To make the moving Pond Monster, you will need: a motorized duck decoy (Motorized duck decoys are available from Cabela's or other sporting catalogue or hunters' store.); batteries to power the decoy; duct tape; black spray paint; two green or yellow snap glow sticks; a piece of styrofoam, pillow foam, or packing foam about 14" x 9" x 6"; a sharp knife; monofilament or tough string; a very large fishing sinker or a fist-sized rock or piece of brick.
Look! There's a glowing-eyed monster swimming in the pond. You can almost see its head -- almost! Look at those eyes. It must be huge. I wonder if it has teeth . . .
The Pond Monster is an easy way to include your garden pond in the weirdness of Halloween night. First, peel off the DUCK part of the decoy, a molded piece of soft foam (you can put it back on later). Insert the batteries the thing calls for. Then, using the sharp knife, take the piece of your foam and sculpt a simple oval top for the creature, to replace the ducky one you have just taken off. This is easy -- look at the photo below. Then securely duct ("duck"?) tape the new top to the rest of the decoy. Using the knife or a stick, punch two holes into the foam near the "front" of the critter. These are for the glow-stick eyes. Make sure the glow sticks will stick out at least half an inch each from these holes. Take the glow sticks back out. Then spray paint the whole critter black. When Pondy dries, tie some monofilamaent around him and suspend the big sinker or piece of stone about 8 inches below the body of the critter, so it will stablize him in the water and help him to go round in circles. This is so he won't become hung up on water lilies or other pond plants, or run aground. He will swim for hours, but better do a test run!
On Halloween night, just before your guests arrive, snap and shake the glow sticks and stick them into his eye sockets, turn on the switch, set Pondy in the pond -- and instant (small!) Nessie!
Variations: Green and Yellow glow sticks are the only ones Uncialle has found that are bright enough to be seen more than six feet away, but you could try other colors. You can put a large Halloween mask (a dragon? the Creature from the Black Lagoon? a witch with long hair?) over the whole thing, and still see the glowing eye-sticks. Pondy might work well with a long "tail" of some sort to drag behind on the surface of the water. In any case, Pondy will be set for several hours of fun. Because his head is black, your guests will not be able to make out exactly what he is -- just the way you want it! Uncialle's house pond is seven by sixteen feet, and is just perfect for Pondy, zooming greenly in and out of view on the blackest of black nights.
How to Haunt: Making Wooden Halloween Signs
Uncialle's Fly-by-Night Tips for Fast Haunting
Strange Things of the Real Universe
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