Call it Hansel, call it Gretel, add some adults and call it Hocus Pocus! This illusion costume got a lot of praise and alot of laughs when ppl finally wrapped their brain around what they were looking at.

Update: A lot of houses gave him double the candy when trick or treating, even after he admitted it was just him.

Step 1: Gather Supplies Needed

I started this step a few months early so prices were a bit better.

What I needed:

Witchy looking mask (old man mask)

Classic witch costume

long black gloves

pvc pipe and fittings

zip ties

paper to stuff dummy with

duct tape

2 turtle necks

silver spray paint

child's pants

child's shoes

1 regular tshirt

1 too big tshirt

2 shoulder straps from gym bags

power drill

Step 2: Create Dummy

I used my son as the mold for the dummy. You can use anyone as long as the witch costume will fit them.

1. Put turtle neck on model

2. Not too tightly wrap model in duct tape (arms, torso, neck)

3. Cut model out of duct tape by going up the back and down the arms carefully. You'll be cutting through both the tape and the turtle neck.

4. After it has been removed from your model, tape the cut lines closed and stuff with paper.

5. Stuff the hands of then long black gloves with paper and shape to look semi-realistic.

6. Slide the gloves around the dummy arms and duct tape in place

7. Duct tape a foam head into place (we actually used to a cosmetology head my sister had, but a foam head would be lighter)

8. Put the 2nd turtle neck on the dummy to cover duct tape

9. Dress dummy in witches costume

10. Put mask on foam head

11. I used a hot glue gun to glue witches hat into place

I got this section more or less from https://www.instructables.com/id/Kidnapped-Mermaid-Costume/step2/Make-the-Pirate/

Step 3: Build PVC Cage

This step will depend on the height of the wearer. You want the bottom of the cage to sit right below the hips and the top of the cage should be tall enough so the wearer's head doesn't stick out. I do wish we had made this a bit narrower. We omitted the top of the cage due to weight concerns.

The back of the cage is left open to allow for the illusion.

Don't glue into place yet, the bottom bars will need to pass through the witch's skirt

We build a stand to support the dummy onto the back of the cage with more pvc. No need to paint that

Drill holes in the pvc before painting. Drill holes where the hands will be attached with zip ties. Also drill holes in the back corners where the straps will be attached via zip ties. I drilled one on each side of each back corner to help with balance.

Spray paint cage

Step 4: Finishing Touches

Get dummy situated on the stand

Run zip ties through the bottom corner holes to make loops.

Cut a slit in the front of the witch's skirt to allow wearer to slip through.

Cut two small slits in the sides of the skirt to allow cage to pass through. Take the pipe out of the fitting, slide through skirt and reattach on each side. I then glued the pipes in place so the dummy wouldn't gradually shift backward.

Cut two small slits in the palm of each glove, just large enough to allow zip ties to pass through. Attach to cage via pre-drilled holes.

Cut out cardboard fitting for the fake legs to sit on.

I shaped the legs out of rolled paper and duct tape, then slid into the shoes and jeans.