Home Five Arduino Tutorials For The Ultimate High Tech Haunted House

Five Arduino Tutorials For The Ultimate High Tech Haunted House

Technology has the potential to make our lives a lot more pleasant. But have you ever considered all the ways it can be used to make them scarier?

Imagine a Jack-O-Lantern that senses when guests are near before going into scare-mode. A skull that shares secrets from the afterlife. A fully interactive laser maze. All these are possible with the Arduino, a tiny microcontroller perfect for DIY projects.

See also: Easy Arduino: Two Projects To Help You Get Started

Usually, a microcontroller is a component of a more complex computer. But Arduino stands alone as a programmable device that can interact with and control sensors that affect the outside world. Try getting your average desktop computer to do that!

Here are five Arduino tutorials that can be combined together to create the ultimate high tech haunted house.

Spooky Jack-O-Lantern

Maker Matt Richardson implemented a proximity sensor to give his pumpkin the preternatural power of knowing just when people are close enough to be spooked. We’ve provided a schematic of his project below, and for the code you can visit his GitHub page.

Interactive Haunt

Twilio developer Jarod Reyes wanted a front-porch setup that he or his family members could control simply by sending a text message. His resulting tableau changes color in response to being texted a color, and has a completely new surprise when you text “chaos.”

Ghostly Eyes

In the corner your vision, a creature with glowing eyes is staring at you. Suddenly, it fades into darkness. Was it just your imagination? Actually, it was an Arduino inside a coffee cup. Instructables user Circuit Mania provided a tutorial with just six simple steps.

Scary Skull

This chatty skull moves its mandible in time to sound, and even opens its jaws wider when the audio volume rises, to mimic yelling or screaming. If you’re not freaked out yet, you can create your own copy of Boris Landoni’s project with just 32 lines of code.

Laser Maze

For anyone who has ever fantasized about making their way through a securely lasered room, Hollywood style, comes this candy-guarding maze of green lasers. Instructables user bkhurt wired an Arduino to four light sensors. If somebody trips the laser, it sounds the alarm.

Illustrations by Nigel Sussman for ReadWrite.

About ReadWrite’s Editorial Process

The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Get the biggest tech headlines of the day delivered to your inbox

    By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe anytime.

    Tech News

    Explore the latest in tech with our Tech News. We cut through the noise for concise, relevant updates, keeping you informed about the rapidly evolving tech landscape with curated content that separates signal from noise.

    In-Depth Tech Stories

    Explore tech impact in In-Depth Stories. Narrative data journalism offers comprehensive analyses, revealing stories behind data. Understand industry trends for a deeper perspective on tech's intricate relationships with society.

    Expert Reviews

    Empower decisions with Expert Reviews, merging industry expertise and insightful analysis. Delve into tech intricacies, get the best deals, and stay ahead with our trustworthy guide to navigating the ever-changing tech market.