Admittedly, this article is for the truly Halloween/Technology obsessed.

Ever since I turned 12 years old and quit trick-or-treating, I’ve been interested in providing an enhanced experience for those that are still able to fully enjoy my favorite holiday of the year—Halloween. My parents were OK with me handing out the treats. In fact, they insisted on it. It was a great deal for them because they could be assured that I was occupied and in the driveway and not creating havoc somewhere.

I didn’t have a lot to work with: a bowl of candy, a chair, and a card table. I needed something to surprise the kids when they came up. What I came up with was a loud noise maker that I could activate from my seat. It consisted of a model train transformer connected to an old radio speaker hidden in the bushes. I mounted the transformer under the table so that I could reach the on/off switch. When the costumed kids came up to the table, I switched on the transformer. The resulting 60 cycle hum was loud and unexpected. Some were startled. Only one broke out in tears, which I felt a bit bad about. In general, my efforts were appreciated. The hobby continues to this day. Now, my “scares” are a bit more sophisticated.

I retired from paid work in March of 2008. My thought was that Halloween of that year would be legendary. It didn’t turn out to be true. I got started too late. Despite having more skills and resources, I didn’t put in the time required. Sometimes, having great ideas is not enough. One must put in the work and spend the time. Since then, I’ve learned to do just that, and I also picked up a few new skills (and equipment). In 2009 when I learned to use pneumatics, the homemade props got snappier. In 2015, I added Arduino control circuitry and replaced much of the “Rube Goldbergesque” mechanics and that made the DIY animatronics work more reliably. 2015 was also the year that the “witch theme” was added to the annual display. The following year the theme was zombies followed by: “CarnEvil (clowns, etc.) in 2017, “Ghost Busters” in 2018, “Aliens from Outer Space” in 2019, “Ghost Rider” in 2021, “The Devil” in 2022, and this year it will be “Monster Mash.” There was no theme in 2020 due to COVID 19. All my creative energy was spent building the machine that allowed us to distribute candy from 10 feet away.

This year the theme is “The Monster Mash.” The song was immensely popular when I was in grade school.

From Wikipedia:

“Monster Mash” is a 1962 novelty song by Bobby “Boris” Pickett. … The “Monster Mash” single was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 20–27 of that year, just before Halloween. It has been a perennial Halloween favorite ever since. In 2021, nearly 60 years after its release, “Monster Mash” re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 37.

In the song, Bobby “Boris” Pickett mentions the “Crypt Kicker Five.”

Members of “The Crypt Kicker Five”

Here they are! The lead singer is Wolfy. Frankie is on lead guitar. Teri (the witch) is on keyboard. “Grim Ripper” is on bass, and “Bones O” is the drummer. The four standing members will pivot together, but Wolfy’s head pivots independently.

The wolfman started out as a Halloween costume. The costume is laid over a ¾” PVC framework. There is a bicycle seat inside the wolfman’s head, and the bicycle seat is attached to a ½” PVC pipe that passes through a ¾” PVC “cross” connector. Wolfy’s head pivots. The ½” PVC pipe easily passes through the “cross” connector with room to spare. Inside his chest there is a small motor, the type one can find in a Christmas lighted reindeer lawn ornament. The rotation from that motor passes up through his neck and rotates the head back and forth. However, the fit is sloppy. To solve that problem, I designed a bearing that makes the ½” PVC pipe fit snugly inside the ¾” cross piece.

The ball bearings are Daisey BBs. The top and bottom races were designed on TinkerCad and printed on my Bambu Labs 3D Printer.

Another 3D printed part is attached to the neck pipe within the chest cavity of the wolfman. A short link converts the round and round rotation of the reindeer motor into the back-and-forth turning of Wolfy’s head. He rocks with the rest of the band members, but his head turns independently. The movement is not jerky and natural. Most importantly, it should work throughout the display time without giving me any trouble. Happy Halloween!