How to make woods spooky?
11I need an inexpensive way to make woodlands “creepy”. Moving somewhere with extensive woodlands and noticed several hunting stands (owner of land says not his, and doesn’t know who put them up).
I don’t have a problem with hunting per se, but I have kids and dogs that I don’t want getting shot in their own backyard, plus we’re moving to the woods because we want to see nature. Usually if it’s shot and hauled off, we won’t see it.
Sure, I’ll put up no hunting signs, but what’s the best way to make the woods creepy for people that trespass anyway?
Satanic symbols? Random spooky dolls hidden in the woods? Glow in the dark eyes? Speakers playing dueling banjos on loop 24/7? Prop arms partially buried it the ground?
Has to be safe for kids, dogs, etc.
I’m on a strict budget, so cheaper options to make the woods spooky preferred but I’m up for silly flamboyant suggestions for the entertainment value too. All in all, I’ll most likely just put signs up, but it’s good to plan creepy things.
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Hang a bunch of these in clusters
then put rock formations around close but not directly with them
@Koolhandjoe ahhh… That’s simple and effective plus looks like not too expensive. That’s a good idea. Plenty of rocks around too.
@OnionSoup Honestly this would be the first thing I would do… you can also make it even creepier by going to the local butcher and seeing if they will just give you some of the discarded cow and pig bones and then bleach them and place around the rock structures
@Koolhandjoe ahhhh… Yes. Perfect. I have to do that.
@Koolhandjoe in college, one of my friends was a forestry major and he collected some cow bones from out in the woods. We washed them and bleached them and had to lay them out somewhere to dry, so we laid them out behind my dorm and kind of in the shape of some weird skeleton. It was just getting dark as we finished up.
About an hour later the police were knocking on my door. The report was that there were individuals in hooded robes with candles having some kind of satanic ceremony out there, and did we have anything to do with it? It actually turned into kind of a big deal because they refused to believe the actual explanation for a while.
Bones work. Especially if laid out creepily.
@djslack @Koolhandjoe just out of curiosity… What if you were actually having a satanic ritual… Is that actually illegal? Although generally frowned upon, I think worshipping Satan is actually protected by the constitution, so I don’t think the police could legally do anything about it if you were.
@Koolhandjoe @OnionSoup we called the town where I went to college the buckle of the Bible Belt, so I’m not sure whether the constitution fully guaranteed protection. We didn’t want to test it too hard.
@Koolhandjoe Slightly off topic to spooky woods and on the topic of spooky dolls - although putting a ton of your dolls all over the woods might scare them off due to worrying about the people who would put dolls like that out (LOL) - this was in my pocket feed today.
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-history-of-creepy-dolls
Now they aren’t exactly talking about the kind of creepy dolls you create, rather why dolls can be creepy, but I thought you might find it interesting. It was originally in the Smithsonian Magazine.
@Koolhandjoe @OnionSoup I don’t think hunters are going to be that bothered by butchered animal bones. I find them all over my little woods, because my hillside used to be a dumping ground a hundred years ago. But even in pieces, they’re clearly animal bones.
If you’re going that route, though, use lamb bones. They’re a bit more human looking.
Might see about setting up an ultralow frequency generator (<20 Hz). Inaudible but tangible background thrumming. And a super cheap, easy scare: if you can figure out where people are driving in, put a pair of nails with a washer around each
where their headlights will hit in trees. The flash looks like eyes.
Now that I think of creepy things I’ve found in my yard:
-Old baby dolls with the skulls crushed and eyes torn out (for extra emphasis, nail them to trees)
-Old glasses in very good condition
-Articles of children’s clothing that have clearly been in the elements for a lot of years. Maybe go thrifting, pick up some really old clothes, age them with some abrasion and a soak in some tea, then place them where they’re not too obvious
You can also make large figures using bedsheets… by mixing 50/50 exterior latex paint and joint compound (called monster mud)… dipping the sheets in the mix and drape them over a diy wood frame that stays inside just paint it black… once dry they are very durable and place them randomly behind trees
Please note… this is not my creation… I ripped it from the internet.
@Koolhandjoe I love that. Does it hold up to the elements?
@OnionSoup the exterior latex and joint compound are supposed to be very durable… and heavy… some people also cover them in a thin layer of quickcrete… but I have heard that they last for a long time and and can be patched with more monster mud or quickcrete… but as they age they get a natural deteriorated look but hold shape… lots of tutorials on you tube for these
@Koolhandjoe @OnionSoup
Stiltbeast prefers PL-375 instead of monster mud.
Plus another technique using underlayment.
@OnionSoup @RiotDemon nice… I have not gotten through all of his tutorials yet… but he has some great advice… and typically shows how to do things on a shoestring budget
@Koolhandjoe @OnionSoup he’s awesome. He has another channel where he does live stuff in the shop. He answers almost every question he gets asked. Super helpful guy.
/youtube stiltbeast live
Usually Monday, Wednesday, Fridays.
POPSOCKETS! COURT DOCKETS! FOLK ROCK HITS! AWESOME!
