DIY Halloween Corpse!!

As promised, I will be providing some DIY Halloween decoration guides. In this particular post I will take you through the steps of building your very own corpse. Not only is it cheaper than purchasing a pre-made corpse from Walmart or Michael's, but it's a lot of fun to make and it will definitely get noticed at your next party. The corpse below was created by my fiance.

Before I get into the details I want to advise, this project does take several days to complete, and for certain steps it will require a well ventilated area.

You will need:

• 1 Blucky
• For this particular corpse we used a Danson Decor skeleton from Walmart ($14.76)
• 2 pairs of black pantyhose
• 1 jug of liquid latex 
• We were unable to find this at the time so Armstrong Latex Primer was used from Canadian Tire
• 1 can of Insulating Foam from Canadian Tire
• 2 Sponge Paint Brushes (available at any craft or hardware store)
• 1 can of dark stain - in this case English Chestnut #233
• 1 pair of Scissors
• 1 pair of Latex Gloves
• String
• 1 Male & 1 Female PVC Threaded Cap
• These are separate purchases but can both be found at Canadian Tire
• 1 tube Gorilla glue

Step 1

Use your scissors to cut out the underside of the ribs. Leave the spinal column.

Step 2

Note: This step should be completed in a well ventilated area, the fumes from the foam are very strong.

While using your latex gloves, fill the chest cavity with foam. Keep in mind the foam will expand, so keep nozzle pressure to a minimum and start at the top of the inside and work your way down. The foam will add weight to the blucky and support. Wait 24 hours before proceeding to the next step.

Step 3

Assemble the blucky. Add the arms to the top half and the legs to the bottom half, keep the top & bottom half separate. Remove the string from the blucky's head (if there is one). It is located at the very top of the skull.

Step 4

Pull the pantyhose down over the top of the blucky. The two arms fill the legs, and the skull fills out the groin area of the pantyhose. Pull them tight to the blucky, tie one string just below the neck and another at the bse of the neck. Pull the rest of the pantyhose down to the base of the ribs and tie off.

Step 5

Pull the 2nd pair of pantyhose up over the blucky the same way you would pull pantyhose onto a person. Tie the pantyhose tightly just above the hips.

Step 6

Hang the two halves up for painting. Cover the floor below the blucky with newspaper as the painting process will be messy. While using your latex gloves and your sponge brush, begin painting the blucky with the liquid latex. The combination of the pantyhose and the liquid latex will create the appearance and feel of leathery skin.

Once a layer has been completed, wait approximately 10 minutes, test an area with your glove then proceed with coat number two. The blucky requires 3 coats of paint. Once the final coat is dry move to the next step.

Step 7

Using your second sponge brush, coat the bluckey with a layer of stain. Once coat is complete, wait between 30 minutes to an hour before attempting the final coat, testing in a similar way as the latex paint. 

      

Step 8

Using the gorilla glue, glue the PVC threaded caps to the blucky. One will be glued to the very base of the spinal cord and the other to the very top of the hips. Leave to dry for 24 hours to ensure the threaded caps are secure.

Step 9

The final step to creating your blucky is to screw together the male & female threaded caps. Add the finishing touches by colouring the eye sockets and random teeth with a marker. Now enjoy your corpse :)