I had a great time last night on “All Hallow's Eve”. It's a tradition at my house to scare the living crap out of the kids as they approach the house for candy.  Last year I didn't do anything for logistical reasons. The year before that, I drew a big pile of leaves in the front lawn and put up a sign that simply said “Angry Leaves”.  I hid in the leaf pile and jumped out at opportune moments. The year before that I sat slumped in a chair wearing a big troll mask pretending to be stuffed.

This year I built a remote scarecrow with an exploding balloon head. I got a couple 90W halogen floodlights on stakes and put them in the ground about 3 feet on either side of the scarecrow. Then I took a powered speaker and a wireless microphone receiver, and plugged it into a remote-controlled power switch. I covered the wires and speaker with a small tarp, then I put the scarecrow on top of it. The scarecrow was hung on a photography light stand: Jeans stuffed with a long pillow, a dowel stuck through the top of the stand. Then I put a shirt over that. I taped a big orange balloon (with a goofy face drawn on it) to the top, and attached a model rocket engine ignitor. I put a bucket of candy at his feet, and hid in the bushes with my wireless mic, power remote control, and model rocket launcher.

When kids walked by I flipped the switch and the yard lit up. I then said something like, “hey kid, come'ere.... I got your candy right here”  I waited until they were really close before I popped the balloon, sometimes saying, “hey, do my eyes look green to you?” This is fun.