Halloween Crime Scene

In 2012, I was pressed for time and money to decorate for Halloween. Since I am a Police Officer, I decided to make a Crime Scene. The day after Halloween, the management called and requested that the decorations be removed because so many people were asking who got murdered. As you can see, I didn't go overboard. Sometimes simplicity gets the best results!

1. An idea! Use your imagination

2. A victim :-)

3. Masking Tape, Chalk, String, etc...

4. Fake Blood Recipe:

1 1/2 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. Rose's grenadine

1 btl. red food coloring

3 drops blue food coloring

Clean, empty glass jar

5. Caution or Crime Scene Tape

I asked one of the children in the neighborhood to model for me, and he did a Great Job! He even looked dead and didn't move one bit while I was tracing his body. I chose him because he fit pretty comfortably on the sidewalk.

You don't have to use children. Make an exotic creature, trace prop guns, swords, wooden stakes, arrows, or whatever you would use to kill the subject of the scene. Just don't go overboard!

I used masking tape, and it held up pretty well. I chose it simply because that's what I had on hand. It also made clean up pretty easy. All I had to do was peel it up. You can use chalk, or if you are in a grassy or sandy area, string and tent pegs.

There are many recipes for fake blood on the Internet.

I used a slightly modified recipe that I found at

http://www.familycookbookproject.com/recipe/239111... .

Blood is not just red, I added a few more drops of blue to give it the right look. I also didn't use the full bottle of red food coloring because the Grenadine is already red. When I first poured it, I was disappointed because it sat in a puddle, but as it warmed up, it began to flow down the sidewalk just like real blood.

If you want to add splatters, or if the scene is a stabbing, take something similar to the instrument of the crime and use it like you really would. Put some of the blood into a balloon, blow it up, and pop it for gunshot splatter. soak some rags in the blood and throw them against the wall so they slide down for a smear. Walk through the blood to the neighbor's apartment like I did. :-) The possibilities are endless.

Two good things about the recipe I used:

1. It washed up easily with just water

2. It tasted like Candy Apple!

Procure some Crime Scene Tape. I have the advantage that I had some leftover from work. You can get rolls of Caution Tape from Home Improvement stores and they sell all kinds of tape at Party Supply stores. If you want to purchase Crime Scene Kits, they are available online and at Party Supply stores. You can make evidence tents from card stock and marker, download them from the Internet, or even borrow some from Whataburger like one agency did on a particularly large scene. Other markers you can use are paper cups, small flags, Anything with an identifying number on it, even a piece of paper under a rock.

I was going to drop some props like shell casings, a gun, etc..., but I was concerned about them disappearing. You can leave markers and outlines, but in all reality, you should only put semi-permanent items on display. If you want, you can also get bullet hole stickers for glass and metal online.

Keep it simple. Unless you are going to portray a Crime Scene Tech at the scene, all the evidence would have been taken away.

What I had planned to do was wait until the day after Halloween and order a pizza. I was going to sit in the parking lot across from the door and watch/record the action! Unfortunately, I was told to take the decorations down.

We left to go Trick or Treating, but if you plan to stay and hand out treats, I would suggest the gummy body parts. You can play the grieving mother (BTW, that was not her son and we loudly announced, "Fool, that ain't yo son!" a la "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood".) You can also portray a Crime Scene Tech, Police Officer, EMT, or News Reporter. Use your camera for real and take pictures of the trick or treaters so you can share the memories down the line.

This can be made very cheaply based on what you already have on hand or can scrounge, or it can be as elaborate as you want to make it. I think I spent a total of 30 minutes and $2 for the food coloring because I had everything else already. The longest part was taping the body outline because I wanted some detail around the hands and feet. It would have gone faster if I had used sidewalk chalk. If you are friends with a police officer, they may have some tape you can use. I used about 10 -15 feet total. You might just want to tell them that it is for a Halloween decoration in case they get calls like I did.

Have Fun!

Be Safe!