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.
