Introduction: Reaching Hands - Halloween Prop
This is an easy little project. It's basically, hands that appear to be reaching down from the ceiling trying to grab you. It's great prop for your Halloween party or haunted garage.
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Step 1: Parts You Will Need
The following is a list of parts you will need to make this project:
1) A small oscillating fan.
2) Fake Hands
3) Black Plastic Sheeting.
4) strong fishing line, string, or duct tape
5) Mounting equipment
- I used a small piece of rope & two drywall screws to hold up the fan.
I found a fan for $5 at a local "Big Lots". Although, it's actually hard to find a fan where I live in the Fall. The remove all the fans from the shelves and replace them with heaters. So, make sure you plan in advance.
The hands, I was able to get from work. I work at a hospital that does prosthetics. A lot of times they have extra hands and feet that were damaged and can't be used to make the prosthetics, so I end up with a ton of feet and hands, perfect for a haunted house. I had to settle for 2 left hands. People usually don't notice in a dimly lit area.
The Black Plastic Sheeting can be found in any pretty much any hardware store. I picked mine up at Wal-Mart in the paint department. It cost me $7.99 for a 25 foot roll. It's also great for making black walls in a haunted house
Step 2: Hook the Hands to the Fan
The first thing you'll need to do is hook the hands to both sides of the fan. Since the hands I used were more like gloves, I was able to use fishing line.
Tie both hands to either side of the fan. Make sure you don't get the line tied up in the fan blades. If fishing line doesn't work on your fake hands, you may need to result to duct tape.
Step 3: Mount the Fan on the Ceiling
Since the base of the fan doesn't actually mount to the ceiling, you'll have to find a beam or wall to mount it to, just so the fan is blowing downward, and still able to oscillate from side to side.
Luckily my patio is framed in on the ceiling, so it makes it pretty easy for me. If this doesn't work for you, you may need another mounting method.
Step 4: Cover Fan With Black Sheeting
The next step is to loosely cover the fan with black plastic sheeting. This sheeting comes in rolls of 25 feet at Wal-Mart. I use it for the walls of my haunted house, so I had some scraps left over to help cover up the fan.
Staple the plastic sheeting around the fan, allowing room for the fan to move back & forth. Also, obviously leave holes for the hands to poke through.
Step 5: Turn on the Fan and Enjoy!
Thanks for checking this out!
- Greg
14 Comments
14 years ago on Introduction
how dose this work?
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
The fan rotates side to side, making the arms raise/lower. If the fan were in normal position, the hands would move left and right instead of up and down.
14 years ago on Introduction
I would put something like burlap or paper towles over it, then paint it to look like decaying flesh,over the plastic bag.Cool Instructable.
15 years ago on Introduction
You could even fill the arms with a little fake blood and let it drip down while they are moving.... or set up a drip tank :D
15 years ago on Introduction
hmm...I just might have to try that this year...very nice. one thing, I noticed that the arms looked a little deflated. maybe, to fluff them up put some cotton or some other lightweight material? or if you like the deflated look thats fine too. never the less a GREAT idea!
15 years ago on Introduction
Wow thats a really smart idea but i don't think I can do anything to improve it
15 years ago on Introduction
very cool! Dont suppose you would consider obtaining some of the prosthetic rejects and selling them to fellow amateur haunt makers? Not sure what your work does with them...
15 years ago on Introduction
Haha! This is pretty cool and really easy, my favorite. Good work!
15 years ago on Introduction
You should try pneumatic motion activated actuators. So when someone walks by they pop out to get you!
15 years ago on Step 5
This is a capital idea! The video shows the effect splendidly. I'll def be using this idea in the haunted mineshaft/maze in my garage this Halloween. Thanks for posting!
15 years ago on Introduction
Sweet! Add a strobe light and those could be scary.
15 years ago on Introduction
Nice! I'd have never thought of using a fan for that! Ingenuous!
15 years ago on Introduction
Very neat...I'd love to see these in the dark.
15 years ago on Introduction
AWSOME!