Floating Holographic Heads & other Decorations

By buying a DVD called Big Scream TV, you can turn your TV into an impressive Haunted House or Halloween prop. Spending a little extra on props to embellish the effect makes it look even more impressive, but based on the cost of the DVD's themselves (about $10, depending on where you buy them ... see here for a link to eBay auctions for them) it is a very inexpensive way to create a dramatic look.

Links - Big Scream TV Official Site (includes a tips, examples of how it works, and a forum for users of the DVD) / other props and decorations

Costumes Update - Boohbahs, Bionicles, Sonic, JoJo & more

Boohbahs and Bionicles are new costume lines and are kind of hard to find. Boohbahs are based on the new TV show from the creators of the Teletubbies, and are strange looking furry blobs of energy. Bionicles are based on the LEGO Action Figures collection that has been popular for several years.

Sonic the Hedghog, based on the game and cartoon, is VERY hard to find, but I see there are a few nice ones available on eBay right now.

JoJo the Clown, from the new Disney Channel show JoJo's Circus, is also very hard to find, although a great version was sold through The Disney Store earlier this season.

CartoonCostumes.com has new links up for each of these, and also an adult costume ... The St Pauli Beer Girl

Links: Boohbah Costumes / Bionicle Costumes / Video Game Character Costumes (including Sonic) / JoJo Costumes / St. Pauli Girl Costumes / more JoJo's Circus stuff at GooShopping.com

Is Emily Lemony? ... and a way to transform your door

I see there are some new Emily the strange costumes, this year, and I never realized this before, but if you ditch the striped tights, she ends up looking a lot like Violet Baudelaire from the upcoming Lemony Snicket Movie, which, of course there are no costumes for.

Also, if you're looking for an idea for turning a storm door into a Halloween Decoration, check out the Eerie Entrance. It's a Halloween themed cardboard insert that replaces the screen or window, and has a pre-cut opening that lets you hand out candy without actually openinf the door.

Links - Emily the Strange Site / Emily the Strange Costumes / Eerie Entrance by Boko Ideas

Halloween History and Ghost Stories from the History Channel

HistoryChannel.com has a great section set up for Halloween that you should check out if you want to learn about the History of Halloween or if you'd like to find some good free Ghost Stories.

Other Halloween Links

A fun online "make your own costume" game / activity

Here's an early trest for you ... go to HalloweenHQ.com and click on the icon that says "create your own costume" ... it's a drag and click activity that's supposed to help people see what various costuming parts (wigs, noses, etc) will look like when worn together ... but it's also a pretty fun game.

More Pumpkin Carving - a tool and carvable foam

I just added a couple of new things to the Pumpkin Carving Page ... one is an electric tool by Dremel designed to make carving easier ... the other, called Funkins, is a collection of carvable foam pumpkins. You use them just like real ones, to carve your own designs, but you don't have to throw them away.

Free Pumpkin Carving Patterns

There are at least a couple of places online that are offering free pumpkin carving patterns (American Flag, George Bush, John Kerry, etc). I've put links to them up on a new Pumpkin Carving page that also includes carving tools and kits.

Who is this year's hottest new group of superheroes?

Hey maybe it'll turn out to be The Incredibles, but as far as Halloween Costumes go, I think it's the Teen Titans. The Teen Titans have been around for years but have only recently branched out from the comic book world, in a show now seen on the Cartoon Network. And this year, there is a series of costumes inspired by the show, including characters Robin, Cyborg and Raven.

Links -- Teen Titans at Cartoon Network / Teen Titans Costumes / Incredibles Costumes

Teletubbies Costumes

Kids just can't get enough of the Teletubbies, I guess, or maybe the parents can't. Anyway, it's interesting that there is still a thriving market for them, both on eBay and at traditional stores.

BTW, remember the Jerry Falwell / Tinky-Winky from a while back? You can relive a bit of it here & here (good grief, was it really five years ago?!).

Anyway, it's something you might want to think about if the kids will be trick or treating on Jerry's street this year.