Just sitting a coffin in your living room, on your porch or in your Halloween graveyard makes a spooky statement in its self. But there are a lot of things you can do with a coffin to raise the scare level. Below are a few of the things we've done with our Halloween coffins.

Trapped in the Coffin
Buy some black or brown plastic chain and a couple of cheap padlocks from the hardware store. Wrap two sections of the chain around the coffin and padlock together. You can add a fake hand or skeleton hand between the lid and case as though something inside is trying to escape. Place a small DVD player inside with a home-made DVD of moaning inside the coffin.

Vampire Coffin
With the coffin is laying on a flat, solid surface, or if the coffin is standing up, place it against a wall for stability. Dress as a vampire and lay or stand in the coffin very still. When trick or treaters get approach, open the lid and greet them.

About to be Buried
Dig a shallow grave in your graveyard and place the coffin next to it as though it is about to be entombed in the ground. Place a old-time lantern on top of the coffin and stick a shovel in the ground near it for added effect. For a little more shock value, you can hang a fake hand or skeleton hand out of the lid. Inexpensive fake hands can be found at most department stores during the Halloween season. For a boney skeleton hand, the most realistic would be a "Bucky" skeleton hand, available from The Skeleton Store. The second option would be to buy an inexpensive plastic skeleton and remove the legs and hang them in the fireplace.

Possessed Coffin
Place a small fog machine and battery powered strobe light inside the coffin and set the fog machine to come on every few minutes. This works best if the lid is propped open a couple of inches to allow fog to seep out.

Haunted Coffin
Glowing light from inside the coffin. Place two strings twinkle lights (Xmas lights), one green and one blue, inside the coffin, attached to an automatic,  two channel cross-fader. A cross-fader is a device that slowly fades the attached light on and off, or in this case slowly between the two strings of lights. Digital SL has a cross fader for $30.00. Place a small DVD player inside with a home-made DVD of ghostly sounds.

Skeleton in the Coffin
Place a full size skeleton such as a Bucky Skeleton inside the coffin. Attach fishing line to the outside edge of the coffin lid and run through one or more eyelets screwed into the ceiling. When trick or treaters approach, pull the line from a distance, and the coffin lid will open.

Halloween Centerpiece
Use the coffin as a center-piece at your Halloween party. For a stand, we use two thick logs, cut to equal height as the stands. Place a gothic style candelabra at each end. Make sure that the candle-holders have wax catch-wells, and only use dripless candles, you don't want melted candle wax running all over your coffin. In the center of the coffin place a Jack O' Lantern or Halloween themed floral arrangement.

Halloween Party Table
Use a coffin as a table for your treats or at your Halloween party.