Many years ago my mom posted a picture of a headless man on her porch. That kicked off a new family Halloween tradition. They don’t loom over the sidewalk like the ubiquitous foot skeletons that populate our neighborhood each fall. However, when people walk by and notice them? Guaranteed double take. They’re hilarious but also kind of creepy in the best Halloween way possible.
Why make this
- Affordable and sustainable
- Uniqueness – put your style on display
- Large scale and can be a centerpiece
- They’re easier to make than carving a pumpkin
How to make
Materials, per headless person
- 1 long sleeved shirt
- 1 pair of pants
- 1 pair of closed toed shoes
- 1 chair
- Plastic bags and/or newspaper
Instructions
- Gather all of your materials to where you plan on displaying your headless person
- Starting with the pants, fill with paper bags and newspaper (if using newspaper bunch up the sheets into a ball before using as stuffing).
- Place the stuffed shirt on top of the pants and tuck the pants into the shoes
- Add additional filling as needed
- Pose and add props
Prop ideas
- Fall elements
- Pumpkin and gourds
- Hay or dried florals
- Plastic mug or to-go coffee cup
- Fashion accessories
- Scarf
- Gloves
- Belt
- Halloween elements
- Fake blood
- Carved pumpkin
- Prop animals (cats, bats, etc)
- Orange or purple lights
Pro tips
- All of materials can be sourced from a thrift store or a local buy nothing group.
- To increase the spooky factor, add lighting behind the headless display – this will give it a creepy shadowy effect.
- If you don’t have a ton of plastic bags or newspaper you can fill bags with sand or dirt. This will give you more volume per bag.
- It’s all in the pose! The more natural the pose the greater the effect.
Have fun with this! And happy Halloween >.<
Make or Bake 
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