The message showed up on the haunt list: Spider looking for a home. It was a Home Depot giant gray spider. Rebecca leapt on the opportunity.
The facelift began immediately. A new paint-job, a little bit of epoxy-clay sculpting, some strategic fur, and a couple of servos installed on the mandibles.
What’s her name?
It’s actually fun listening to the crowds. Which fandom do they know the best? Is it Shelob from Lord of the Rings? Is it Aragog from Harry Potter? Maybe it’s Pennywise in IT’s spider-form. Or does the mythology dig deeper, referencing Anansi, the trickster god of African mythology? Maybe it’s a little bit of all of them. “Sheragoanansiwise”. Choose your poison.
We agree on one thing. “She” is hauntingly beautiful, and a welcome addition to the Haunt.
Animatronics
The Animatronics that make the Mandibles Move, consist of a pair of servos (pictured below), slipped into a 3d-printed servo mount that gets inserted into the spider body where the original mounting point was located.
The Servo’s are connected to an arduino that randomizes mandible position every couple of seconds.