Build Your Own Pillars of Pain
It's not that hard at all. Score some big chunks of styrofoam. Try the marinas first and see if they've got boat dock foam left. If not there look for old schools and office buildings being torn down. They used to use 8" thick chunks in the ceiling and between walls. The backing on the construction foam is pretty tough stuff though so try and find some boat dock scraps.
We brushed this 9' monster off to remove any loose particles. If there's barnacle, leave them. They make for great texture that no one will be able to figure out. Now is the time to make sure the end that's going to be on the ground has a level cut. If not grab a woodcutting saw and go to town. If you've got a styrofoam cutter that'll work too but my bow saw slices through this stuff like it's butter. I hate the smell of burning foam.
First pass on both of the new pillars.
Break out the Great Stuff spray foam and follow the directions for gosh sakes. Wear eye protection and gloves. This stuff in a real pain in the rear to remove from you skin and if you get it in your eye you're smooched. Other than that it's wonderful to work with. If you've got things you want attached, now is the time to decide where and to get them in place. I use hot glue, straight pins, wire and prayer to hold my stuff in place. You can either place your items now or place them in the foam while it's still wet. I do both. Now it's time for the foam. Start at the top of the pillar and work your way down zig zagging as you see fit. I prefer the tight zig zags that look like intestines. When you've made first pass wait about five minutes and make another pass down almost right on top of the first. Stray to the left and the right a bit. Don't try to be exact. Sometimes I like to do three coats on top of each other for a really wild twisty intestine look. Experiment. No matter what you do it'll look great once you paint it. Once it's set up spin them on their sides and start down them too. Stick any weird masks, old bones, body parts, scary animals and what-not on and go wild.
This is how I get the weird torn muscle look. I let the foam set up for about 10 minutes then I lean the pillars up at an angle and remove the wires holding the bones in place. They slowly start to drift and stretch the foam. The secret is in knowing when to lay the pillar back down flat so it can finish drying. I missed it several times and just had a fit. As the foam is drying/curing I run nails through it in places to help hold it on the foam block. People are always picking at it and pulling on it. This will keep it in place over the years and add stability to the pieces that get banged around in the off season.
I take them outside and do a once over with a latex enamel. Go to the hardware store and buy the mis-mixed cans of paint. If you ask really nice late at night they'll usually make it black for you even if it's some other dark color. I bought a $80.00 can of really good paint this year for $25.00 and they mixed it really dark for me at no extra charge. It's all in the asking. First coat is a light coat around the edges of everything. If you don't coat them with latex paint the spray paint will eat right into the foam and ruin all your hard work.
I let this dry and then painted almost the whole thing black. Spray foam and all. I tried to avoid the bones and fun bits but didn't worry too much if I hit them too. You're going to repaint the whole thing with spray paint so it really doesn't matter.
Spray paint time! Grab some black, red and white. If you've painted the spray foam with black latex, hit it with the red before it dries. It'll bleed through and make a great color. Otherwise I spray red, then black and while the black spray paint is wet spray the red right on top of it. Touch up the bones with a little white and re-do your edges with red. It'll look fine. Nobody will complain. Most folks won't even attempt a project like this so they're in awe of just the scope of it.
Just have fun with it. Remember that no matter how it turns out if you paint it black it's a Halloween prop.
I'll get Gate & Archway directions up soon.
Go see more photos of the final scene.
Ask me questions about the stuff I forgot to mention.