Creating an Indoor Halloween Atmosphere

Step 2 Set up black light

Set up the black light. The way my house is setup, I have the front door open up to a raised tile area, and then off to the side, there is a lower computer room. It is in this room where I put the black light. This way, the trick or treaters couldn’t actually see the black light bulb itself, but they could see the glow it produced on the white sheets. I always feel it is very bad for your atmosphere when setting up a haunted house to allow trick or treaters to see black lights. They hurt your eyes. The ultraviolet light is actually eating away layers of anything that glows. That’s why black lights making things glow, and if you notice, the whites of your eyes glow in black light. I don’t like looking at them for this reason, and besides it is better to have the glow coming mysteriously from some unknown source rather than from a seen light fixture.

Comments

[Meuryn]

"The ultraviolet light is actually eating away layers of anything that glows." ... um, no. The reason certain objects fluoresce under UV is because the substance absorbs the UV radiation, and this absorbed energy causes it to emit light, but this time in a visible part of the spectrum. There is certainly no "eating away"! With regards to your concern over black-lights being dangerous, they are actually harmless. Black-lights do not actually emit true UV radiation, if this was the case you would not see the purplish glow from the light itself as UV is not detectable with human eyes. They actually emit near-UV radiation, which is near enough to the UV end of the spectrum to enable UV fluorescence, but not at a high enough frequency to damage the eyes or cause other problems associated with true UV. Good Instructable though!

[firedrum]

Make sure before you hang the sheets you give them a run through the washing machine...Laundry soaps contain "bluing" which is added to make your clothes look brighter. Without being washed, it may not glow. Found this out when i made a ghost out of cheesecloth without washing it first. Had to put tide in a spray bottle. Porch was very slippery lol

[taraist]

You can buy just bluing in a bottle in the laundry section of stores. Perhaps a douse in that would make things extra glowy? I never knew that bluing caused glowing in black lights, thanks!

[firedrum]

Yes that would work quite well. I was unaware that they sold it separately. Unaware of the cost of it, but it is very expensive the laundry soap does its job. Although i'm sure that "true bluing' would probably give awesome results! Either way people....just make sure that u do one or the other. Other wise...very possible...no glow @ all!

[taraist]

It's about 4 dollars per 8oz bottle online, and I think I've seen it cheaper at the grocery store. You can also grow salt crystals with it!

[watermelonhead]

i'm going to use this sheet-blacklight method to cover up a baby gate at my halloween party. (the baby gate is to stop my puppies from going in the front room) great instructable!