They say that necessity is the mother of invention. Nothing proves that point better than this video of a home haunter scaring trick-or-treaters with a stilt-wearing Predator costume. If you’re looking for something to freak out your Halloween visitors, few things garner the explosive response that “spring stilts” do. Their construction gives the wearer a surreal, monstrous walk that can transform any good costume into a terrifyingly great one. Imagine a scary costume idea- evil clown, Predator, bloody corpse, werewolf, nameless creature– whatever freaks you out. Now imagine it towering 3 feet above your head. Your costume just went from unsettling to scream-worthy with the addition of one item.

The only real catch is the price. Homemade stilts are dirt cheap and will still give you a great affect, but the “jumping stilts” (aka: poweriser or powerizer stilts) cost considerably more. We’ll start with the more economical option first, then move onto the more expensive alternative.

To make your own “pole stilts”, there are 2 main options: hands-free or hands-required. There are free plans online to make your own hands-required adjustable stilts, but these aren’t ideal for costume usage since your hands will be occupied holding the stilts. If you’re brand new to stilt walking, these would be a good beginner pair to learn construction and actual stilt walking techniques. After you get comfortable with that model, you can more safely move onto the hands-free type. Here is an incredibly detailed tutorial for hands-free stilts.

Now it’s time for the really cool ones: spring stilts! These are generally in the $300-$500 price range for adults, made of either fiberglass or carbon fiber. They allow for some inhuman physical feats, such as jumping up to 6 feet in the air and running strides of up to 9 feet in length! I was a little skeptical of those numbers, but according to GJS, “Jumping Stilts have been considered for military application. One particular set of stilts was tested by the US Air Force. The user maintained an average speed of 23 MPH over ¼ mile distance, while chasing a military quad.” Imagine the terrified screams as you go hauling down your street on Halloween night at 20 MPH, chasing naughty trick-or-treaters.

Apparently spring stilts are also a really good workout, so you can better justify purchasing them if you use them for fitness purposes, too. Then again, I think scaring the bejesus out of people is justification enough, but you may have different priorities.

CAUTION: Remember that stilt walking is potentially dangerous, so prepare accordingly. Read up, wear well-padded wrist guards and knee pads, use proper stilts, put lots of practice time in, and don’t put yourself or others in danger by performing stunts that you haven’t mastered yet. Stay safe, daredevils!

RELATED PRODUCTS: “Grabber” or “Reacher” costumes have crazy long arms and give the same creepy, inhuman affect as stilts…

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Evil Pumpkin Reacher