# My witch is finally done!!



## maureenpr (Feb 15, 2007)

I had decided to make a witch stirring a cauldron as my major piece for my haunted forest. This will be around the middle of my haunt.

The body is constructed of wood and PVC pipe with chicken wire to bulk it up. I connected the arms with large closed cup hooks linked to each other to give it a loose jointed feel. I used pipe insulation to give the bulkiness to the arms. I bought a Cryptkeeper mask from ebay, but I wanted it to look more witchlike, so I made it a distorted nose complete with wart. The eyes are actually white ceramic door knobs I picked up at a garage sale with the pupils painted with acrylics and then painted with glossy clear paint to give it that wet look. The hands were from one of those hanging ghouls I picked up at Walgreens last year.

The cauldron was made from one of those large plastic buckets with the rope handles. I used foam and plaster cloth for the top and the center. The stick is actually a shaved pool noodle painted brown to look like wood. The wooden logs are also pool noodles carved and painted. I used a string of blinking red Christmas lights for the fire. For the finished piece, I covered the lights with some plastic bags from the grocery store to give it more of a fiery look. On the inside, I have green Christmas lights and I'll be hooking up my fogger to hopefully have a nice green fog coming up from the cauldron. After several tries with different motors, I finally went with a rotisserie motor I bought at a garage sale for 50 cents. I must have spent at least 2 months trying to figure out how to get it to not spin too fast and how to hook up the proper metal pieces to the motor.

Now I just have to find a place for it for the next few months so I can park my car in the garage. LOL


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## Ghostess (Aug 21, 2005)

Absolutely awesome!


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## Dr Morbius (Sep 21, 2004)

I like the low cauldron..I have buckets like that..I'll have to try it. Nice work.


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## BooGirl666 (Jul 29, 2006)

Absolutely fantastic!!! Great job.... I have a cauldron similar to that.. How did you get the foam bands to stay? Mine just keeps falling off so I said hell with it...


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## slimy (Jul 12, 2006)

Looking good. 

Nice work.


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

That must have taken a while to make! Congrats on finishing it and having it look nice!


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## Fright Zone (Sep 28, 2006)

That's cool. I like the details. If you hook-up a fog machine into the back of the cauldron it will end up looking like a steam train. The fog will shoot straight up. Here's a couple photos of rolling lingering fog out of a cauldron if you use a 48 qt Igloo Ice cube fog chiller and a 400W fogger. Fog Chiller Tests :: Fogging Cauldron Test Pt I picture by bpesti - Photobucket There's two successive test photos with a 16" dia cauldron. I also put a mini mister inside a smaller 8" h tall plastic cauldron bucket filled with water inside the bigger cauldron. You could also use a coffee can. It has to be tall. I propped the mini mister up to a higher level inside with a bent coat hanger to get it as close to the top as possible. The mini mister picks up the slack to continue the lingering fog effect when the low wattage fogger turns off to reheat.

I don't have instructions on how to build the fog chiller but here's Fog Chiller Construction pictures by bpesti - Photobucket with descriptions.

You could also try filling your large cauldron with ice. Two years ago I filled a metal pot with ice inside the cauldron and a 3" dia drier duct connecting a 400W fogger to the back of a plastic cauldron. It also worked to keep the fog lingering. But a small fog chiller works the best if you have room for it. The only problem with a 400W fogger is it turns off to reheat often so it's not constant fog. But a higher wattage fogger might be too much fog velocity. You'd just have to try it. It looks like you have a decent sized cauldron. I disguised my fog chiller with Creepy cloth gauze which isn't shown.


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## Richie (Jan 4, 2007)

Great looking Witch and Cauldron. Even better is the fact that if you had to purchase a retail version, I've seen them as high as $3,400.00. Yeah, the fog effect is a must for that prop. We added fog and bubbling audio effects to ours and the neighbors couldn't get enough of it. Wonderful job!


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## ededdeddy (May 16, 2007)

That is wicked awesome. That is the type of stuff I would like to make one day.


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## maureenpr (Feb 15, 2007)

babygirl_kmp said:


> Absolutely fantastic!!! Great job.... I have a cauldron similar to that.. How did you get the foam bands to stay? Mine just keeps falling off so I said hell with it...


Gorilla glue!!


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## Spider Rider (Nov 8, 2006)

Stirring witches rock! A bewitchingly nice job on your haunted forest centerpiece. 

