A Halloween Story Walk

Do you want a new idea for Halloween decorating?  How about a Halloween story walk? Actually, I borrowed this idea from a library in Stockbridge, Massachusetts (see blog), changed the story, and added more elaborate scenes.

I don’t like abridging stories, so this one is a little long. If you do it, you might want to post a shorter story.

I started this project by ordering two paperback copies of my favorite Halloween book. Then I used a box cutter to cut out the pages, lightly glued each page to construction paper, added a numbered pumpkin, and laminated each page. You can buy a good laminator on amazon for around $30.

I didn’t staple the story up until I had made my two scenes. The skeleton was easy; they are available in every store selling Halloween decorations.

I made the old lady in two parts. For the legs I used a pool noodle and inserted a short PVC pipe at the end of each noodle. I put black tights on the noodle and inserted the end of each noodle into a small shoe. I poked holes through the noodle and used wire to attach the shoes. Then I placed the noodle up in the tree so that a foot came down on each side of the branch.

For the old lady’s upper body, I made a frame out of PVC pipe, using a t-joint so I could give her shoulders and arms. I inserted the bottom part of the pipe into half a pool noodle. The head is made from a styrofoam head  bought from Michaels, then stuck on the end of the PVC pipe. I covered the head with an old-lady mask found at the Halloween store. The clothes were from Good Will, and the bonnet and apron were from Amazon. I also lightly stuffed some Halloween costume gloves and pinned them to the sleeves of the dress.

The hardest part was securing the old lady’s upper body into the tree. I used a bungee cord and rope around the noodle/pvc pipe.

This scene needed a finishing touch, so I added a Custom Easy Button and recorded a line the old lady says to the skeleton. I had to figure out a better way to hang the button. The outer part of a stitchery hoop worked–glued to the button and wired shut on top.

I really lucked-out for the second scene. I found a dog mask online that looked just like the dog mask in the story. I put that over another styrofoam head. I also found the right outfit at Goodwill. Once again, I framed the dog with PVC pipe. (Actually, the dog is supposed to be the old lady in her Halloween costume)

I hope this idea inspires someone to do their own story walk, or at least find the book and read it to their kids.

Happy Halloween!