No doubt youÌve heard the old adage..... Ïsuccess is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration!Ó  Well, that may be true most of the time, but sometimes in the haunt biz, the hard work and perspiration would never have happened without the inspiration.
     If youÌre like most Home Haunters, youÌll often find yourself inspired by some awesome piece of ghoulish creativity that you see on the web, in a catalog, or in a publication like ÏHaunted AttractionÓ.  That was exactly what happened to me when I first spied a real Ïknock your socks offÓ prop piece in the pages of this magazine.  The item in question consisted of a life-sized pillar from what looked like a part of a castle dungeon, complete with the skeleton of some wretched ancient, shackled to the wall where he no doubt died a lingering death!   I was truly Ïinspired Ó.  Soon after, I saw the item in a catalog, this time with itÌs price tag that left me short of breath and realizing that I would never be the proud owner of this piece.
     For months, IÌd return to that issue of HA to stare at this beautiful, gothic set piece.  The more I looked at it, the more I realized that if I broke this thing down into itÌs basic components and applied some of our favorite amateur ÏtechnologiesÓ, like Terror SyndicateÌs Monster Mud and a Bucky skeleton from Anatomical, I could actually put together something at least similar for my annual (and completely non-profit) haunt.  The trick-or-treaters would be blown away!
     Putting pencil to paper, I started to draft up my plan.  My typical California subdivision home includes a double front door, with two steps leading up into the front portico that surrounds the door.  I knew I would want one of the pillars on each side of the entry, so that the skeletal souls would gaze down upon my visitors from either side as they worked up the nerve to continue to the door.  The height of the portico entry at the steps is about eight feet, which looked very close to the size of the store-bought model, but I would have to modify mine because the base would have to allow for the steps as they could not sit flat on the ground.
OK, here goes.  This is the materials list for ONE pillar, so if you want the opposing pair like I did, you will need to double the quantity:

One 4x8 sheet of 1/2 inch polyfoam board
About 40 to 48 feet of redwood lathe.  I found mine in 8 foot lengths
10 feet of 1" x 2" white pine, or other suitable "heavy" wood
Big handful of "L" brackets and corner brackets, with holes suitable for 1/4"
wood screws
1 box small wood screws, no more than 1/2" length
long
Box of 1 inch finish nails, or even the small brads used to hang small
pictures on a wall
1 Roll chicken wire
1 Tube Liquid Nails for foamboard
1 5 gallon bucket of joint compound
1 gallon of latex paint, color to suit your taste for the pillar itself
1 roll of aluminum flashing, approx. 6 inches wide
1 Bucky skeleton, unless you have a real skeleton in your closet
1 Boris skull if you want the talking feature
1 Bathroom hand towel ring, plastic
3 feet of plastic chain
As much loose skull & bone stuff as you want to put at Bucky's feet

     I also decided that my pillar would be modified by grafting a ÏTalking through BorisÓ skull onto one of the Bucky skeletons, so that I could run the microphone wire into my house and have one of these spectral prisoners speak to the trick-or-treaters as they approached the door.
     Basically, I saw three major efforts.  The first step would be to build the frame to provide enough support for Bucky and give the pillar the right shape.  The next step would be to use a combination of foamboard and Monster Mud to give the pillar itÌs texture and stone look.  Finally, hang Bucky and mount the Boris talking head.
     The frame had to be lightweight yet strong.  I knew I might or might not have help putting these in place for Halloween and I didnÌt want to complete the first one only to find out IÌd need a forklift to move it from the garage!  I settled on 1 X 2 white pine for the base pieces of the frame (the portion on the ground and encasing the stair steps), with very light redwood lathe strips for all of the uprights and cross pieces.  The pine gave me the sturdiness required for the base, and the lathe kept it as light as possible.
      The pieces forming the base were put together using metal ÏLÓ brackets, both flat and corner types.  Again, this was to give the base greater strength and ensure it would last through the years.  Once the base was complete, the long lathe uprights and connecting framework was assembled using finishing nails and Liquid Nails type glue.  ItÌs important to use the smallest possible nails and wood screws because the lathe will split if you donÌt.  In fact if you feel the lathe may split, a little ordinary auto wax on the nail will keep that from happening.
