They say that necessity is the mother of invention. Nothing proves that point better than this video of a home haunter scaring trick-or-treaters with a stilt-wearing Predator costume. If you’re looking for something to freak out your Halloween visitors, few things garner the explosive response that “spring stilts” do. Their construction gives the wearer a surreal, monstrous walk that can transform any good costume into a terrifyingly great one. Imagine a scary costume idea- evil clown, Predator, bloody corpse, werewolf, nameless creature- whatever freaks you out. Now imagine it towering 3 feet above your head. Your costume just went from unsettling to scream-worthy with the addition of one item.

The only real catch is the price. Homemade stilts are dirt cheap and will still give you a great affect, but the “jumping stilts” (aka: …

When making costumes, there are usually many versions you can create, varying from easy and cheap to labor-intensive and bank-breaking. For costume armor, the most authentic replicas are made with plastic, fiberglass, sheet metal: all requiring a bit of skill and special supplies as well as being a little dangerous. Kudos to anyone who takes on that challenge, but for the rest of us there’s Armor For the Fiberglass-Phobic. The unlikely material of Craft Foam (available at Joann or any craft store) gets transformed into good looking, movable armor and accessories, and just about anyone can do it. For an even more detailed explanation of the process, check out Using EVA Foam for Costume Accessories, Hats & Headpieces. Want an even easier foam costume? A 2D costume looks awesome and can be …

As a die-hard Halloweenie, you know “it’s never too early” to start planning for the Big Day; but when should you actually start? Dependent upon he complexity of your Halloween plans, the answer could range from a mere month to developing a year-round hobby of it. Most of us fall somewhere in-between even though Halloween tends to sneak up on even the best prepared. One day you look at the calendar and have 9.5 months left, then suddenly you’re rushing around the night before to put together a costume. With so many variables to think about- costumes, decorations, food, treats, haunts, new horror movies, etc.- it can be easy to forget some crucial elements until the last minute. We’ve put together a guide that will help you easily begin planning a killer costume now so you can spend October having fun.

Decide …

This Navin Johnson (“The Jerk”) costume is really quite simple. All you need is an ashtray, a paddle game and a remote control, and that’s all you need. And some matches. The ashtray, and those matches, and the remote control and the paddle ball. And a lamp. The ashtray, a paddle game and the remote control and the lamp and that’s all you need. You don’t need one other thing, not one- except for a chair.

Accessories are what make The Jerk costume really recognizable so don’t forget to get as much as you can. The costume itself is simply made up of a robe with white shirt underneath and white boxers/shorts. You can leave it at that, or you can go all out and add the black shoes …

It may be too early for some of you (amateurs), but the folks at BuyCostumes are offering a whopping 50% off all their clearance items until December 31, 2006. That’s 50% off adult costumes, kid costumes, pet costumes, costume accessories, party decor, party supplies and anything else that is marked as clearance. We’re using this opportunity to snag a couple costumes that we had our eye on this year, but were out of our price range. Assuming the holidays haven’t bankrupted you yet, this is a great chance to stock up on Halloween supplies at killer prices.

Coupon Code: use code OUTTAHERE06 to receive 50% off any clearance items, while supplies last.

The next 3 days or so is the final rush for online Halloween shopping, so retailers are offering some good deals. Costumes are flying off the shelves too, so if you don’t have your costume yet then you need to either buy RIGHT NOW or plan to wear a DIY get-up. I did some online shopping this morning and had an eerily perfect experience, but I’ll save the details for after the deals and coupons below. Some of them expire this weekend, so don’t wait!

Extremely Time-Sensitive Deals

Fright Catalog: Same day shipping on most orders placed by Noon EST. Variable shipping costs. Place an order of $50 or more TODAY (October 21st, 2006) and receive 2 R.I.P. Rewards cards worth $10 each for future purchases of $40 or more (details here).
Buy Costumes: $0.99 FedEx Ground shipping and $5.99 FedEx …