Groundbreaking Giant Props
Our friends at Louisville Halloween recently posted an article listing their selections for Top Ten Gigantic Haunt Props of the Halloween Industry. While they correctly identified some amazing props such as the Scarefactory‘s Elder Dragon and Creative Visions‘ Rock Monster, and gave a much deserved nod to Eric Lowther for his numerous giant creations at Haunted Overload, we feel they missed out on some amazing large props that shaped the industry.
For purposes of this list, we’re going to define ‘giant props’ as anything larger than life. So here goes, our top 5!
Circa 1998 – Nefarious by James Grevasis
Number One: Nefarious
The first giant animated prop to really make waves in the haunted attraction industry. The example most will recall resided at Lance Pope’s Haunted Verdun Manor . The original proprietor of Verdun Manor who sadly passed far too soon at the age of only 37, made some modifications to his Nefarious, adding wings and a flamethrower.
Circa 2002 – Rod Puppets by Gore Galore
Number Two: Gore Galore Rod Puppets
Giant puppets and actor controlled props were a game changer for the industry. These provided the operator with a way to induce larger than like screams and impressions in the victim. Among the first were the Rod Puppets introduced by Kevin Alvey’s company, Gore Galore. Cranky the Robot, Spooky Ernie, Giggles the Clown and Zang the Destroyer others were a huge hit. Spooky Ernie was inspired by Mr. Burns from the Simpsons.
These giant puppets stood nearly 15 feet tall and were worn as a backpack by the actor whole would dress in a blackout suit. Two were fiberglass and two were constructed of a super light urethane shell, cast heads and latex and foam hands and bodies made of wire over PVC and strink wrapped. Cranky the Robot even had an amazing battle at the annual Transworld Haunted Attraction Show with Nefarious!
Number Three: Ex Mortis Stalkarounds
Wayne Toth brought his Stalkaround creations to the haunted attraction show around 2001. These giant costumers were worn on the shoulders of the actor with a helmet which controlled the movement of the giant head. The actor would look through the chest of the costume which had a cleverly concealed viewing port. His company, Ex Mortis, successfully sold the stalkaround line for many years.
Number 4: Gore Galore Giant Costumes
Gore Galore disrupted the halloween prop industry again with the introduction of their giant costumes. These were similar to the Ex Mortis costumes in some ways, but added a lot of unique improvements and features. Most came with built in Scream Cubes giving the monsters a voice. One of the first of the giant costumes and certainly among the most impressive was Freakinstein. This Frankenstein inspired costume had a massive Igor styled hump mixed with a head and other features resembling Frankenstein’s monster. This line has now expanded to numerous giant costumes such as the Village Rat, Cletis the Clown and even a giant Krampus for Christmas Haunts. Freakinstein is no longer listed on the Gore Galore web site but may be available as a special order item.
Number 5: Scarefactory Impaler – Circa 2004
Perhaps the most commercially successful giant animatronic creation ever introduced was the Impaler from Scarefactory. This 13′ tall creature features seven different articulating movements such as head rotation and tilt, standing up and sitting, and a moving mouth which enables the character to speak. There is even an optional shredded kicker for Impaler to swing around in his left hand. Impalers can be found in haunted houses around the world and are still an available item.