When Arjan van G. of Delft, Netherlands, saw the Devilish Daughter individual decoration at a Dutch amusement park, his first thought was not “that’s terrifying.” Rather, it was “I need that for my house.” After all, apparently having an elaborate Pepper’s Ghost effect with an animatronic skeleton wasn’t quite enough chaos for his marvelously mischievous Halloween setup.
As part of a new Friday series, Weekend Prop Shop, we take a closer look at a few props you might create for your Halloween display over the weekend. First, Arjan’s startle scare display using UnLiving Portraits Decoration Collection.
Before we start with that, it is worth noting that Arjan’s existing Halloween display already featured an impressive Pepper’s Ghost illusion with a skeleton that appears seemingly from nowhere behind a portcullis gate, points at visitors, delivers a “trick or treat” warning, and then vanishes as the gate slams shut. It’s an elaborate setup that he built entirely himself and has been perfecting over time. (More on that shortly.)
Back to the startle scare. After spotting the Devilish Daughter from UnLiving Portraits, Arjan decided his display needed another layer of mischief in his own Halloween display. “I saw Devilish Daughter in a small amusement park last summer and knew I just had to add it to my rather elaborate ‘Skelly Pepper’s Ghost’ Halloween setup,” he tells us.
Longtime AtmosFX decorators are undoubtedly familiar with the technique – it has been a Halloween favorite for years. The concept is brilliantly simple: what appears to be an innocent Victorian portrait of a young girl hangs on the wall, drawing curious visitors closer to examine it. Then, at precisely the right moment, the portrait transforms as the Devilish Daughter reveals her true demonic nature – complete with a jump scare that sends people reeling backward.
Want to learn more about the motion-sensor effects? Check out this article Digital Decorating 101: Creating Startle Scares.
Making the effect work required a small amount of technical skill. Here’s how he did it.
“I had just the right spot for the Devilish Daughter so I made a custom frame to house an 18.5-inch portable monitor with a matte display finish,” Arjan explains. By embedding the monitor within a custom frame that had a matte display finish, he eliminated the telltale glare that can sometimes give away the digital nature of the portrait.
The real genius is in the timing. Arjan added a manual control so he could trigger the scare at exactly the right moment. “I added a 433 MHz receiver and edited the footage a tiny bit and with a bit of programming this allowed me to start the jumps care at any point in the video loop manually using a keyfob.”
This control lets Arjan wait until visitors are fully absorbed in examining the portrait before unleashing the transformation. “The effect it had on people was awesome, lots of fingers pointing and ‘look at that painting, it’s moving,’” he says. “And then came the jump scare!”
If you don’t want to use a keyfob, many decorators will use a motion sensor media player which will also trigger the startle scare. Simply tuck the motion sensor in a spot near the portrait and wait for the art-lovers to approach. The AtmosFX Decoration will automatically trigger the startle scare and then re-set for the next victim. There’s no need to edit any footage when you take this route.
It’s worth noting, too, that UnLiving Portraits also has a mode where three portraits engage with the other — creating mischief and havoc amongst themselves. Many decorators will choose to mount all three portraits behind a false wall, allowing them to attract viewers who become transfixed by the character’s antics.
Now, just for fun, another video of Arjan’s display, with the Skelly Pepper’s Ghost setup — just because we like it. We’ll talk more about the Pepper’s Ghost effect in a future Weekend Prop Shop article.
The combination of his Pepper’s Ghost skeleton and the portrait jump scare creates a multi-layered experience where visitors never quite know what to expect next – exactly the kind of uncertainty that makes great Halloween displays memorable.
You can see more of Arjan’s haunt work on his YouTube channel under the handle Scary Smurf, where he shares additional projects and effects from his elaborate Halloween setup.
Don’t forget that you can find a ton of great decorating ideas, props and otherwise, in the AtmosFX Hall of Fame! And make sure to send your photos and videos of your props using this simple online form. You’ll earn points for use in the AtmosFX online store just for submitting, and if you’re selected, you’ll win a free decoration collection!
