To make these very easy Heads on Pikes, you will need:
some broom or mop handles (or dowels the same size), Halloween masks, glow
sticks (chem light or cyalume sticks), foil or newspaper, duct tape, and black
paint, spray or regular. This project is a great way to recycle Halloween masks
from years past!
In days of yore, plotters convicted of high treason would be
executed, and their heads displayed on iron pikes to discourage anyone who might
feel a bit treacherous. Pole or Pike Heads make a great entryway liner for any
haunted celebration.
First, remove the brooms or mops from your poles, or buy some
dowels about 3/4" thick and about 4 to 5 feet long. Paint the broom/mop handles
or dowels black. (In the photo above, I have colored the poles tan to match the
soil so they would not dominate the photo. In the dark, you want black
poles, so the heads seem to float above the ground.) Stuff each mask with
crumpled newspaper or foil, and simply duct-tape it at the neck to the top of a
pole. Then insert a glow stick horizontally into the mask so that part shows in
each eyehole. With a thin strip of tape, duct-tape the glow stick in place. This
bit is a little fiddly, but is easy. If the mask-head is stuffed tightly, the
crumpled foil or newspaper will also help hold the glow stick in place.
Now, find a place to put your pikes into the ground. (You may want
to pound your poles into the ground before taping on the heads.) Uncialle's
Stronghold has an old pile of sand left over from a big concrete project, and
the poles are easily jammed into this loose stuff, as you can see in the photo.
But be creative! Pikes can be inserted into the dirt of big planters, tied or
nailed to a fence (Imagine how your neighbors would feel with all these heads
looking over into their yard!), tied to lamp posts or carport supports, or simply
pounded or dug into the ground anywhere you choose. As the finishing touch, when
dusk steals across the grass and night is falling, simply reach up and snap each
glow stick in your ghoulish row of heads! Now you have heads with glowing eyes
-- extremely Halloweenish and creepy.