@Koolhandjoe Glad to hear this isn’t yours. If it was I’d think it might be better not to look to see/know what kind of
bodydoll you made it out of.Or look up a style of corpsing call “Rot” made popular by a guy name PumkinRot… A lot of time this is done to create scarecrows but the process involves sticks, fallen branches old garden hoses to shape ribs… and lashing together to make the bodies… some times adding paper mache using shop towels and construction adhesives for durability and foam pumpkins carved creepily or plastic skulls instead look creepy too… a bit more complicated but nasty results
Please note… this is not my creation… I ripped it from the internet… I plan on attempting some Rot style statues this Halloween though
Then there is always place speakers around the property and wire them to motion detectors and record children saying “Come Play With Me” and “I see you”… and then just random giggling… but also a couple of Screams from both a man and woman… so when anyone trips the motion sensor they hear that randomly in the trees… more expensive but would love to see the reaction
@Koolhandjoe this is a hit Youtube channel waiting to happen. Sponsored by the Wyze cam V3 for that good night vision.
@djslack @Koolhandjoe I have a Banana Boat speaker I could send. It’s waterproof.
@djslack @Koolhandjoe @sammydog01 You’re welcome to use this:
@djslack @Koolhandjoe @sammydog01 Somewhere I have it broken into 8 channels…
Could you just put notes on the stands to tell the hunters they aren’t allowed there?
You could also put up some whistles or wind chimes in the trees near by as well
@mbersiam of course… And I will do that… But I want to have some fun too…
These are all wonderful ideas, but if you do all of them you will attract teenagers. Guaranteed.
@mossygreen That’s exactly what I was thinking while reading all the great suggestions by @Koolhandjoe . We had a few “haunted” places that we went to all the time as teens.
Rubber snakes hanging from trees. Or maybe zombified rubber snakes a la @Koolhandjoe
Keep in mind that raccoons will be drawn to anything edible, shreddable, or climbable and their definition of those three is quite broad. Mostly, anything made of lesser stuff than steel or titanium will end up racoonified.
Besides signs saying you have kids and pets and no trespassing, plant poison ivy around their stands, put ant feeders in the grass around their stands, plant wild brambles around their stands so that it is a pain to get to them. If your landlord says yes, put up a sign telling them their stands will be removed, if they want to keep them then they have until X date to remove them from your property before they will be demolished. Since they have guns and kill things be careful how you piss them off.
It may depend on what the laws are in the state, no trespassing signs may be needed, and hunting stands that are left on the property gets into another legal area. A landowner might even be able to charge the hunter for the cost to remove and dispose of a hunting stand.
On the other hand, right of way issues might mean that if people have been crossing the land for years, you can’t just stop them from doing it.
Probably you should check into what the local laws are, on what the hunter’s rights are, and what yours are as a resident on the land. It’s kind of a different level of use between hunting on the land and putting up permanent stands. Stands I would think should require permission no matter what.
If you still just want to go with freak them out, maybe start simple with stuff like leave kids toys in the stands, so they get the idea kids might be playing out there. Do some crayon or chalk drawings in the stands, etc.
@kevinrs
Right of way is different from state to state but mostly pertains to small game. You have to be so many feet from your car on the side of the road ect. From what I understand.
@kevinrs Except that he wants to do this for cheap painting them in neon bright, kid colors and decorating like playhouses might make point too.
@Star2236 On right of way, I was just considering that depending on the state, if people have been crossing the land for years, you may not be able to put up no trespassing signs or fence to stop them.
/image matt moneymaker
/image james bobo fay
Staple PSAs to some of the nearby trees warning about the Brown Recluse infestation in the area. Helpful information like how Brown Recluses like to hide in crevices and clothing, closeup pictures of the spiders and medical pictures of necrotized bites are helpful touches.
Your local park service may even have some brochures and posters available.
@mehcuda67 I like it… I live east of the Appalachian Mountains so we don’t actually have Brown Recluse spiders here in the wild, but I don’t think most people know that.
I agree that putting creepy stuff may just lure a different type of crowd to the woods. I love creepy stuff, if I heard about it, especially as a teen, I would have wanted to check it out… So instead of hunters with guns you will have teens and ghost hunters, probably less dangerous though.
I’d get the info for the local game warden. They may know who hunts in that area already. If not, a few times of sending the game warden out to kick people out and they will stop coming back. Maybe even set up a trail cam to see who it is so you can be sure the stands are still being used and can show proof that people are coming on to marked property. They will at least be able to get you the correct legal info as to what you can do to deal with them.
You could just, you know, kill some people in the woods. To make sure they’re good and haunted.
Maybe even put them in the stands.
Seriously, though, I think hiring @koolhandjoe to come make you a haunted forest would be an excellent investment. And you could charge for tours in October.
@djslack coincidentally, I think October is deer hunting season, and based on the old consumed deer corn in front of the stands, it is deer that they’re hunting (putting corn in front of the stands… that seems like cheeting to me)
Also coincidentally, I think October is probably when our house will be ready.
