effect.
This is also a killer technique for those who like to create haunted houses in their garage or home. The fake window instantly transports the haunted house visitor into another world where, once they enter, everything on the “outside” looks mind-blowingly different.
Similarly, you can create an equally creepy feel at a Halloween party by displaying Ghostly Mansion in your window – with a twist. We all know about using AtmosFX Window Projection Material in your window so people on the street will see it. How about reversing that? Place the material in your window and place your projector outside the house. Then, project Ghostly Mansion into the house, so partygoers will see it. This works especially well if the party room has a window that faces the backyard, so that nobody will see the effect when they arrive.
Create a Portal into a Haunted World
We always love seeing AtmosFX Decorations displayed in unique places and locations that surprise the viewer. (Or victim!) Tablets and unused smartphone screens have proven to be a great way to create a dynamic effect – in miniature.
For those who like to build Halloween Villages of countertops or mantles, Ghostly Mansion makes for a dynamic backdrop whether you project directly onto the surface behind the display, or if you display it on a tablet. Another common trick at many home Halloween displays (and haunted houses) is to create places where visitors can put their heads up to a viewfinder or peephole to peer into a carefully crafted scene. Imagine what they might think if they peer into the viewfinder to see Ghostly Mansion on display!
Speaking of looking into another world, don’t forget the AtmosFX Decorating Disc XL. Ghostly Mansion is optimized for the disc, meaning a version of the decoration can be displayed in a circular format. That means you can hang the disc just about anywhere and project onto it – it will instantly become a captivating decoration, indoors or out.
And if you want to blow people’s minds, consider creating a crystal ball, like we do here. When trick-or-treaters or partygoers look into it, if you are displaying Ghostly Mansion in a circular format, it will appear that they are peering into an haunted miniature world full of agitated phantoms!
Traditional Displays Work Well, too!
Everytime we say it, we laugh, because we know there is nothing “traditional” about AtmosFX Decorations. But you know what we mean: Even if you display Ghostly Mansion in the more common ways like in your windows or on surfaces, it will still gather a crowd.
This is particularly true with Surface Mode Projections. If you have a large bare wall at your Halloween party, place your projector up high (so viewers won’t get in the way of the projector’s beam) and display Ghostly Mansion. It will instantly create a sense of depth in the entire room.
The same is true outdoors. Display on your garage door or, better yet, IN your garage. As you can see from many of the examples listed above, anytime you can display Ghostly Mansion AND limit the peripheral vision of your viewer, you are instantly going to transport that person to another world. Display the decoration in the back of your garage, at the end of a haunted-house tunnel, even at the end of a long hallway. In every case, you’ll change the sense of perspective of the viewer, making it seem they’ve entered another realm.
And isn’t that exactly what you want to do every Halloween?
We know this is only the beginning of the great ways you can display Ghostly Mansion Decoration. How might you use this decoration? Show us by sending your photos and videos using this easy submission form!
