DIY Creepy Faux Well (Lightweight and Dismantlable)

Every year I put on an outdoor haunt at a local school, with the schoolkids being able to attend workshops with me, and build fun props based on their ideas. This year, they requested a well inspired by the movie Ringu(1998)/The Ring(2002) to be a part of the haunt. Building props for outdoor use always means building larger than you first think, and after a lot of planning, we came up with a way to build it in 2 halves, meaning it can still be brought in through normal doorways and stored inside easily despite it being impressively big.

This project features a lot of reuse in my case, as it uses almost exclusively material that would otherwise be thrown away as offcuts. The only things purchased were the foam insulation spray cans, and the spray paint. All other material were scraps or household/workshop objects. I encourage you to ask around at local construction companies if you decide to take on this project, as there is a legitimate chance that they can give you things like styrofoam offcuts! I also encourage you to ask around amongst friends and family, and on online marketplaces, in case anyone has material laying around that they'd be more than happy to get rid of. Reduce, reuse, recycle!

Base:

Chicken wire (of the desired height, and twice the circumference length of the well)

Metal wire

Black trash bags or tarp

Duct tape

Wood strips/square dowels (I used 3 cm × 3 cm/1.2 in × 1.2 in)

Staple gun + staples

Some large round solid structure of the desired inner diameter, to shape the base around. I used an actual cement well ring that has been reused as an outdoor fire pit, but something like a round table should also work fine.

Rocks:

Styrofoam

Hot knife styrofoam cutter (optional, but highly recommended)

Foam insulation spray (I used exactly 6×750ml cans)

Gloves

Plastic wrap

A mask approved for toxic fumes

Paint & decor:

Primer (I find that any base coat paint at all usually does just fine)

Outdoor latex paint

Gypsum powder

Paintbrushes that you are not overly attached too

Spray paint in grays, black, and muted green (I used MTN 94 spray paint in Wolf Grey, London Grey, Matte Black, and Thai Green)

White acrylic paint for highlights

Assembly:

Screws

Metal wire

Bucket (optional)

Rope (optional)

Stand (optional)

First things first, decide on the size you want your well to be. I knew I wanted mine to be larger than the width of standard doorframes here, so I made the decision to make my well in 2 halves. I made the chicken wire base to measure 95 cm in diameter when assembled, but remember that the final product will have a larger outside diameter due to the rocks.

ATTENTION: Plastic fumes from cutting styrofoam with hot tools are hazardous to breathe in, and it is important to wear proper PPE when performing this task. This means a mask that is approved for toxic fumes and staying in a well-ventilated area. Gloves and eye protection are also encouraged.

I was gifted a bunch of smaller offcut styrofoam sheets by a local construction company recently, that I was able to put to good use for this project. I based my rock size off of the styrofoam sheets I had, cutting each sheet into 6 rocks. I used 3 cm thick sheets for the top bricks, and 4 cm thick sheets for the side bricks, but if you are hoping to get by on only 1 type of styrofoam sheet, just get one sheet of the same thickness.

I started by cutting all my styrofoam sheets into pieces of the correct dimensions, then trimming each rock into shape individually afterwards. I needed 76 side rocks, and 15 top rocks. It sounds like a lot (and it is) but thankfully, a heated styrofoam cutter makes fairly quick and pain-free work out of it. I attached a video here of the rock trimming process, as it is a bit clunky to describe in words. Make sure to vary your cuts a bit. Resist the perfectionist urge and let each rock become its own unique shape, and roll with any funky oopsies that the styrofoam cutter creates. No mistakes, just happy accidents.

Trim your length of chicken wire in half, then fold each half onto itself, creating 2 layers of wire for each half of the well. (If you do not plan to make yours in 2 halves, then just fold the length onto itself as is without cutting in half.) Use small bits of metal wire to tie the 2 layers together in as many places as needed, creating a sturdy base.

Lay black trash bags down on the floor, and then your chicken wire on top. Use duct tape to adhere the trashbags to the wire through the chicken wire. It will not be super secure, but it is basically a temporary adhesion before the spray foam insulation will fuse it all together permanently. There were no pictures taken of this process (oops), but you can see the results clearly in the photo above.

(While this step is not necessarily crucial for the look of the well, I do highly recommend doing it, as it creates a little bit of a back barrier when you're spraying the foam insulation, preventing product waste. It also gives you a clean look on the inside of the well, even if it isn't accurate to how a real well would look like from inside.)

For added support and for easy assembling when in use, add wood strips to the edges of each half, as well as along the curve. I used 4 per half, and fastened by putting the strips on the inside of the chicken wire base while having it wrapped around the cement ring, stapling through the chicken wire and trash bags from the outside. Be careful and make sure that the wood strips are sitting flush and perpendicular to the ground when fastening, so that your well doesn't end up wonky.