@OnionSoup I’ve been told by deer hunters that I work with that putting out corn or any other food lures is illegal in my state (IL). So it may, sincerely, be cheating
@djslack @OnionSoup
At my grandmother’s farm there are stands there with approval (the folks that put them there cut the grass, maintain the fences). The last time I was there I noticed they plowed a small patch of land (maybe 20x20 feet) and presumably planted deer “bait” there. I would agree it seems like cheating unless they eat an awful lot of deer meat due to necessity (which based on who those folks are I doubt it).
Lots of clever ideas so far, I figure I’d add mines.
To wit: how confident would you say you are with regards to your ability to field deploy M18a1 Claymore mines?
5-most confident
4-somewhat confident
3-neither confident nor unconfident
2-somewhat unconfident
1-least confident
Because seeing “FRONT TOWARD ENEMY” in olive drab green in the woods is spooky as shit!
@rogerbacon I don’t have any experience with laying down any kind of mine, tbh.
I might be able to take out a few of the coyote population with mines too. Since I one day want to set up a chicken coop, that will help protect them.
@rogerbacon
For someone from the Vietnam war era, yep. But younger people would probably see the shape and a wire running away from it and say: “Oohh! Someone put their Starlink antenna out here to get better reception. Let’s grab it!”
@OnionSoup see that’s forward thinking, which is a conceptually important thing in the academic study of land based shaped charge shrapnel projecting area denial anti-personnel weaponry, or as I like to call it, the “mine field”
I don’t know how close neighbors are but you could just drive around and say your now living in the house with kids and hunting will not be allowed on the land anymore. Or probably easier go to the local bar, buy a round for the hunters (to show them your not just an asshole kicking them out of where they hunt) and tell them the same.
@Star2236 the problem is, I am in a rural area just outside a fairly large city. I don’t know how far the hunters are coming from.
I do suspect one neighbour. To the north is a 12 acre wooded lot. There is a trail of pink ribbons tied to trees from that property to one of the stands (I’m assuming so they can find their way to and from… And yes, I’ve considered moving the ribbons to lead back off the land… Lol)… But that lot doesn’t have a house on it (and ironically has ‘no trespassing’ signs of its own)… So it might just be that the hunters cut through that lot (ignoring the no trespassing/no hunting signs) to get to mine. Perhaps the one we’re in process of buying is better for deer hunting or something.
@OnionSoup
I would definitely start with signs that say new owner, no trespassing, no hunting, kids playing in woods but put new owner on there too so they know. I would take down anything that’s in your property that pertains to hunting (maybe give them a couple weeks or so to get their blinds out), but anything that marks their trails I would destroy. It’s your property and you have children that you need to protect. Buy some cheap dollar store kids toys and leave them in the blinds so they know that kids are around.
If all else fails you can always go to a hair salon and get their hair cuttings and spread them though the woods. It will chase away the deer so there will be nothing left to hunt.
Looking like definitely contact game warden to see what options are. Most states as owner you’d probably be able to clear out the stands if they were put up without permission no problem. Trail markers even easier. If you tell the game warden about bait being used for the hunting, they may even want to try to catch and cite the hunters for it, along with trespassing if you post signs.
This is one of the best threads ever
Besides the “fun” which will do nothing for your problem. Post signs/mark as per state law. Tag the stands if you want but they are probably yours now legally. So too bad for the trespassers. Contact the DNR as needed.
Personally I’d talk to the neighbors and pull everything out now. It’s not hunting season and there’s no reason people should have stands left up the previous owner and you don’t know about.
Put up ‘No Hunting’ signs, and 'Trespassers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law", and “Video camera monitoring”.
Those are REAL cheap and people don’t want to be recorded.
@Tadlem43 if we are dealing with “extensive” woodlands everyone knows no cameras reach that far. I would assume 10+acres and that is small. Could use trail cameras if it really got. Weird
Most states require permission from the land owner and a valid hunting license. If the previous land owner, neighbors, and @OnionSoup don’t know who’s it is… I’d say pull it. And maybe leave something saying call to get your stand if they wanted to try and be nice.
Realistically if you are rural you’re going to hear hunting and target shooting and no big deal. Unless you think your neighbors are blasting across the property line/firing in an unsafe direction.
I’d definitely have an orange vest and walk the woods to see what’s up. And in hunting season check but have an orange vest just in case
@OnionSoup @unksol lol Most people don’t know you won’t have cameras that far away…or that many. You’d be astounded at what people will believe. lol
@OnionSoup @Tadlem43 even the people who you might think are idiots know that cameras are not uploading for free and even if they were…
Best approach is deal with the immediate neighbors. They will most likely be cooperative as long as you were doing the normal neighbor intro and "you know I’m comfortable if you need to track game(a deer) over the line, can you just give me a call cause kids (which is the law here, have agreement or contact land owner) but Im not sure I want people setting up stands here, do you know who these belong too? “Bob” doesn’t and I might just clean them up since they must be old cause no one asked him?
If you have outside people coming in after that. Then you have to notice and put up trail cams and catch them and they are probably breaking some law… And probably an issue for your neighbors too.
Bullets don’t care about property lines. Responsible shooters do
Commission Joe to develop a special line of hunting dolls.
@galewarning where the hunter becomes the hunted… muahahahahahaha
This is along the side of the road down the street from me:
@walarney i definitely need to do that.