Creating a Cool Body Part BBQ for Halloween

Halloween is upon us once again. If you are like me, you love to scare the little Superman briefs off of the kids when they come ring your bell for "Trick or Treat." Well, there is a price to pay for my treats, kiddies! The price is dealing with all of my cool haunts.

There is a very nice tradition of personal Halloween haunts - they date back several years and require lots of work. But with just a few simple items you have around your house, things easily found at a garage sale, or at your local home improvement store, you can have a "fully functional" BBQ in no time! I do mean no time at all. It should take you about 30 minutes to put this haunt together once you have all the materials. In fact, I was done so quickly - that I couldn't wait until dark to test it out...so I put it in my garage with all the lights out so I could see the full, eerie effect!

Let's get to the fun part!

What you'll need -

1. BBQ Grill - Use a cheap charcoal one. I found a nice Weber at a garage sale for 10 bucks! 2. 50-60 Charcoal briquettes - find a cheap brand or use your leftovers. 3. 1 can White Spray Paint. 4. 1 Flicker Light Set (orange) from Party City - they look like candle flames when on. 5. Plastic organs or limbs - legs, hearts, fingers, arms, you can make then or buy these at Party City or any Halloween store. 6. Newspaper or old sheet. 7. Plastic bag. 8. Extension cord long enough to reach an outdoor outlet.

First setup an area to do some spray painting. I did this in my back yard, right on the grass - which was a mistake - now I have a big patch of white grass. You should put down newspaper or an old sheet.

Next, arrange your charcoal in to a large square - you are just going to paint them so it's easier if they are uniform. Now, paint this side of the charcoal using the white spray paint. You want to be very generous with the paint. Make sure you get this side very white with no black showing through. This white side will face the lights and make them reflect causing the nice glow effect of burning charcoal. Let the paint dry for about 15 to 20 minutes. Now, flip over the coals and then give them a light frosting on this side. This is side that will face up in the grill. Once frosted, they will look like active charcoals that are at just the right temperature for cooking.

Now you want to prep your grill. Your set up will differ depending on the size of your grill. Typically you want the coals to be as high as possible to make it easier for your guests to see. The first time I did this haunt, I put the lights and coals all the way at the bottom. It was more difficult to see, so now I put them above the bottom grate.

Remove the top grate and feed the plug end of your lights through the bottom grate. If your light doesn't reach to the holes in the bottom of the grill body, you may want to run an extension cord in first. Spread the lights out in a random pattern. I used a plastic bag do hold my coals, or you can just bring your grill over to where you painted. One by one, place the coals over the lights, white side down. Build up a nice mound like you would with a regular BBQ. Also ensure that each lamp and all the wires are hidden by the painted coals.

Put the top grill grate back in place and put your "food" on top. Plug your cord in to an outlet and watch your grill "fire up!" To add a creative touch, you can slightly burn your props to look like they've been cooking. If you have a rotisserie, you can place one of your prop on it and turn it on to show off your BBQing skills! Also, you can use a marker to make grill marks on your props. Want to really scare 'em? Use a small tape player to play sizzling sounds and use a fog machine to give you a little smoke. Now that's going all out!

This is a very simple project and one that can be easily done with kids in the 9-15 year old range. Make sure you and your kids wear masks when using spray paint and make sure they wash their hands after handling the coals.

Enjoy your Scary BBQ and have a safe and happy Halloween!