Raven Manor’s Grave Slab
The moving Grave Slab prop that the Hallowed Haunting Grounds built in 1994 has served as inspiration for many home haunters since its creation. It’s a great idea that was well executed and tutorialized for all to benefit from. Raven Manor put together a tutorial on their build of this classic prop and it’s worth a deeper look. I know what you’re thinking…why would I not take a deeper look at the Hallowed Haunting Grounds original build? To be honest, it simply came down to the photos of Raven Manor’s Grave Slab, not to mention that they’ve got a video of it in action.
The base of the prop is framed out of three layers of tiered 2 x 4’s while the lid is an additional layer of 2 x 4’s with a sheet of styrofoam layered on top.
The styrofoam is secured to the lid with 1/2″ magnets that were glued into the wood and styrofoam.
The lid of the prop rocks back and forth via a motor attached to a 8″ diameter v-belt pulley while a 1″ piece of PVC in the base connects to a 1-1/4″ piece of PVC in the lid to allow for a nice pivot.
This is a heavy duty prop because of the 2 x 4 construction, but overall it’s a pretty simple build if you’ve got some decent framing skills. The video below highlights the mechanics behind the lid rotation.
Items needed to complete this include:
- (12) 8′ – 2×4 lumber (determined by the size of your tomb)
- 1 sheet styrofoam (4 x 8′)
- 11.5 RPM Dayton motor
- 8″ diameter v-belt pulley
- 1″ PVC (approximately 4″)
- 1-1/4″ PVC (approximately 4″)
- 1/2″ diameter magnets
- Caster wheels
- Paint