"The stick is actually a shaved pool noodle painted brown to look like wood."
Does that mean she's making eye of newt and noodle soup? Sorry... I missed lunch today.

A fog machine piped into the cauldron and lit from inside makes all the difference in atmosphere for your great prop.


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## ScareFX (Aug 18, 2004)

A witch and cauldron just seem like Halloween.  Nice work maureenpr.


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## BooGirl666 (Jul 29, 2006)

maureenpr said:


> Gorilla glue!!


Ah ha sweet thanx... Maybe i try sprucing up mine this year


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## TwistedDementia (May 2, 2007)

If you can, You've got to get us pictures or video of the TOT's expressions when they go by it. Great job!


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## Lady Nyxie (Aug 30, 2006)

Superb job!

Would love to see it on Halloween night.


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## Revenant (Mar 17, 2007)

I'd dig a video of it right now just to see it stirring.
Wicked cool job!


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## SkullAndBone (Sep 21, 2005)

The noodle logs are a really really good idea.


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## BudMan (Mar 6, 2007)

Excellent job, I agree, a video is in order!


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## oct31man (Sep 19, 2006)

Awesome work Maureen! Hmmm, maybe she could come with you to the next meet!


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## Lilly (Jun 13, 2006)

Very Cool Maureenpr..
good work
your cauldron is very nice
is there a reason you have red inside the cauldron instead of white or green to reflect the green color you want?


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## Frighteners Entertainment (Jan 24, 2006)

I keep popping in to see the video.....Stop teasing!! LOL


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## pyro (Oct 7, 2006)

nice hands on the witch-----did you make them -how? or store bought -what?


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## thenameisaimee (Sep 24, 2006)

Whoa, this looks awesome! Amazing job!


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## maureenpr (Feb 15, 2007)

oct31man said:


> Awesome work Maureen! Hmmm, maybe she could come with you to the next meet!


Yeah, I'm thinking about bringing her!!


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## maureenpr (Feb 15, 2007)

Lilly said:


> Very Cool Maureenpr..
> good work
> your cauldron is very nice
> is there a reason you have red inside the cauldron instead of white or green to reflect the green color you want?


No reason, I just happen to have more primer paint than black. You really won't see it once I have the green lights on and the fogger going. At least I hope it won't make a difference. I'll test the whole thing this weekend and tape it so you guys can see a video of it.


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## maureenpr (Feb 15, 2007)

pyro said:


> nice hands on the witch-----did you make them -how? or store bought -what?


The hands were off of another prop that I tore apart to use for two other props I was making. The original prop was a hanging ghoul. I used the head for my TCT that I made at our Meet and Greet a couple months ago, the hands and the shredded fabric were used for my witch!!


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## IshWitch (May 31, 2006)

Beautiful!

I have a rotisserie from a flea market to use for this same thing.
Guess I'd better get to it!


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## maureenpr (Feb 15, 2007)

OK, I finally got a video of the witch. But seeing it now, and having it on for so long while I was getting the fog ready and everything, I think I'm going back to the shiatsu massager for the motor. This was taken without a fog chiller, which I will be using for the final.


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## dave the dead (Jan 31, 2007)

Looks good! Does the shiatsu move it quicker, or just differently? That is a very attractive prop!


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## Richie (Jan 4, 2007)

I love the flicker effect from the lights you used for the simulated flame. I used a silk flame light for mine, but yours looks just a good.


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## Lilly (Jun 13, 2006)

maureenpr..Really nice Witch 
nice movement
love the fire ..hows that made ?


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## maureenpr (Feb 15, 2007)

For the fire, I used twinkling red christmas lights (about 150) underneath the "logs" then I put plastic grocery bags in front to dissepate the "fire".


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## maureenpr (Feb 15, 2007)

The shiatsu motor moves much quicker, I'd say at least 4x faster. She looks more like a "mad" witch when she's stirring. Right now, I'm rigging up another rotisserie which seems to be a little stronger, I also found the spit that goes into it, so I'm going to test it once more before I go back to the shiatsu.


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## Fangs (Jun 6, 2006)

Very Nice witch Maureenpr!  Very nice indeed! :>


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## maureenpr (Feb 15, 2007)

Thanks guys.


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## Lauriebeast (Feb 27, 2007)

You did a fabulous job on that prop!


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## Hellrazor (Jun 18, 2006)

That is awesome! Great job!


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## gypsichic (Jun 6, 2006)

fantabulous prop! 

great work


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