Rotting Pumpkin Patch

One of the scenes I remember vividly from season 2 of Stranger Things is the rotting pumpkin patch.  My love of pumpkins bias might be showing, but that was a very creepy prop to me. So of course, that was where I went.  Plus, it ties into the idea of the demodogs emerging from the underground there.  Now, it was pointed out to me at some point that I could use real rotting pumpkins.  True. Cheaper. Less work involved.  However.  Smell--yick.  Clean up--yick.  Possible kids who think it would be okay to kick the rotting pumpkins, leading to more clean up--ugh.  So I'm left with making fake pumpkins.  Buying them is super expensive--they're like $25 each.  So instead, I got some round bowls at the dollar tree (for weight and for a base) and some of the old reliable great stuff foam.  I also got some large 16" balloons to provide a base for the foam that I could then pop.

Demodogs

Le goal

One of the main projects for this year's Halloween is several demodogs from Stranger Things.  I've started on one of these already with a 2 liter bottle body and some prominent ribs.  A long windy tail is present, and at this point the only thing missing is a head.  But I've got some styrofoam balls that I'm intending to shape some petal pieces around to simulate the petal head thing in various levels of open.

Tunnel maps

Next up was a fun project:)  The tunnel maps in second season of Stranger Things make for an easy prop to make.  Aaaand, will hide the fact that I don't actually have the proper wallpaper for the Byers living room recreation.  The background will be yellow, and I found some wood paneling scene setter, but it was just going to be a lot of either work or money to recreate the hundreds of flowers needed for the wallpaper.  So my solution was to instead cover up much of the walls with the map that possessed Will makes.  Obviously I'm not going to try to make quite as many, but it should at least take up quite a bit of space.  I looked ahead and used a small box for the width of the tunnel so that it was uniform across all the pages, which hopefully will help when I construct it.

Channeling my inner kindergartner, I went to town with lots of paper and some crayons.  I'm trying to make enough joint and dead end pieces so that I have options when I put it together, but I'm guessing I might have to make a few extra pieces. 

Stranger Things Flyers

One of the things I'd like to put up are some flyers before Halloween.  Not sure if I want to laminate them to protect from the elements--feel like it would lose some authenticity.  But I could do a couple. Anyways, just some missing posters for Will and Barb.  Debating about where to put them.  Maybe just slightly down the street?  Or just on the edge of the property.  Not sure yet. Either way, a little something to add to the scene.

Stranger Things Treats

Yay!  The treats for Halloween arrived to give out.  I found a bag of 100+ various different dice, the kind one would play D&D with.  I also found these cool plastic figurines--dragons, orcs, huntress, wizards, etc.  Those came in 2 different shades of gray.  Sam thinks I should spray paint them metallic.  I worry a bit that some of the detail would be lost.  I'm also going to mix in some 3 musketeers candy for those little twerps who complain about no candy.  (They're rare, but I always get a few each year).  Anyways, the toys turned out a lot cooler than I was hoping.  Between the dice and the figures there are 190 pieces.  Plus whatever candy I buy.  So I should be more than set.