How to Make Floating Ghosts for Your Halloween Display
Easy Halloween Decor: Flying, Floating Ghosts
Long before people started turning their yards into theme-park-caliber haunted houses for Halloween, a few of the more ambitious neighborhood decorators would put up a scarecrow in their yard or hang some white-sheet ghosts.
As decorations and prop-making skills have become more elaborate, the sheet ghosts have given way to more lightweight, wraithlike apparitions. Discover the easy way to make your Halloween ghosts float or fly across your yard, porch or wherever the spirits take you.
Gather Your Ghosts
If you're creative or feeling ambitious, you can make your own ghosts. Or, you can do what I did, and save yourself some time and hassle by just using premade ghosts, like these fairly simple and easy-to-assemble spirits I reviewed from Grandin Road. I liked having the ghostly trio all there and ready to go, so I could focus on my flying trickery.
Stake It
If using the Grandin Road ghost trio set or something similar, assemble the ground stake, ad directed. Thrust the stake securely into the ground. Doing so at an angle will give your ghost a less rigid, more flowing appearance, as you'll see in later steps.
White Ghost Fabric
If this is a do-it-yourself project, then hopefully you will have chosen an extremely lightweight fabric that is not stiff or starchy. A plain white cotton sheet will do, but something more lightweight and slightly more transparent will look more "floaty" and be easier to work with. This might be a lightweight rayon or cotton / synthetic blend.
Moving right along, stretch out the fabric to its full length, then proceed to attach more-or-less in the center to the round or oval head of your ghost.
You can attach it with a thumb tack, pin, use a glue gun, regular white glue or double-sided tape.
Sew Your Ghost
Thread 10-pound-strength monofilament (fishing wire or invisible nylon heavyweight thread) through a large embroidery needle. Carefully pull the needle through a corner of the fabric a few times, enough to make a secure knot when tugged or pulled lightly. Depending on how high your overhead support is, you may need a step stool or ladder to tie the monofilament in a secure knot to the tree branch or beam.
Snip the Thread
Cut the short end of the monofilament / thread close to the fabric.
Unreel
With the other end that is still attached to the monofilament spool or reel, stretch it up and out toward your overhead support from which your ghost will be suspended. This might be an eave or beam above a porch or a tree branch.
Adjusting the Spirit's Arms
To get the ghost "arm" (corner of fabric) adjusted to the desired level, you'll need to play around with the monofilament spool before cutting and tying it. You may need to pull it out, raise it up, or lower it before it looks just right.
Tie it Tight
Once you've found the perfect position for the ghostly arm or edge, tie it securely to the tree branch, eave, beam or other overhead support. Tie it a few times in a knot to make sure it doesn't come loose.
A Ghostly Gathering
In this shot, you can see the monofilament. At night and from a distance, the fishing wire should barely be visible, giving the illusion of floating ghosts. To section off your ghostly gathering and keep trick-or-treaters from any close encounters with the monofilament, surround the scene with low fencing.
This is exactly the effect you're after: ghosts that appear to be floating in mid-air. It's an exciting, "uplifting" sight, and is a cinch to pull off.
Now that you've got the "hang" of do-it-yourself projects, check out our other easy Halloween how-to projects.
Long before people started turning their yards into theme-park-caliber haunted houses for Halloween, a few of the more ambitious neighborhood decorators would put up a scarecrow in their yard or hang some white-sheet ghosts.
As decorations and prop-making skills have become more elaborate, the sheet ghosts have given way to more lightweight, wraithlike apparitions. Discover the easy way to make your Halloween ghosts float or fly across your yard, porch or wherever the spirits take you.
Gather Your Ghosts
If you're creative or feeling ambitious, you can make your own ghosts. Or, you can do what I did, and save yourself some time and hassle by just using premade ghosts, like these fairly simple and easy-to-assemble spirits I reviewed from Grandin Road. I liked having the ghostly trio all there and ready to go, so I could focus on my flying trickery.
Stake It
If using the Grandin Road ghost trio set or something similar, assemble the ground stake, ad directed. Thrust the stake securely into the ground. Doing so at an angle will give your ghost a less rigid, more flowing appearance, as you'll see in later steps.
White Ghost Fabric
If this is a do-it-yourself project, then hopefully you will have chosen an extremely lightweight fabric that is not stiff or starchy. A plain white cotton sheet will do, but something more lightweight and slightly more transparent will look more "floaty" and be easier to work with. This might be a lightweight rayon or cotton / synthetic blend.
Moving right along, stretch out the fabric to its full length, then proceed to attach more-or-less in the center to the round or oval head of your ghost.
You can attach it with a thumb tack, pin, use a glue gun, regular white glue or double-sided tape.
Sew Your Ghost
Thread 10-pound-strength monofilament (fishing wire or invisible nylon heavyweight thread) through a large embroidery needle. Carefully pull the needle through a corner of the fabric a few times, enough to make a secure knot when tugged or pulled lightly. Depending on how high your overhead support is, you may need a step stool or ladder to tie the monofilament in a secure knot to the tree branch or beam.
Snip the Thread
Cut the short end of the monofilament / thread close to the fabric.
Unreel
With the other end that is still attached to the monofilament spool or reel, stretch it up and out toward your overhead support from which your ghost will be suspended. This might be an eave or beam above a porch or a tree branch.
Adjusting the Spirit's Arms
To get the ghost "arm" (corner of fabric) adjusted to the desired level, you'll need to play around with the monofilament spool before cutting and tying it. You may need to pull it out, raise it up, or lower it before it looks just right.
Tie it Tight
Once you've found the perfect position for the ghostly arm or edge, tie it securely to the tree branch, eave, beam or other overhead support. Tie it a few times in a knot to make sure it doesn't come loose.
A Ghostly Gathering
In this shot, you can see the monofilament. At night and from a distance, the fishing wire should barely be visible, giving the illusion of floating ghosts. To section off your ghostly gathering and keep trick-or-treaters from any close encounters with the monofilament, surround the scene with low fencing.
This is exactly the effect you're after: ghosts that appear to be floating in mid-air. It's an exciting, "uplifting" sight, and is a cinch to pull off.
Now that you've got the "hang" of do-it-yourself projects, check out our other easy Halloween how-to projects.
