Cemetery Haunt Props
Spencer Till
Spencer Till creates tombstones, coffins, and other graveyard props out of foam each year as part of his “Pet Cemetery” haunt. Each piece has a lot of detail put into both the sculpting and finish work to give them a weathered and eerie look.
2017 Pieces
“I use 4-inch thick foam as the main body of the tombstone. A lot of the tombstones here were sculpted out of white EPS foam, but I have since found that the blue XPS foam panels are better for details. XPS cuts and engraves slower than EPS with Hot Wire tools which allows you to do finer and finer details.
I sketch the design on the foam and cut the outside shape on both a sheet of white EPS and Blue XPS (using EPS for the base and XPS for details). Then, I glue both panels together and sculpt the design.”
2018 Pieces
“I then spray Exterior Foam Coat on with an air gun (chop gun). Exterior Foam Coat and Boost make these look like real tombstones; it also makes them waterproof and resistant to any of the elements.”
2019 Pieces
“Once the Foam Coat is dry, I wet the tombstone lightly using a mister and use a turkey baster and black latex paint mixed with water. When you put the turkey baster at the top and squeeze out the black paint (mixed with water 50/50), it will look just like aged rain streaks.”
2020-2021 Pieces
“Once the aging is done, I go back with a very light greenish-white acrylic paint and, using a dry brush, lightly bring out the textures of the wording and other details. For the final touch, I use a hobbyist green grass to create sections that look like moss growing on the tombstone. To make sure that stays on permanently, I spray the entire tombstone with 2 coats of exterior dead flat polyurethane.”
2022 Pieces
“Finally, I drill a 1/2-inch hole in the base of the tombstone with a long 16-inch bit. Then, I hammer a rebar pole into the yard which fits into the 1/2-inch hole in the base of the tombstone. This keeps it from falling over in the wind.”
