Bottled Horrors Prop (Make a Baloney Monster)

Want to learn how to make this bottled monstrosity?

Read on below!

A suitable prop for a Halloween decoration, a prop for Call of Cthulhu, or just for fun. You can make any creature you want out of  real meath, squash him in a bottle and they'll only get better with time!

First you'll need a few things...

My mad scientist lab is ready....

You'll need a suitable jar, I found this one at the dollar store.

One of the most imporant articles is this. The best stuff to use is pure rubbing alcohol (100%) but this was the best my dollar store had to offer today so it'll do!

You can preserve anything indefinitely with alcohol and indeed many antique scientific specimens are actually preserved in vodka or rum. The specimen will "dissolve" a bit from being in a liquid but the alcohol will keep it from rotting and getting really smelly. I've kept baloney monsters for up to 3 years in this stuff with no ill effects.

You'll also need something to make your critter out of. I prefer to use baloney as it's uniform in colour and texture and easy to cut mold and form but today we'll be using this large salami. Don't bother getting the good stuff, you're not going to want to eat it.

Looks pretty unwholesome doesn't it?

Now we get down to the fun. Every monster is different but here's how to make a simple homunculi.

First cut the rounded part off one end. It will be the "face". The long part in the middle will form "limbs" and the shorter part with the round bottom will be the "body".

Next round off the top of the body.

Now shove some toothpicks into the rounded "stump"

Press the "face" onto the tootpicks.

Now cut the long part in half like so...

Next I'll carve those up into these odd shaped pieces.

The center section of each one is going to be used for the arms.

I turn them on their sides and carve some meat away to make them mesh well with the body.

Next I'll carve some more meat away to form "hands".

After shaving off the sharp edges they look pretty spooky.

Use the toothpick trick again to attach the arms.

Oh yeah, now he's coming together.

Now I'll just carve a little face for him with eyes and a mouth.

The puckered end of the salami gives it a horrific look.

Grab the other two long pieces left over.

Wittle them down to make "tentacle" legs.

Toothpick them to the body. You can see where I've carved some of the body to make a socket for the "legs".

And he's done, pretty weird looking. Now to wedge him into the jar....

It's best if the critter has a pretty tight squeeze to get in. 

Make sure the face is pointed toward the glass so that people can get a good look.

 Now fill it up with the alcohol and close the cap. You can make a label if you like but I'm leaving it off of this one.

The tentacles look pretty creepy mashed against the top.

And that's it. I've made all sorts of things, with many tentacles, octopus shaped things, worm things, and other horribleness.

You can add things to the monster as well, cocktail onions make good colorless eyes and I've used maraschino cherries and green and black olives as well. 

You can also use "real" animal parts like squid tentacles and fish parts for more horribleness. A needle and thread are useful at times but remember to keep the stitches loose or they'll just pull through.

Now go out and make your own bottled horror and post the pics so we can all see.....

~Ripley