 After the basic structure is complete, I cut two semi-circular shapes from sturdy cardboard.  These were attached with a hand-staple gun to the upper and lower front edge of the overhangs, to form the circular front parts of the stone pillar.  Regular 1Ó chicken wire was then wrapped around, conforming to the curve of the cardboard, and staple gunned to the lathe on the sides and wired to the cardboard itself.  I then used the chicken wire to cover the entire length of the structure, to form the wall behind the skeleton and the Ïceiling and floorÓ of the overhang and base.
     At this point, you are ready to start adding some real texture to this creation.  First, 1/2Ó extruded polystyrene sheet was cut to fit along the sides of the wall.  One 4 x 8 sheet will take care of both sides of a pillar.  Once cut to shape, these were attached with ÏLiquid NailsÓ type glue for foamboard, putting the glue on the lathe and setting weights on the foamboard while laying the whole structure on itÌs side.  Once itÌs dried, pull out the soldering iron and start to create the stone wall look by ÏmeltingÓ the mortar lines into the foam sidewalls (as always, do this in a well ventilated area - we know about those burning Styrofoam vapors...).  Add as much detail as youÌd like, with pits, scratches and chunks gouged out of these old dungeon walls.
     Next was my first venture into the use of ÏMonster MudÓ, or burlap dipped in joint compound.  No need to color the compound, since overall coloring will be added soon.  I used the Monster Mud to cover the circular front overhangs and base, and the curved wall area, which ends up behind the skeleton.  I must say I was even more impressed with Monster Mud than I thought I would be.... the stuff is just fantastic for itÌs hardness, ability to be painted and molding to any shape.  Keep the structure on the floor and lay it face up to do this step and to allow the Mud to harden.
     Your foamboard is on, the Monster Mud is dry and youÌve basically got the pillar shape youÌre going for.  Time to get artistic!  An overall coat of your base color goes first - latex paint applied with a roller.  I imitated the light beige or tan color I had seen in the catalogs, mostly because it would match the stucco of my house perfectly.  I had wondered why the catalog items werenÌt done in ÏcastleÓ gray but later, as I airbrushed the stone crevices and details in a dark reddish-brown color, I realized that it gave the overall effect of blood oozing from between each separate stone!  Perfect.
     This is the time to go wild with your weathering effects.  I used a mixture of ground charcoal and black tempera (in itÌs powdered form) to do the shadowing and ÏagingÓ of the stone and to shadow the area behind Bucky as he hangs in manacles.  The older and more gothic looking the pillars is, the better.
 During my breaks, I had been aging the Bucky as well, using the Minwax Gel Stain to get that gnarly rotted bone look we all love so much.  The manacles were fashioned from aluminum ÏflashingÓ; a very thin metal youÌll find on a roll at Horror Depot or equivalent.  It is normally used on homes around gutter areas or to protect against moisture where wood is located.  Just cut a strip to size, bend it half-over to give it more thickness, then hammer the heck out of it to make it look old and beat up.  I used my own hand to get the dimensions right for BuckyÌs wrist.  The chain on the manacles is a plastic one from my local hardware store, painted flat black and weathered with gray and silver, dry-brushed on.
     If your Bucky and his manacles are ready, itÌs time to mount him to the dungeon wall.  I tried at first to use a ÏUÓ-bolt, but had trouble finding one large enough to go around the spine, through the mounting board, and attach to the nut at the back.  I decided to go with two ÏJÓ hooks, hooking each one around the base of a thick rib, just on either side of the spinal column.  They worked great, and I just tightened down the nut until he felt securely hoisted into position.  Attach your manacle rings, wire the manacles firmly to the "rock" ceiling overhead and put BuckyÌs tortured wrists through.  Done!
 As I mentioned, I added the feature of replacing the Bucky skull with a ÏTalking through BorisÓ model.  Be careful when you modify Bucky.  YouÌll find you may have to remove the top five or six vertebra and saw off about 6 inches of the metal rod going to his head in order for the Boris to fit on and look right.  You can use a Dremel type tool and cutting wheel to cut through the rod.  When you do this, the spinal column may want to start slipping out through the bottom (pelvis) since the anchor nut at the top is gone.  I used wire at the bottom of the pelvis to prevent this and hold everything in place.
     Position the Boris skull the way you need it.  In my case I angled it to be looking roughly at someone ten years old or so, coming up my walkway.  Use an anchor screw into the back of the skull from behind the dungeon wall if you need to, to hold the skull at the correct angle.
     ThatÌs it.  Now to add some low lying ground fog through a fog chiller, blue graveyard lighting and the appropriate background music.....  I canÌt wait!