It's all too easy to look at the calendar, spot October 31st, and think "I need to get some decorations in for Halloween." Everyone does it.
Be different.
If you have a tiny computer hanging around -- say a Raspberry Pi 3, for example -- you can put your hardware to good use and create one or more of these superb Halloween props. Scare young children who come trick or treating, or simply impress yourself with the results.
Either way, check these videos and their notes for details on how to get started. We've even given you some useful indicators on how effective the results are, and how difficult they are to build!
1. Total Halloween Entrance Display
Scare Factor: 2/5
Complexity: Medium
Start off your trick-or-treater's arrival at your property in style with an awesome Halloween entrance display! Here's a great example, using two Raspberry Pis.
This example is triggered by the doorbell, which lights some LEDs and plays WAV files. There's also a smoke machine which is triggered wirelessly. As you can see, this is something of a grotto, and is pretty impressive.
2. The Screaming Ghost
Scare Factor: 5/5
Complexity: Medium
Now this is pretty awesome: creating a motion-activated, screaming ghost to scare visitors to your property. Using a projector, a PIR motion detector, the obligatory Raspberry Pi, and a piece of plexiglass with a thin spray coating of reflective paint, this build ticks all of the right boxes.
I really want to make this one. What about you? Find full details in this Instructables guide.
3. A Spooky Portrait
Scare Factor: 3/5
Complexity: High
Ever fancied scaring the life out of someone with an apparently innocent portrait hung on the wall? Perhaps the eyes could move, or flash a wink at a passer-by… that sort of thing.
This project is what you're looking for, and features a Raspberry Pi Zero at the heart of things. (Impressed the Pi Zero can do that? Check our list of other Raspberry Pi Zero projects for more).
Find the full set of instructions in this Adafruit guide, as well as the additional hardware you'll need.
4. Motion-Detection Spooky Noises
Scare Factor: 3/5
Complexity: Medium
Here's a nice little project to send spooky thrills down nearby necks this Halloween. Basically, it uses a PIR motion detection module to spot movement before playing scary noises.
As you can see, the build is quite straightforward, with a pair of stereo speakers and a Displayatron 3000 HAT. We're not sure if the Displayatron LCD display is really needed, so you could probably skip this component and get the same results.
5. Halloween Scarer
Scare Factor: 3/5
Complexity: Medium to Hard
This is a great build, but one that could prove difficult if you don't have, or can't acquire, a suitable skull. In this situation, you might consider building a papier mache replacement, or simply repurpose a child's toy, perhaps…
The end result should be pretty gruesome, much like this. I wonder if there's scope for a pumping mechanism to push some goo from the eye...?
You'll find full details of the build and the required code at GitHub.
6. Pumpkin Pi
Scare Factor: 4/5
Complexity: Easy to Medium
This is another one I'm inspired to try, and you might be too. If you're comfortable carving up a pumpkin (or if you're in the UK, a turnip) then this will be pretty easy to build. Otherwise, you might need to buy a couple of pumpkins, or get some expert help for the carving.
Once you've got your organic case, all that's needed is to connect the motion-detecting PIR to the Pi, and sort out some LEDs on a breakout board. Arrange them inside your Jack-O'-Lantern, and watch as visitors to your property are startled!
Head to GitHub to find the full guide and the code to create your own Pi-powered Jack-O'-Lantern.
7. The Creepy Face Tracker
Scare Factor: 4/5
Complexity: Hard
We looked at a scary portrait above, but there's more you can do with a monitor dressed as a picture frame. This example is perfect: it watches people as they pass! Creepy is certainly the right word here, although this build is quite tricky and requires some picture framing ability. You'll also need a suitable camera for your Raspberry Pi.
You'll find the details for this on the Adafruit website.
8. The Scary Door
Scare Factor: 5/5
Complexity: Hard
Most of the projects in this list are quite traditional, wholesome, American pie-style Halloween. For something more contemporary, with a touch of the industrial, try this scary door project. It's essentially a monitor mounted in a metal door, capable of delivering some intense Halloween experiences.
There is a lot of hardware in this project. Head to Element24.com to see the full details and design schematics.
9. Atmospheric Creepy House
Scare Factor: 3/5
Complexity: Hard
This is a nice idea: a creepy atmosphere created with lights and sound, starting passers-by and visitors on a particularly dark Halloween. Making use of wireless technology, and the Open Lighting Architecture software (running on Raspbian), speakers and LEDs are controlled by the Pi, and played in sync to create a sudden, oppressive environment…
Find general instructions in the YouTube video's notes (click the video title). However, you'll need to work out the scripting side of this project for yourself.
10. Spooky Halloween Sound FX
Scare Factor: 4/5
Complexity: Medium
Perhaps your preferred Halloween experience is simply creepy sounds. This build, which you can follow with creator Mark Littlemore's instructions, uses Spotify to supply the scary audio FX.
A hardware mixer is also required for this to work, which requires JavaScript code from GitHub and the Node.js server framework. Happily, most of the work is done for you here, so all you'll need to do is read the guide, put it together, and prepare to petrify the visitors to your home on October 31st!
Ten Great Raspberry Pi Halloween Projects: Which Is Your Favorite?
Dozens of Halloween projects that you can build with your Raspberry Pi can be found online. The trick is finding one that has some instructions or a vague guide attached! But you'll find enough in this list to get started. Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time before Halloween, and if you don't have a Raspberry Pi, how about trying some similar ideas with an Arduino?
Are you planning a Raspberry Pi Halloween project? We want to hear about it! Leave a comment in the box below to tell us more.
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