3Pc. Rasberry Girl Costume Include Bonnet, Dress With Applique & StockingsThis is the third part of creating the ultimate Halloween Graveyard Scheme and should be read in conjunction with 'Create a Halloween Graveyard' and 'Lighting Your Halloween Graveyard'.
Have you noticed that all of the great atmospheric film scenes all involved fog or swirling mist from which the evil came to do it's terrible deed and thence into which it disappeared without a trace - hey, that's not bad, maybe I will write that novel one day!
Swirling menacing fog, graveyards, Halloween, eerie scenes; they all seem to go together well. Even the best graveyard scene will be enhanced by the addition of a layer of menacing fog floating in swirls over the surface of the ground and creeping around the gravestones. And through that layer of fog all kinds of demons and ghouls can rise. Stop it this instant, this is meant to be an article on using fog in a graveyard scene not something out of a penny dreadful.
Adding fog to your Halloween scene, whether indoors or out will definitely provide an additional lift to the atmosphere and what could be better than creating an environment where any trick or treaters have to walk through a gently swirling fog. A fog machine is therefore an absolute must for the true Halloween fan.
There are a number of fog machines readily available from high street stores at sensible prices. More specialist units producing a more consistent flow of fog in a denser form are available and for these it's best to search the web or find a theatrical or audio-visual supplier. These bigger units can sometimes be hired from discotheque suppliers and a quick check of Yellow Pages is all that is required. If you are planning to use fog effects within your Halloween scene it should be as part of an integrated scheme including prop positioning and lighting. Again, your entire plan should be committed to paper early on. Using fog makes this process critical as failing to understand the prevailing airflow could result in your entire fog bank blowing in the wrong direction.
Another key consideration when planning the use of in a Halloween scene or at your party is that all of the machines available work by heating the mixture as part of the process. This has the unfortunate effect of causing the produced 'hot' fog to rise and disperse in the air rather than stick to and drift menacingly over the ground. This fog dispersment into the air occurs more rapidly the colder the temperature into which the fog is released; so if you are producing fog outside during a cold evening, it rise even more quickly.
Okay; we've spotted the problem; hot fog, chilly night result, waste of time and energy. So, how do we stick your fog to the ground? The simple answer is to cool the fog before it gets into the atmosphere and escapes. There are many designs on the web for these 'fog chillers' but in essence they all operate in the same way. The produced fog is passed over a cooling medium before it leaves the final dispersment pipe and into the atmosphere.
To make one you will need an insulated container; think old thermal picnic box, painted black or dark grey or camouflaged to blend in with its positioning. Into one side you need to cut an entry point the diameter of the pipe that will lead from the fog machine to the chiller, shortest distance is best. This pipe is sealed airtight at both the fog machine and chiller - you may want to use a junction pipe through the wall of the box to ensure it's airtight.
In the opposite side you need to cut a hole to take the chilled fog away. This also needs to be airtight and will be the pipe that is located where you want the fog to appear - say behind a gravestone or from beneath a tree trunk. Fill the bottom of the chiller with ice and allow the produced fog to flow through the chiller. If the fog still rises, you may need to fit long baffles in your chiller to make the fog travel further over the ice. These baffles, stiff plastic (multi-use) or wood (more inclined to rot) need to be slightly shorter that the box and should be inserted so that the fog has to follow their path. As with all Halloween scenes, a good dress rehearsal is vital so that you know that the unit will work during the evening and how the coolness of the air affects the look.
Although it sounds difficult, the device is simple to understand and becomes clear when you layout the required parts. A fog machine is a worthwhile investment for a number of party occasions but it will come into its own when used to enhance your own graveyard scene or Halloween party. Once you have the bug, and have mastered the art of the making a fog chiller, you may want to purchase additional features like electronic timing mechanisms or even more machines.
Karnival Costumes stocks a huge selection of Halloween props including gravestones, artificial moss, monster chains, creepy cloth, skeletons, spooky animals, flying ghosts and ghouls along with a huge selection of fancy dress costumes and accessories Halloween adults and Children; go to: http://www.karnival-house.co.uk/acatalog/Halloween.html
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Article submitted by: KV Sinclair. Keith Sinclair has over 35 years of business experience and in addition to being a part time University Lecturer on Business Studies, he is CEO of Cavalcade; a group of companies operating in the party sector. Cavalcade operates Karnival-House http://www.karnival-house.co.uk one of the UK's leading internet Fancy Dress Retailers. With massive stocks for immediate dispatch and an ever expanding range, Karnival-House continues to strive simply to offer outstanding service combined with outstanding value.