Prior to placing the rocks in the insulation foam, I decided to do a dry-fitting to make sure I knew the spacing I wanted. To do this, just make loops of duct tape, stick the loop to the back of the prepped styrofoam rock, and just stick it in the desired place on the base. You can then unstick it and move it around until you find the ideal spacing.

I recommend doing the bottom row first, and I also recommend doing this with the chicken wire base stood upright and curved around whatever you are using as your curve guide/support. Remember that even if you plan spacing perfectly on a flat surface, as soon as that is applied to a curved surface, that spacing will widen visually in the direction of the curve.

ATTENTION: Spray foam insulation can be hazardous to get on bare skin and/or breathe in, and it is important to wear proper PPE when performing this task. This means a mask that is approved for toxic fumes, wearing gloves, and staying in a well-ventilated area. Eye protection is also encouraged.

Glove up and start shaking the spray foam insulation cans! Cut apart a spare trash bag and place underneath the structure beforehand to avoid the foam insulation adhering to the ground you're working on. I worked on one half of the well at a time.

Start by placing the bottom row. Just unstick the styrofoam rock from the duct tape loop, spray the foam insulation onto the back of the rock, not the chicken wire base, otherwise you tend to waste product. Work one by one when it comes to the rocks. Press the rock onto the base and hold it there. It takes up to 30 minutes for the spray foam insulation to solidify, but do not worry, you do not have to hold each rock in place for 30 minutes! Just hold it for 3 minutes or so, then move on to the next rock in the row, and just babysit them every few minutes by pushing them into place to make sure they're not sliding out of their intended spot. If you can find a couple of additional helping hands, that sure helps too!

Because the well is a 2-piece structure and I wanted to disguise the "seam" between the 2 halves a bit when assembled, I placed the edge rocks with some horizontal overhang off of the chicken wire base, alternating each row and leaving some empty space on the other well half in the corresponding spots. When it is fitted together, this makes for a less visible seam. The effect can be seen clearly in the last image of this step where I took the half-finished well outside for a test placement (the well is not yet fastened together in the pic). If you can't get your seam completely hidden, that's fine, as any strange-looking areas can also be graciously hidden with some moss at the decor stage!

With all the rocks placed, your well should be getting more stable by the minute, but the real stability comes from the "grout" in between each rock. Just spray foam insulation in-between to fill up the empty space. Spray sparingly, as the foam expands quite a bit, and you wouldn't want to cover the beautiful rocks (and also it's a shame to waste product). If you ever end up with too much expansion in your grout, you can kind of compress it by just mushing your (gloved!) fingers into it when it is at the stage where it has formed a film but not quite set yet.

Let the foam insulation fully cure and admire your work!

When the spray foam insulation is cured, the well will be stable enough to stand on its own, and you don't need the curve guide/support anymore, so I brought it inside to a well-ventilated workspace to proceed with the next step.

The top rocks really brings the well together beautifully, but I would lie if I said that they are easy to place. You have to push the two well-halves together to make sure that the top rocks are evenly spaced, and place some plastic wrap on one side of the well seam to make sure the rock only adheres to one side of the well for that seamless appearance. For the top rocks, you're also having to balance them on the top edge, meaning a lot more babysitting than the side rocks. I recommend placing the stones temporarily with the same duct tape loop technique here too.

Place each rock with foam insulation with most of the overhang being on the outside of the well, but with a bit of overhang on the inside as well. This will add to the stability. Work carefully! As you can see, I ended up grabbing some chairs and scrap wood to add support during the curing so that none of the rocks ended up tipping too much.

After the rocks have cured in their place, add more "grout" by spraying foam underneath the top rocks on both the inside and outside of the well. This is what will hold them sturdy in place. Then add grout in between each rock. If the spacing is quite wide like mine, you'll have to spray in-between the rocks to build up the sides, wait about 15 minutes for it to cure a bit, then spray more to finally close the gap completely.

Using some old wall paint, I primed all of my rocks. The reason for priming is two-fold. First: it gives the monster mud something good to stick to, since we're using quite thick monster mud for the texture. And second: it provides a barrier between the styrofoam/foam insulation and the eventual spray paint, as spray paint typically eats foam, meaning it causes it to disintegrate. I happen to know that my brand of spray paint works just fine with both styrofoam and foam insulation spray, so my priming was really just for the monster mud, but it is something to remember if you're trying to recreate this project and can't get a hold of the same spray paint as me!

After the primer has dried, you can start applying monster mud. If you're not familiar with monster mud, it is a mixture used a lot in the Halloween prop building community, as it both adds texture, rigidity, and moistureproofs a piece. There are lots of different monster mud recipes out there, but the simplest one in my eyes is the best one - Just outdoor latex paint and gypsum powder. I mix mine together in small batches since I'm working on a larger piece and I don't want the mud to dry out before I've coated the entire well. Aim for a consistency that is just slightly thinner than creamy peanut butter. This will give the best texture that won't self-level into too smooth of a texture before drying.

