Here's a spooky effect
that works great for a Halloween Haunted House or
your Halloween party. For
this effect we like to use a material called Creepy
Cloth. While available in several different colors,
the off-white is the only color that will glow well
under a blacklight.
Click here for more information on Creepy Cloth.
Alternately, you could buy
inexpensive white cotton curtains, just don't buy those
made of a synthetic material as the
phosphor's in the
"RIT
Whitener/Brightener"
will not absorb into these types of material. Or you
could make your own curtains using old cotton bed
sheets.
While white materials tend
to glow a little bit under blacklight naturally, we like them to
really glow brightly, so we begin by pre-treating them with
"RIT
Whitener/Brightener" because of this product's high
level of phosphor's
that is reactive to ultraviolet light.
Fill a container large
enough to hold the amount of Creepy Cloth that you
will be using for curtains with
water to completely cover them.
A large plastic tub
or bucket works great for this. Mix
in a box of "RIT Whitener/Brightener" and stir until
it is completely dissolved in the water.
Immerse the Creepy Cloth
or what ever material you are using, into the solution
and let it soak for about an hour, stirring
occasionally. Remove the curtains from the solution
and wring out as much of the liquid as you can. Don't
rinse the solution out of
the material or the
phosphor's that will make it glow will be removed.
Hang the Creepy Cloth pieces outside on a clothes
line until they are
completely dry.
The
fluorescent curtains are now
ready to be hung over windows and/or doorways using thumb tacks or
adhesive tape. Just remember that tape may leave
behind adhesive reside and thumb tacks will leave
small holes in your wall when they are removed. For
trick or treaters, place these on the outside of
your windows. For a Halloween party or when you are
inviting visitors into your home, hang them on the
inside of your windows.
Next, you will want to
position your black lights in such a way that the
ultraviolet light is directed onto the treated
curtains, but so that the black light units cannot
be seen by your guests. Do not place the blacklight
so near to the curtains or any other flammable material that it could become a fire
hazard. As an added effect, we place a small
oscillating fan behind the curtain to cause them
to gently move as if by some unknown and possibly
malevolent force.
After Halloween, just
fold them up and store in zip-lok bags until next
Halloween.
