Halloween Is the Hackiest of Holidays! 💀

All the inspiration you need is inside. [Digi-Key is a proud sponsor of the 2023 Hackaday Prize]( [3602421454791242043.png] Wednesday, September 27, 2023 [Animatronics: Because a 12-foot Skeleton Isn't Scary Enough »]( It's Time to Hack Halloween Spooky season is upon us and you know what that means -- well, yes, pumpkin spice everything, but more importantly, [it's time for the 2023 Halloween Hackfest]( This is perhaps the hackiest of all holidays, so if you're into scary, it's your time to shine. Show us your [spookiest costume]( your [scariest props]( your coolest carved-up or [electronics-laden pumpkin](. As always, the top three projects will win a $150 DigiKey shopping spree. This year, we have five special categories to inspire you: [Costume]( [Pumpkin]( [Kid-Pleaser]( [Hallowed Home]( and just plain [Spooky](. Still not inspired? Check out our [list of Halloween Hacks]( then take a look below at of the more hair-raising projects we've seen in years past. Highlights from the IO POPULAR BITS [project thumbnail]( [Tombstone Draws Them Near, Gives Them Fear]( This little tombstone is designed to give trick-or-treaters the jump scare of their lives, and it works with either light or distance sensing. The laughing skull displayed on a Hallowing M4 really rounds out the scary aesthetic of this project. [project thumbnail]( [Coffin Bell Alerts Passersby of Not-Dead]( People were once obsessed with being buried alive, and thus concocted a safety system of tying a string to an above-ground bell which would alert the gravekeeper that they were not, in fact dead. When trick-or-treaters walk by, the bell rings and they are left to wonder. [project thumbnail]( [Computer Head Says Hello, World]( What started out as a hollowed-out monitor with a simple animated eye and and voice has become quite the computer head costume. Now it has a Raspi 4, a 16x16 LED matrix, and a British accent thanks to Mozilla's DeepSpeech. Hack Chat LIVE CHAT WITH LEADING EXPERTS EVERY WEDNESDAY [Today: Keebin' With Kristina Hack Chat]( Our own Kristina Panos will host [this week's Hack Cha](. The basics of keyboards have been in place for a couple of hundred years now, but that doesn't mean there's no room for improvement. Kristina Panos numbers herself among the many builders and modders trying to build a better keyboard, so much so that her ongoing "Keebin' With Kristina" series always has plenty of fodder. Join us as she takes over the Hack Chat Command Center with her custom keyboard -- and footboard? -- and shows us there's more to life than just QWERTY-ing along. [Next Week: Modeling Space Hack Chat]( Bryan Murphy and Sam Treadgold will host [next week's Hack Chat](. Admit it -- you probably built models of spacecraft as a kid; maybe you even still do. There's no shame in that -- space is cool, spaceships are cooler, and bringing a little of that amazing engineering home is about as close to space as most of us are likely to get. But even cooler than a static model of a rocket or a satellite is something like the [ISS Mimic]( a 1:100 scale model of the International Space Station that actually moves to reflect the current attitude of the station. Bryan and Sam built it, and they'll stop by the Hack Chat to talk about that and their other ideas aimed at bringing space down to Earth. Featured Projects POPULAR BITS [Animatronic Baby Yoda Has Some Serious Moves]( [Scare-o-Matic Gives Them a Trick with Their Treat]( [Stranger Things Boards Spells Messages, Tells Time]( [Semi-Animatronic Zero Is All Bark and No Bite, Thankfully]( Live Events MEETUPS, CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS [East Coast RepRap Fest - Sept 30 - Oct 1]( Billed as 17,000 square feet of fun, the best part of the East Coast RepRap Festival sounds like the 3D Printed Derby. Yeah, as in, a Pinewood Derby but with 3D-printed cars. Get your tickets today! [Maker Faire Bay Area - Oct 13-15 & 20-22]( After what feels like a long hiatus of a just a few years, the legendary Maker Faire Bay Area is back for not one but two weekends of fun. Come for the amazing robots and builds, and stay for the cutting-edge technologies. [The Hackaday Superconference - Nov. 3-5]( Supercon is by far the most awesome hardware hacker con of the year, and if you love Hackaday, you definitely want to be there. Honestly, just the crowd that Supercon brings together is reason enough to attend, but then you throw in the talks, the badge-hacking, the food, and the miscellaneous shenanigans… it’s an event you really don’t want to miss. [twitter]( [facebook]( [instagram]( [Terms of Use]( [Privacy Policy]( [Hackaday.io]( [Hackaday.com]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Hackaday · 61 South Fair Oaks Avenue · Suite 200 · Pasadena, CA 91105 · USA