Halloween Online - The Internet's largest resource for quality Halloween information, articles, instruction and entertainment.

HALLOWEEN BUYING GUIDE          HALLOWEEN IN THE NEWS          HALLOWEEN 2016           HOME

Halloween Guide and Ideas

MAIN CONTENTS

Featured Halloween Articles Featured Articles
The latest Halloween articles from the staff of Halloween Online.
Halloween Costumes Halloween Costumes
Halloween Costumes, Halloween Masks and Makeup ideas.
Halloween Decorations Halloween Decorations
Halloween decorations you can make or buy for the spookiest night.
Halloween Recipes Halloween Recipes
Our cookbook filled with Halloween recipes, tasty tricks and treats.
Halloween Games Halloween Games
Spooky Halloween games adaptable for both kid's and adults.
Halloween Party Planning Halloween Party
Halloween Party planning and ideas for your festivities.
Halloween Safety Guide Halloween Safety
S
afety information, tips and suggestions for a safe Halloween.
Halloween Tips 101 Halloween Tips
That's right, 101 great Halloween tips, ideas and suggestions!
Halloween Props & Special FX Halloween Props
Spooky Special Effects and Props for your Halloween haunt.
Pumpkin Carving Pumpkin Carving
Pumpkin carving tips for carving your Halloween Jack O' Lanterns.
Halloween Music & Movie Reviews Movies & Music
Suggestions for the best Halloween music and Halloween movies.
Halloween Crafts Halloween Crafts
Halloween craft ideas and instructions for lots of Halloween fun.
High Tech Halloween High-Tech Halloween
Ghostly gadgets for your computer, cell-phone, Palm Pilot and more!
Halloween Guide and Ideas
 
Halloween Guide and Ideas

THINGS IN A COFFIN


There are a lot of things you can place in a coffin to make it even creepier than it already is. All of the things below have been used with the "Toe Pincher Coffin", but you can use just about any other coffin or casket.

Skeleton in the Coffin
Halloween Coffin and SkeletonPlace a full size skeleton such as a Bucky Skeleton inside the coffin. Attach fishing line to the outside edge of the coffin lid and run through one or more eyelets screwed into the ceiling. When trick or treaters approach, pull the line from a distance, and the coffin lid will open.

If you want the coffin standing up, instead of laying flat, you will need to attach the skeleton to the back of the coffin so that it stands up. We drilled two small holes about two inches apart in the back-board where the top of the spinal column would be.

We then laid the skeleton in the coffin and used a black colored zip-tie to attach it around the spine and through the holes. Since the Bucky skeleton comes white in color, you will probably want to "distress" it, so that it looks old. Click here for our article describing how to age/distress a skeleton.

Corpse in the Coffin
Halloween Coffin and CorpseProbably the most common thing you would actually find in a coffin would be a rotted or desiccated corpse. We made a bed of hay on in the coffin and placed a homemade corpse on top of it. Click here to read the "How to Make a Corpse" article.

If you plan on having the coffin in a standing up position, you will need to skip the hay and attach the corpse to the back of the coffin so that it stands up.

We drilled two small holes in the back-board of the coffin where the top of the spinal column would be and ran fishing line through and around the neck to hold it in place.

The Vampire's Coffin
Halloween Vampire CoffinHere's an old classic. With the coffin is laying on a flat, solid surface, or if the coffin is standing up, place it against a wall for stability.
Dress as a vampire and lay or stand in the coffin. When visitors approach, open the lid and greet them. Check out these articles for  vampire costumes and vampire makeup ideas.

Or, you could place a full size vampire prop like the one pictured to the right, inside the coffin and use it as a static Halloween prop. For an added touch, we set the coffin on top of two painted plaster pedestals to act as a stand.

These can be bought in the Home & Garden section in some department stores or at you local nursery.

Coffin Full of Bones
Coffin of BonesPlace the coffin on a sturdy stand and partially fill with Styrofoam chips or other suitable material to reduce the amount of bones you will need to fill the coffin. Fill the Halloween coffin up the rest of the way with skulls and bones.

Bulk bags of realistic skulls and bones are available from The Skeleton Store. If you want it to look particularly gory, splatter and spray the bones with red paint.
 

Coffin Full of Body Parts
Halloween Body PartsFor a really gruesome display, fill the coffin up with an assortment of fake body parts such as severed arms, legs, torso's, heads, etc. We were able to get one torso, four arms, four legs, two heads and a couple of extra hands and feet inside the coffin.

 You can either leave the lid closed and encourage visitors to look inside or securely prop the lid open. We bought our body parts at a local Halloween store, but you can also buy them online.

The Mummy's Coffin
Halloween Mummy PropWith the coffin is laying on a flat, solid surface, or if the coffin is standing up, place it against a wall for stability.
Dress as a mummy and lay or stand in the coffin very still.

When trick or treaters approach, open the lid and greet them. You could also place a mummy prop inside the coffin and lightly dust with fullers earth.

Or, you could place a full size mummy prop inside the coffin, add some cob webs and use it as a static Halloween prop. We covered a Bucky skeleton with strips of aged cloth for a great mummy prop. Click here for some Mummy costume ideas.
 

Coffin Full of Treats
Halloween CandySet the coffin on a stand and securely prop the lid open. Fill with an assortment of Halloween treats
. We did this with the Toe Pincher coffin on our front porch, yes we get a lot of trick or treaters. We bought a sheet of four inch thick Styrofoam insulation and cut out two pieces to fit inside the coffin to reduce the amount of candy we would need to fill the coffin up.

We painted the top of the visible piece of Styrofoam with flat black, water based paint. To fill the coffin almost to the top with candy, we bought twenty-four of the extra large bags of assorted Halloween candy. It cost about two-hundred dollars, but the kids loved reaching inside a coffin for their candy!
 

HALLOWEEN LINKS      HALLOWEEN JOKES       HOME

Sitemap      About Halloween Online      Reprint Information      Terms of Use
Halloween Online is the single largest resource for quality Halloween information, articles, instruction and entertainment on the Internet.
The Halloween Online staff has created this site and its content to help make your Halloween celebration as fun and frightful as possible.
All information on this website (halloween-online.com) is Copyright ©
1994 - 2016 Halloween Online. All Rights Reserved.