Halloween is approaching quickly and I’m wracking my brain trying to come up with some scary house decorations. Because, number one, I’m cheap, and number two, I’m lazy, I think I’ll take a different approach this year and rely more on imagination. Rather than build a bunch of stuff, I plan to distribute speakers around the yard, playing spooky music, sounds, or screams. Maybe just weird sounds that aren’t identifiable. I figure if kids hear a spooky sound coming from under the front porch, their imagination will do the rest.

One project I do want to build this year is a see-through ghost. I actually dreamed this one up last year, but there was a lot going on at the time. It’s a trick used on Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride, where a sheet of glass makes a ghost appear to float in mid-air. I’ll shine a black light onto a ghost laid out on the floor of the porch, hidden from view. Then I’ll hang a thin sheet of glass (or plastic more likely) over this ghost at an angle. This will reflect the ghost’s image into the space above it, making it translucent and appear to float in the air. I’ll probably add a small fan near the ghost to make it billow for effect.

The great thing about this setup is that it’s cheap: the glass and light are the only real investment. Its also easy to set up. The bad thing is that I have to find an appropriate reflective surface. I don’t want to hang a sheet of glass anywhere nosy (or mischevious) kids could break it and hurt themselves. If I can find a plastic sheet which is transparent enough, that’s the way I’ll go.

It could turn out to be really lame. But not doing anything at all is guaranteed to be lame. Worth a shot, eh?