Halloween Decorations: How to Stuff a Life-Size Michael Myers

Michael Myers is our grand finale of decorations, the big kahuna.

The Michael Myers tradition started our first year in our first home.

Aaron had the brilliant idea of stuffing Michael and placing him in my office window, which faced the yard. You had to walk right past the window to get to our door. You couldn't miss Michael; even people driving by on the street would slow to check him out.

On Halloween, Michael amused many and frightened some. A few groups wondered out loud if he was real. Suddenly Michael would move (thanks to Aaron hididng in the office) and screams would ensue.

Eventually, Aaron closed the blinds, quickly un-stuffed Michael, stuffed himself inside and hid behind the front door. I would answer and Aaron would creep out or jump out. More screams.

The next day, we had a knock at our door. A group of kids asked Aaron if he could put the costume back on and chase them. But of course!

The group waited outside, expecting Aaron to come out the front door. He snuck out the back gate and the whole neighborhood could hear the kids' screams as he chased them down the block.

From that day, we knew Michael had to be a part of our Halloween decorations every year.

We have stuffed him various ways, usually with a combination of blankets and wood. This year, we found the best method: furniture foam.

Instructions:

• Unzip the Michael Myers jumpsuit and spread it out on the floor or table.

• Cut strips of foam to create rolls to stuff the body. You can also use pool noodles in addition to the foam.

• Stuff the sleeves first, followed by the torso. 

• Once you have the right sized rolls, tape them together or tie them together with string or twine. 

• Stuff the legs last. Let a little bit of stuffing hang past the pant legs so you can add boots.

• Insert long sticks inside the foam-rolled legs to stand Michael up on his own. We used old, aluminum curtain rods (the kind you can buy for just a couple bucks). 

• Stuff the foam and sticks into a pair of black boots. 

• Fill the Michael mask with foam or a bag of newspaper. Insert another rod into the head and push the rod into the stuffed neck area to secure. 

• Cut oversized hands from the foam. If you want the hands to bend to hold a knife, cut a wire coat hanger into strips and attach one strip to each finger. Tape the foam around the wire and stuff into the gloves. Or, just tape the edges of each finger together to create cylindrical digits.

• Stuff the gloves, and then tape the gloves onto the foam wrists.

• Zip up the jumpsuit and ensure Michael doesn't have any lumps or dips in the body. Adjust as necessary.

• Stand your Michael Myers creation in a window. Michael is supposed to be very tall, so if needed, stand him on a box to add the intimidating height.

2015 Update: Here's what the inside our Michael Myers looked like this year. With the addition of one pool noodle from a thrift store, my husband essentially crated a dummy body that should hold up year after year. Cutting the pool noodle into pieces allowed him to create more realistic, posable arms.




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