How to Make a Halloween Ghost
Whether you want to welcome or scare trick or treaters, this levitating ghost decoration is easy and fun to make! Make it 3 days before Halloween and it will be ready for the big day…
What you need…
Corn starch
Water
Cheesecloth (we got ours from Mitre 10)
Scissors
Tin foil
An old 1.5L soft drink bottle
Wire (we used an old wire coat hanger)
A polystyrene ball
…or another round item that could be used as your ghost’s headA chopstick, fruit skewer or other strong stick.
This will be used to hold up your ghost’s head.Newspaper, disposable card or plastic.
Anything that will protect your surfaces during the messy phase of your ghost creation!
How make ghostly glue…
This cheesecloth ghost seems to levitate because the cloth hardens when soaked in glue and left to dry. But why pay loads for glue when you can make your own?
Mix 1/4 cup Corn Starch with 1/2 cup water, to form a runny paste.
Add more water if the paste is too thick.Ask a caregiver to help you to bring 3 1/2 cups of water to the boil in a saucepan.
Once the water is boiling, slowly add the corn starch paste, stirring as you do.
Bring the mixture back to the boil, continuing to stir.
After 2 - 5 minutes, the mixture should thicken to resemble glue.
Note: if your mixture does not thicken, add more diluted corn starch.Once thickened, remove from the heat and allow the glue to cool.
How to make your ghost…
Insert your chopstick (or other stick) into the base of the polystyrene ball. This will be your ghost’s head and neck.
Note: For best effect, the ball must be larger than the width of your soft drink bottle.Fill your old soft drink bottle with water.
This will prevent the bottle from falling over, as you create your ghost.Put the chopstick (with the ball mounted on the end) into the soft drink bottle… your ghost now has a body and a head!
Ask a caregiver to help you wrap wire around the neck of the soft drink bottle and create two arm shapes.
Wrap the ends of the wire in tin foil, to make your ghosts arms thicker.
Next, drape your cheesecloth over the ghost frame you’ve created, ensuring that there is a lot of cloth pooled around the base of your ghost.
When the glue hardens it’s this cloth base that will hold your ghost up, and make the rest look as if it levitates.Once you know how much cheesecloth you need to achieve the above, cut it so that you will have two layers of cheesecloth.
Lay out your old newspaper or other surface protecting gear (or do this step outside) and place your ghost frame on it.
Soak your cut cheesecloth in the glue (ensuring it is soaked through). Carefully drape the wet cheese cloth over your ghost frame, ensuring that there is plenty of cloth pooled at the bottom of your ghost.
Note: to make your ghost look like it’s levitating, make sure to leave openings in the cloth.Repeat with a second layer of cheesecloth.
Leave to dry for at least 2 days.
Note: don’t try to touch or move your ghost until it is completely dry.Once dry, carefully remove your ghost frame from inside the cheesecloth.
Because the glue has hardened, your cheese cloth should now be able to stand up on it’s own.
Get decorating…
These ghost are great to have haunting your home on Halloween. You can even use your ghosts outside, but make sure it’s a dry day as the cheese cloth will soften if it gets damp.
Try adding fairy lights to the inside of your ghost to give it a ghostly glow!
Did you give it a go?
Send us a photo of your ghost (and any tips you have for creating one) and you might find your frightening craft featured in a future issue of Upstart magazine!