A rolling stone gathers no moss, but a tombstone (and my patio) gathers plenty.  So if you want a realistic looking tombstone you’re going to need to find a way to add some realistic moss that will stick to it.  Troy from Halloween Hellmouth has a great method that produces a great looking moss for any prop utilizing a mixture of pre-dried moss and paint.  You can buy dried moss at most craft stores, but if you have access to moss you can dry it out for a couple of days and use it. You’ll start by puréeing the dried moss in a blender and then you’re going to start mixing your paint until you get your desired color.  Once you’ve got the correct color mix you’re ready to start spreading it onto your prop.  Use your fingers to spread it and don’t worry if you’re a bit sloppy because moss doesn’t exactly grow straight.  After you’ve spread the moss mixture onto your prop you’re going to want to wait for a good three days for the entire  mixture to set, which sounds like an inordinate amount of time to wait for something to dry, but trust me, it’s worth it.  The end result looks amazing.  Troy adds even more detail by tea staining his moss application, but even before doing this his method is a success.     Items needed to create this include: Bag of  moss (or actual dried moss) Paintbrush Mixing stick Mixing bowl Spray bottle filled with water Drip pan (for water to drip in to) Acrylic paint...

A styrofoam tombstone is about the simplest prop you can make for your haunt assuming you don’t make it overly intricate, but sometimes even the simplest of props can take on a whole new life by adding a motor. Just ask Christoper, of Chris’ Crypt who has a really simple tutorial on how to turn your Styrofoam tombstone into a rocking tombstone.  You’ll need to build a wooden base to hold the tombstone on one end (pivot point) and the motor on the opposite side.  When you connect the cam to the tombstone the slow rotation of the motor will get your tombstone rocking back and forth.   Items needed to complete this include: Styrofoam tombstone Motor Wood for base 1/2″ piece...

The Breathing Grave tutorial we posted a while back is a favorite of many home haunters that visit us here at Haunters List, so the opportunity to post a video tutorial on this prop is not going to be missed.  The HollywoodHaunter made the aforementioned video tutorial for his incredible looking breathing grave prop (seriously, forget about the breathing part, I’d be happy if I could make a grave look as good as his).   The footage of this breathing grave in action is spectacular and should be considered a staple in any home haunters yard....

Clockwerk from HalloweenForum has built a really eerie, almost cartoonish looking Ghost Girl and has posted some great pictures and a brief tutorial on how it was constructed.  This creepy little girl sits atop her tombstone with an ominous glow beckoning passers by to enter her cemetery.  There’s nothing I don’t like about this prop.  Heck, I think the tombstone alone looks great, but Clockwerk has really shown some artistic skill with this girl.  It seems like a pretty easy prop to build, but the arms, legs, and head may take some skill to craft (ok, so maybe it’s not that easy).     You’ll need to create and mount a PVC frame to the tombstone.  The head is constructed out of a styrofoam craft ball with ping pong balls (with LED’s implanted) for eyeballs, while the legs and arms are created using a combination of paper mache and Crayola model magic.     Items needed to complete this include: Tombstone Styrofoam craft ball Ping Pong balls LED lights Paper Mache Crayola Model Magic (4) – 90 degree 3/4″ pvc (2 or 3) – 3/4″ pvc T joints 4  feet – 3/4″...

Mourning Cemetery & Manor have a really good tutorial on how to build a bleeding tombstone.  The trick to this one involves two plexiglass blood tanks, the main tank is mounted in the styrofoam base and a secondary tank is mounted above the bullet holes.     A 1/2″  tube feeds the blood from the main tank to the secondary tank, while 1/4″ tubes drain the blood down into the bullet holes.  This setup allows for the blood to slowly seep out of the holes rather than flowing out at an unnatural rate.   Items needed to complete this include: 1/4″ Plexiglass tanks (width determined by tombstone) water pump (1) 1/2″ tubing (5) 1/4″ tubes Plexiglass squares Styrofoam...

If you’ve ever had a cemetery in your haunt or yard you already know the pain of having to purchase tombstones for it.  The pain revolves around having to pay for a foam product that you could easily produce yourself.  Moreover, yours will certainly look better because you can put as much detail as you desire into it, and personalize it to your hearts content.  Personally, I can’t stand working with styrofoam, but for those that don’t have a problem with it, you’re going to want to take a look at Keeba’s Tombstones.     Not only is Keeba’s tutorial nicely laid out from the start of the project to completion, but offers some really good examples of detailing techniques like dry and wet warping that you just don’t find in most tombstone tutorials.  After undergoing some simple painting and aging, the finished products look fantastic.  These will take a  while to make, and you’re going to have to factor your time into these when deciding whether or not it’s worth your while, but you certainly don’t find tombstones this nice for sale.    ...