DIY Life

You've got the candy. You've got your costume. You're juuust about ready for your big Halloween bash. Or are you? C'mon. It's just not Halloween until you've scared the living daylights out of your friends, family and/or colleagues. For those with electronics know-how, there's many a fun DIY project out there to fit the bill. Take this one, for example: the Ghoul Grabber from the site Instructables.com.

The Ghoul Grabber consists of a homemade step sensor attached to a ghoul dummy. When your friend arrives and steps oh-so-innocently over the threshold, he/she unwittingly steps on the sensor, which sets off the small motor to which it is attached. The motor, in turn, is hooked up to the ghoul, making the ghoul's "arms" suddenly lunge forward and grab for your guest's legs. Aaaahhhhh!!!!

Click here for full instructions and 27 pics, including a schematic wiring diagram. Your gentle instructor for this project, a fellow with the screen name "guyfrom7up," totally mangles the English language. However, he won me over with his enthusiasm and great photos! Click here to see a variation on the step sensor theme. For those with the tech know-how, these sensors can be wired to do all sorts of other tricks -- for example, to set off spooky lights and scary Halloween sounds.