Halloween Propmaker's Handbook [Paperback]

Ken Pitek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2006 | ISBN-10: 078642463X | ISBN-13: 978-0786424634

With some corn syrup, drink mix powder and water, you can make a splendid concoction of stage blood—without spending an arm and a leg. From budget-friendly frights to sophisticated props, this book offers dozens of imaginative ways to haunt a house for Halloween. Readers will find generously illustrated step-by-step instructions for creating a barbecued skull, devil eyes, bonehead tableware, a magic bottle, a glowing brain and other projects. The book details ways to enhance an eerie ambiance with effects like blacklights and music. Props use many common household items and tools. Where specialty items are required, the author tells where they can be found at a reasonable cost. Projects take anywhere from a few hours to several days to complete.

The chapters ooze with tips on topics like creating apprehension and surprise, using design to guide guests, creatively using plastic skulls, and making papier-mâché masks and molded hands. There are recipes for fake blood and vomit and ideas for using them, and other creative and adaptable ideas. Appendices include "Merry Halloween," which advises, "One of the best times to look for bargains on Halloween prop-building materials is right after Christmas"; an alphabetical listing of props and supplies and where they can be found; a list of specialty suppliers; and an "epitaph" inviting comments.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ken Pitek lives in Northbrook, Illinois. His work has been published in Haunted Attraction Magazine and other publications.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (August 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078642463X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786424634
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,085,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ken Pitek was born in Chicago, Illinois and later moved to the Chicago suburb of Northbrook, where he now lives with his wife Judy. He is currently a telecommunications specialist with AT&T. He hopes to someday retire and pursue a career as a fulltime writer.

He learned his love of Halloween as a young child. He would would spend the entire day of Halloween trick-or-treating door-to-door, returning home, after dark, with a large bag of candy. When he grew too old for trick-or-treating, he began decorating his home for the holiday. He soon learned that freightening young childern and adults alike was even more fun than trick-or-treating. He later decided to share this joy with others by writing his first book Halloween Propmakers Handbook.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good ideas, but not what I expected..., July 19, 2007

By 

R. Parisi "RobInRI" (Providence, RI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Halloween Propmaker's Handbook (Paperback)

The projects are explained well, the directions are clear, and I feel I would be able to re-create the clever props. Unfortunately there are no instructions for large sized props such as figures, monsters, etc. that are expected in a haunted hosue. All the props are on a small scale..at least half the book is devoted to creating different painting effects on skulls. There are also ideas for masks, brains, severed hands, and other small props such as skull flowers, flatware, salt & pepper shakers, candy dish, etc.

There is useful information on lighting, black lights, adding eyes to a prop, and general setting up of a scene which will help me with my haunted house decorating, but I won't use most of the other projects.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC HALLOWEEN PROJECTS, February 10, 2007

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Halloween Propmaker's Handbook (Paperback)

When I was a kid growing up in the 70's, Halloween decorations pretty much consisted of those cardboard characters you taped on your windows and light up jack-o-lanterns. Heck the main decoration was the pumpkin you carved yourself. Today, Halloween decorations generate millions each year. There are entire superstores selling nothing but Halloween décor and costumes that spring up every Fall. The Fright Catalog has Hollywood-caliber props that cost in the thousands of dollars. It's easily become the biggest holiday for decorating next to Christmas and getting bigger every year.

The Hollywood Propmaker's handbook is the perfect book for those who love decorating for the season but who don't want to spend all of their hard-earned cash at those stores. The book is written by Keith Pitek whose work has been seen in Haunted Attraction Magazine. Pitek presents some two-dozen projects that can be made with inexpensive items, many of which you might have lying around the house.

Pitek begins by covering various techniques to setting up your outdoor display covering things which seem so simple and make perfect sense such as where to set-up speakers for sound, the best ways to display props, the use of remote controls, and lighting. Pitek also covers the use of black lights, techniques for painting skulls, wiring your props for light, and using two-way mirrors.

In the project section, Pitek provides several different types of skulls using inexpensive plastic skull props that are available at the Halloween stores as well as major retailers. Create one with light up twinkling eyes that doesn't take an electrician to wire; paint one so that it looks like it was just dug up out of a grave. The painting uses common household ingredients such as shoe polish or wood varnish. It's really all in the technique! Perhaps the most ambitious is the barbecued skull, which when finished, will look like it was just retrieved out of an incinerator.

One of my favorite projects, again one which is quite detailed, is the partially eaten hand made with a hand shaped gelatin mold and several other items. Done right, it creates a stunningly realistic looking prop. Pitek also provides a sure-fire recipe for stage blood that can be made with corn syrup and red-colored Kool-Aid. Pitek concludes with a detailed reference section informing readers where the items used in the props can be purchased as well as providing the phone numbers and websites to many different suppliers.

Now, these items are not your average weekend craft projects. Some are quite easy and can be made in an hour. Others are very involved and take many hours, or even days to finish, but the results will be worth it.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deserves ongoing recommendation for any avid party crafts person, November 6, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Halloween Propmaker's Handbook (Paperback)

Halloween Propmaker's Handbook arrived too late for October mention but deserves ongoing recommendation for any avid party crafts person who enjoys putting together unique Halloween props. Here are recipes for fake blood, papier-maiche projects such as skills, two-way mirrors, and other techniques just perfect for Halloween decorators. No color photos, but the step-by-step black and white images and clear directions need little color to prove involving.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch