Halloween Crypt Prop

We do a pretty large home haunt every year and I've made quite a few tombstones for our yard, but I've always wanted to make a larger item for the graveyard. This year I finally did it....a full sized crypt with a woman on top. It was time consuming but not difficult to create. I'm very excited with how it's turned out!

This instructable was created as an afterthought, so I'm sorry I didn't take more pictures of the different stages. If you have any questions let me know.

Tools & Supplies

Polystyrene Foam Board
Hot glue gun and plenty of glue
Duct Tape
Sheet
Styrofoam head
Wig
News paper
Projector
Exterior grey Latex paint
Joint compound
Soldering iron
Drywall trowel
Black spray paint
Sanpapee

Making the Body Form

First you have to find a someone willing to let you wrap their entire body in duct tape. For this I recruited my lovely teenage daughter. I wrapped her in cling wrap and then got started on the duct tape. Using small strips I covered her body only leaving her head, hands and feet out. Once that was done I cut the suit off of her by cutting up the back of her legs, arms and torso. Once she was out I patched the cuts up with more duct tape and stuffed it with newspaper. Now I had a body form.

Making the Crypt

I started by cutting the sheets of polystyrene foam board into the pieces needed. I made my crypt 2' x 6' x 2'. The lid is 2' x 6''. I also made a 4" platform to go under it. See picture. Using the hot glue put the pieces together to form the box and the platform. Do not glue the top on. I also glued a few small blocks on the underside of the lid to keep it from sliding off.

Front Design

For the front I made up a name, birth and death year and found a quote I liked online. I also used a stencil for the leaf design. I made a JPEG of the words and used my projector to project them onto it while I traced the words with a sharpie. Don't worry about being too exact as it will look rough when it's done anyway. Once the words and any design you want are traced onto it, it's time to burn them into the foam. Practice with the soldering iron on a scrap piece first. It will melt the foam quickly. "Carve" out the design by melting it with the soldering iron. Just use light small strokes until you get it how you want it. "Carve" out the design by melting it with the soldering iron.

Prepare and Paint

Sand all the edges rounding them somewhat. I filled any cracks with the joint compound then once it dried sanded that smooth as well. I like a rough concrete look so I then sponged on the joint compound and spread it using the trowel. Allow to dry. You can now paint it grey. I painted black inside of all the words and design to make it show better once the grey was dry.

The Grieving Woman

Position the body how you would like her. You may need to use duct tape or glue to get her just right. I also used some wire in her leg to get it to stay. I used some dollar store fake feet and duct taped them to the ankles. The hands I made out of latex gloves stuffed with poly fill. I put an old long sleeve shirt on her so that the small part of her arm that showed would be covered. I bought a female styrofoam head at the craft store and duct taped that into the neck hole. Mix up some monster mud. I found instructions online. Just mix joint compound and the latex paint together at about a 5:1 (joint compound 5 parts to 1 part paint) ratio. It doesn't have to be exact, that's just the suggested ratio I found. use a drywall compound mixing attachment and a drill to whip the two ingredients together. Coat the sheet/cloth in the monster mud. I found it easiest to dip the sheet in the bucket and wring it out (this actually took an extra person as the cloth gets quite heavy). Place the sheet over the body and position it just how you want it to stay. Once dry it will not move at all. I then covered the head, hands and top surface of the lid with the monster mud using my hands to spread it. I dipped the wig in the bucket and then placed it on her head and positioned it. I had to really work with the hair to get it to lay how I wanted. Time to let her dry! Once she was all dry we used a paint sprayer to to put a coat of the exterior latex paint all over the lid.

Final Touches

I used black and brown spray paint to dirty it up and make it look older. I mixed brown paint with water in an eye dropper and dripped it down the front to cause the streaking. That wasn't quite enough for me so I also mixed a bit of brown paint in a spray bottle and sprayed a bunch around the to top (right below the lid) until it ran down. I glued some moss around a few spots too. (Done after the pictures were taken.)