There’s nothing more satisfying than creating your own talking skull.  I would have no way of knowing this since I opted to purchase one for fear that I would horribly botch the installation, but I honestly suspect there’s nothing more satisfying than creating your own.  With that in mind, Scary Terry has a great tutorial on Installing a Servo in a Bucky Skull.   You’ll start by building a mounting bracket for your servo out of aluminum and then you’ll mount the servo bracket in the Bucky skull (ok, there’s a little more to it, but trust me, you’re going to need to check out Scary Terry’s Tutorial). You’re going to break the jaw of your skull next and reconnect it utilizing the zip ties as the new pivot point of the jaw.   You’ll next drill a hole in the skull and connect the servo to the jaw using a piece of the music wire.   That’s all there is to it, more or less, but you’ll still need an audio circuit to drive the servo.  Luckily, Scary Terry has an audio circuit solution as well!   Items needed to complete this include: Bucky Skull Servo (HiTec HS-425BB – See details at ServoCity) (2) 3/4″ long 1″x1″x1/16″ angle aluminum 0.039″ Music wire, aka piano wire (1) 1/2″ #6 screw, nut, washer Servo mounting hardware (#4/ 40 screws and nuts) (2) 4″ Zip ties...

If you’re feeling extra industrious this year, and the notion that your efforts could result in an epic failure don’t frighten you, you might want to attempt to build a vortex tunnel for your haunt.  Scary Terry has laid out a tutorial on how he built his, and while it doesn’t contain a complete supplies list, it should be more than enough to get you started.   The tunnel has a frame that consists of three 10′ diameter “hoops” that are attached to each other, and it’s the precision required to get the plywood cut accurately that will ultimately determine your success with this project.  The hoops are spun around by three pairs of bicycle wheels, five of which are free spinning with the sixth being driven by a motor.  It’s the sixth wheel that actually rotates the tunnel itself.  You’ll need to build a bridge for people to walk on, and the hoops will actually fit around the bridge, rotating around it.  Once the frame is complete it’s just a matter of attaching fabric around the inside of the hoops and painting a sufficiently nauseating pattern on it.   Building a vortex tunnel is a pretty serious undertaking that requires skill and accuracy.  I’ve always said that confidence is a great asset, but knowing when you’re in over your head is a better one.  I know that I would be in over my head with this build, but if you’ve got the skill to get it done, it will be a crowd pleaser.  Good luck storing it, though!...