Smear the monster mud on haphazardly with a palette knife/offset spatula/butter knife. Then, use a cheap paint brush that you are not afraid of ruining to stipple into the monster mud. Ever time the brush pulls away, it'll create a beautifully rough texture. The more clogged up your brush is, the better the texture will be, so don't worry about keeping your brush gunk-free during the process.

ATTENTION: Spray paint can be hazardous to breathe in and/or get on bare skin, and it is important to wear proper PPE when performing this task. This means a mask that is approved for toxic fumes, gloves, and staying in a well-ventilated area. Eye protection is also encouraged.

There is no "correct" way to paint stone, but I chose to use my darker gray shade (Wolf Grey) for the "grout", a lighter gray (London Grey) for the rocks, and a muted green (Thai Green) to give the feeling of mossy growth on sections of the rocks. I used a black (Matte Black) to cover the spray foam insulation we added to the inside for support of the top rocks, the wood strips, as well as to just randomly darken some areas on the rocks and grout. Once you have a base coat going, if you get an accent color spray paint and hold the can really close to the object and press down on the sprayer lightly, you can get some splotchyness that mimicks real stone texture for some fun detail. If you do not wish to use spray paint, you can of course use regular paint and flick the paint on with a stiff coarse bristle brush instead. You will have to mindfully choose paint that will hold up in moisture and rain if you are intending for your well to be used outside, though.

If you wish to bring further detail to the paint job, dry brushing on some white acrylic paint lightly in random areas of each stone gives an amazing look of realism.

My parents happen to live in an area with very old forest, and have quite a bit of lichen-ridden trees on their property, so I went off on a forest walk, yanking off fishbone beard lichen and some different types of moss where I could find it. Obviously, do not do this unless you have permission to, and do so in moderation. You can also purchase dried moss and lichen in craft stores or online. Dry your findings thoroughly, and then glue it on where you feel fits. I focused mine on the grout, and used some to conceal any funky areas around where the seams of the 2 halves meet. I wanted my well to endure being used outside in rain and moisture, so I chose a 2 part epoxy glue to stick the moss and lichen on. If you are planning to only use your well indoors, you can always opt for a water-based glue, just use it generously and let it fully dry before handling it.

Originally, I planned on a far more elegant solution using drawbolt latches to fasten the 2 halves of the well together when in use, but for some reason, I could not find them in any hardware store I went to. What I ended up doing does not look professional or particularly beautiful, but honestly, what works, works. I grabbed some screws that were longer than the thickness of my wood strips, screwed them in at the top and bottom of each of the edge wood strips, letting them stick out. I then got some metal wire and wrapped it around the 2 neighboring screws when the well is assembled together (I used a piece of light jute string in the photo for visibility, as the wire didn't show up in the pic).

When assembling the well, you're going to have to get inside of it to attach the halves together with the wire. I just put a small stool on the inside, and another stool on the outside to climb in and out of the well. The stool stayed on the inside of the well for the duration of my haunt, to give the scare-actor somewhere to rest between visitors.

Put your well in the spot where you intend to use it, and fasten the 2 halves to each other. The well is extremely lightweight, so it's very easy to carry if you just grab the 2 middle wood strips from the inside as handles, but it is sturdy enough to not topple over or be whisked away by a stray gust of wind.

We thought about staking the well to the ground, but decided against it since wind is rarely an issue at all in my area. If you happen to live in a windy place, here is how to stake it down: get some PVC pipes with a center hole wide enough to fit some rebar. Cut the PVC pipes shorter than the rebar. Zip tie the PVC pipes to the wood strips on the inside of the well, then stick the rebar down the pipe, and hammer the rebar into soft ground. Unless the wind decides to lift exactly vertically, this should secure your well nicely!

I used the school's high jump bar side rests on either side of the well, to act as the sides holding the faux rope-crank up. I then put a thick old stick across, wrapped it with rope, zip tied the stick on the high jump bar rests, and tied a bucket to the end of the rope. This means my well doesn't crank, but we knew that the focus would be on the scare actor hiding in the well anyways. I also hooked a chargeable light onto the end of the "crank" bar to light up the area. I ended up switching the light to a more discreet one with a more diffused glow in the final version, and I switched the rope to a way longer one, as you can see in the very last photo. Make sure you also let your scare actor become familiar with the limitations of the prop. In my photo of the night before showtime, she's testing how far she can reach towards people safely. Test runs matter, folks! I also added a custom soundscape to my well by hiding a bluetooth speaker inside of it, that played echo-y water drips, stones grinding as if someone was moving a well-cover aside, rope creaking, and other ambiance that added to the atmosphere.

There you go! Save this project now for next year and scare the living daylight out of your neighborhood with your own haunted well! It was a well-loved attraction at my haunt, and my schoolkids/scare actors were very excited so see it go from just a handful of leftover supplies to a big showstopping prop that actually fooled a few (grown-up!) visitors into thinking it was a real stone well. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!