Dr. Raven’s Pandemonium

Dr. Raven’s Pandemonium is one of the more popular attractions at the Halloween Carnival.

Mr. Yule B. Next, had an unfortunate accident at the Pandemonium this week.  Dr. Raven thought that in light of the goulash condition of Mr. Next, perhaps he would fit right in at the “Dodge the Zombies” game. 

Of course with a business like Dr. Raven’s it’s important to have a wagon for occasions like these.  The bars on the wagon are a must when transporting some of the more unusual oddities to his Pandemonium.

Mr. Skeletony is hitching a ride over to the Boo Bash.  He goes every night hoping to find his lost love (a purported beauty) carrying her picture and moldy roses (her favorite).

The coachman has a pet gargoyle which is sort of a nasty fellow, so the coachman keeps him in a glass dome; it’s the only way he can prevent him from biting people.

The Wagon

The wagon is as a Masonite kit which includes assembly instructions. 

It’s original purpose is for a circus wagon to hold ATCs but as soon as I saw it I knew I would take it in a spooky direction.  I thought it was a perfect addition to my Halloween Carnival.  In the picture below you can see how the top is open if you want to use it for displaying ATCs.

In addition to sharing with you how I embellished the wagon, I’ll describe the changes I made to its assembly.

I started by spray painting all of the pieces black which made the process much faster than hand painting all of the pieces.  Note in the picture below I also painted the slats from the bars.  The slats will become the benches for the coachman and Mr. Skeletony.

Before assembling the main section of the wagon I added paper to the front and back pieces.  

I approached attaching the wheels in a slightly different manner than the one described in the instructions.  I first glued the washers in place on the inside of the wagon.  I pushed the axles through the washers to make sure everything lined up as the glue dried.  The axles are loose and not glued to anything.

Next, I evened up the axles and slid the wheels onto the axles and then the washers.  The instructions call for the outside washers to be glued to the axle but not to the wheel if you want the wheels to turn (not an easy thing to do).  If you put glue in the washer hole, it gets all over the axle as you slide the axle in place.  Instead, I used skull beads to keep the wheels and washer in place.  The particular skulls I used fit snugly on the ends of the axles.

To pull the wagon I used the wolf image from the Halloween Carnival Rides #1 Collage Sheet which contains spooky carousel animals.  To support the wolves and to make them stand on their own, I glued two pieces of a wooden skewer between them.  I used two skeleton hand food picks to connect the wolves to the wagon.  The wooden skewers slide perfectly into the gap between the thumb and fingers on the pick.

At the end of the picks I attached a bead.  The purpose of the bead was to give me a larger surface area to attach the wolves to the wagon.  The beads are attached under the front bench.

To create the benches I glued together two of the pieces that were in between the wagon bars.  The kit comes with two decorative hitches to which you can attach a string to pull the wagon.  I repurposed the hitches and used them as supports for the benches by gluing them vertically under each bench.  Just gluing the benches to the front and back of the wagon was not enough to support the weight of the skeletons.

The blood on the coffin was made by dripping red candle wax.  I decided it was not dark enough so I painted it with Red Pepper Alcohol Ink.

To manipulate the skeletons into the position I wanted, I used heavy scissors to cut them at the arms, elbows and knee joints.  I then glued them into the desired position.

Mr. Skeletony’s monocal is made from a jump ring, bead, eye pin and chain.  It’s attached to his google eye using Glossy Accents.

The posts are made from chevron patterned straws.  These are heavy and stiff paper straws.  The tails of the owls fit perfectly into the straws.

The tent comes from my 3D Tent Digital Image Set which includes 4 different tents.  Some of the tents are available as collage sheets.  For a video tutorial on how to assemble the tents click here. 

You can find the tutorials and more information about building a Halloween Carnival at:

HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL – PICTURES , VIDEO TUTORIALS, COLLAGE SHEETS & SUPPLY LISTS.

Below is the supply list and description of how and where each item was used.

Alpha Stamps Supplies Used for Dr. Raven’s Pandemonium

Rolling Circus Wagon ATC Holder

Dem Bones Collage Sheet - Picture of Mr. Skeltony’s lost love

Halloween Carnival Rides #1 Collage Sheet or Halloween Carnival Rides Digital Set - Wolves

Halloween Carnival Games #4 Collage Sheet or Halloween Carnival Games Digital Set - Dr. Pandemonium Sign

Halloween Carnival #2 Collage Sheet or Halloween Carnival Digital Set - Ravens

3D Tents Digital Image Set - Tent

Black and White Chevron Striped Straws - Posts on wagon and tent

Miniature Glass Domes - Containing skull perch and gargoyle

Masonite Circus Flag Cut-Outs - Decorating the sides of the wagon

Plastic Skeletons - The coachman & Mr. Skeletony

Jack-o-Lantern Erasers - The coachman’s head

Acrylic Top Hats - Large - The coachman & Mr. Skeletony’s hats

Ceramic Raven Beads - Small - Sitting on the coachman’s knee

Brass Skull & Cross Bones Charm - On the coachman’s hat

Spooky Ghost Buttons - On the sides of the banners

An Eerie Tale Run & Hide Scrapbook Paper - Spider side paper used to decorate the wagon

Brass Owl Stampings - Used at the top of the chevron straws

Plastic Tombstone Boxes - Inside the wagon

Mini Ceramic Gargoyle Beads - The coachman’s pet in the glass dome

Small Resin Skull Beads - Perch for the coachman’s pet gargoyle

Ceramic Raven Beads - Small - Sitting on the coachman’s knee

Small Plastic Pumpkins – Inside the wagon

Skeleton Hand Food Picks - Used to attach the wolves to the wagon

Plastic Skeleton Hand - Inside the wagon

40/30 Fancy Oval Settings - Black - Frame for Mr. Skeletony’s lost love

Antique Candelabra Charm - On the sides of the wagon

Tiny Paper Roses - Mr. Skeletony’s flowers

Mini Spiders - Inside the wagon

Small Wooden Finials - Used to attach the straw posts to the tent

Large Fancy Oval Beads - Used to attach the wolves to the wagon

Black & Orange Mini Gingham Check Ribbon - Used on the coachman’s hat and Mr. Skeletony’s bow tie.

Halloween Spider Leg Ribbon - Used on Mr. Skeletony’s hat

Thin Orange/Black Stitched Ribbon - Reins for the wolves

1/8 Inch Drapey Ribbon - Bright Orange - Bow around roses

Metal Patinas - Ancient Coin (Antique Copper) - Used to paint flags

Metal Patinas - Faded Pickup (Topaz) - Used to paint wheels and candelabra flames

Metal Patinas - Retro Highway (Onyx) - Used to paint candelabra (first coat)

Gilders Paste - Inca Gold - Used to color candelabra (second coat)

Alcohol Inks - Winter Set (Red Pepper) - Used to paint wax to simulate blood