Make Your Own Spooky Sound Effects

Create your own spooky Halloween sound effects to scare trick or treaters or party guests. Your house will sound haunted with do it yourself thunder, screams, screeches, bubbles, gurgles, and a howling wind. These effects are easy to make and fun to perform.

Materials:

Latex balloon

Hexnut (1/4 inch)

You can make a horrifying screaming sound by putting a hexnut inside of a latex balloon and swirling it around. Before you blow up the balloon, put the hexnut inside. ¼" hexnuts work best. They can be found at any hardware store and cost about 10-20 cents. Get a few extras in case you lose one.

When the hexnut is inside the balloon, blow it up and tie it off. Holding the balloon with both hands, begin to swirl the balloon in a circular motion. The hexnut will begin to spin inside the balloon. As it does, it will vibrate on the side of the balloon and make a screaming sound.

You can try other objects inside of the balloon to see if they make sounds also. Will a penny make a sound? What about a dime? Try using more than one hexnut inside or different size hexnuts. If you use a clear balloon you will be able to see the objects as they move inside.

Thunder is one of the spookiest sounds. To make your own thunder sound effects, all you need is a thunder tube. Thunder tubes are cylindrical tubes with a spring attached. When you shake it, the spring vibrates against the plastic head causing a noise that sounds like thunder. They can be purchased for less than $10 or you can make your own (see links below).

Send chills up spines by making the sound of a howling wind. All you need is a sound hose. Many toy stores stock them or you can find your own. You need a corrugated plastic hose about 2-3 feet long and a few inches wide. Many drain hoses or swimming pool vacuum hoses will work.

To make the howling wind sound, twirl the hose in the air. Combine the wind sound with the thunder tube to create an even spookier storm. You can even add a rain stick for rain sounds. To make a rain stick, simply fill a cardboard tube with rice or beans and then seal the ends.

Materials:

Block of dry ice

Quarter

Metal spoon

Other metal objects

Metal objects will make a screeching sound when they come into contact with dry ice. To try it, lay a towel on a countertop or table so the dry ice won't damage the surface. Using tongs or while wearing gloves, place the block of dry ice on the towel.

Lay the quarter on the dry ice being careful not to touch the dry ice with your bare hands. You will hear screeching from the quarter. As the dry ice sublimates it causes the metal to vibrate. You can also place a spoon, knife, or other pieces of metal on the dry ice to cause the screeching sound. Flat pieces of metal work best.

Materials:

Container

Dry ice

Water, punch, or other beverage

To make a bubbling, gurgling potion add dry ice to a container of liquid. If you just want to watch the brew and listen to the gurgles, put a few pieces of dry ice in a container of water using tongs. If you want a tasty edible bubbling potion, add pieces of dry ice to punch or another beverage.

When the dry ice is added to the liquid, it will begin to bubble and brew. It will sound and look like a mad science experiment. To make it look even spookier, put the liquid and dry ice in a beaker or a witch's kettle.

When gummy bears are dropped into molten potassium chlorate, a strange reaction occurs. Listen to the terrible sounds of gummy bears dying. If you have access to lab equipment and supplies, you can try the experiment yourself.