Things That Go Bleep in the Night – All Hail Halloween Technology
The witching hour is upon us. Now that it’s October, creepily-costumed children are ready to march the streets paved with the amber glow of candle-lit Jack O’Lanterns. Halloween has steadily become a staple celebration every bit as essential as Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
For an annual festivity that’s been around for hundreds of years, it’s about time that technology caught up by putting the digital into the devilish. Here’s how Halloween has gone high-tech.
Alexa, scare me silly!
Everyone’s favourite virtual pal Alexa has got into the Halloween spirit, pun very much intended. As fright night starts, why not ask Amazon’s intuitive device to regale you with a spooky tale or some ice-breaking party games? She can even add illustrative sonic colour to your decorations with haunted house sounds, blood-curdling screams, and things that go bump in the night.
Of which, AtmosFX can certainly help out with the latter. The digital decoration company provide animated illusions ready to pepper up any Halloween party. With just a projector and some craftily placed props, their convincing holograms can make ghosts appear, paintings come to life or even make pumpkins sing!
Moaning and droning
Halloween revellers have been getting a little more creative in the scares department of late, thanks to drone technology. The Top Race Halloween Ghost Drone is a ghastly apparition that’ll terrify trick-or-treaters once they hit your doorstep. The bloodied spectre can float just like the ‘real thing’, thanks to its nimble quadcopter technology. Additionally, it benefits from a one key return, lest you lose control of your airborne afterlife in October’s windy bluster.
Prints of darkness
Yes, 3D printing is truly next level. From homes to body parts, it’s technology that breaks boundaries of what previously seemed impossible. But who cares about all that when, really, all we want to do is petrify revellers with a 3D print of your own head? A fun, if needlessly disturbing way to shock the kids, printing a full ultra-realistic cast of your disembodied bonce can be the grisly centrepiece of your macabre decor. Add a dash of red around the neck for a little extra gory colour. Surround by some skittering spiders for yet more festive dismay.
For a slightly more family friendly approach, how about taking the effort, mess and miasma out of pumpkin carving by 3D printing your own Jack O’ Lantern? Getting intricate designs via technology without having to spill a single seed is bound to light up faces as much as it does the faux pumpkins themselves. Also you can always just craft some delightful accessories straight from your printer.
Threads of dread
So that’s how to haunt your own home and guests. But how are you going to dress for the occasion? If your engineering skills can match your imagination, perhaps take a pinch of inspiration from Jonas Zibartas’ jaw-dropping skillset. The multi-talented cosplayer uses motion sensor tech, motors, LED lights and an extraordinary amount of dedication to realise his costume efforts.
If you’re not confident of your sartorial skills, maybe turn to Digital Dudz for their app-enabled Morphsuit horror costumes. Featuring garish rubber masks into which you can slot your smartphone for a downloaded digital effect, they’ll be sure to freak out anyone popping by for candy. (Or simply, get the t-shirt.)
Happy high-tech Halloween to everyone! Don’t have nightmares…
You may also be interested in:
>> 3D printing: what comes next?
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