A 300-year-old property which dates back to the eighteenth century has been transformed into the spookiest house in the village, thanks to an incredible Halloween light display.
The Old Bury, the oldest house in Stevenage old town, was completely made-over using state-of-the art projecting mapping, live action, and the connective power of Samsung SmartThings technology.
The display was created following research by Samsung which reveals 59% of Scots plan to celebrate Halloween at home this year – keeping the Halloween spirit alive despite the current restrictions with a further 48% of Scots considering using smart technology to elevate their home Halloween experience.
Onlookers were left in awe as they witnessed a custom built 13ft high mechanical skeleton, a live-action dance troupe and a field of smart-tech powered pumpkins come to life.
Theatrical fog and lighting added to the spectacle, as the entire lightshow was synched to a modern Halloween music track and spooky sound effects.
The show features leading Scottish SFX make-up artist and influencer Ellie Hand-McCready, who’s incredible tutorial videos and transformations get thousands of views on Instagram, created a spooky bespoke look for the film, alongside dancers from dance troupe Empire, who reached the semi-finals of Series 11 of Britain’s Got Talent.
A team of engineers spent two days rigging the Old Bury house with devices to control the lights, sound, and security cameras which form part of the show.
SmartThings tech was controlled and monitored via the Smart Things app on a Samsung Galaxy S20 and QLED TV and used to adjust and trigger the lighting, fog, music and sound effects featured in the show.
The study of 2,000 adults by Samsung shines a spotlight on how the nation plans to celebrate Halloween this year.  The results suggest that over half of those surveyed (51%) will be finding new ways to celebrate Halloween this year, such as hosting virtual parties online.
In addition, over two thirds (70%) Scottish adults said Zoom video calls will be integral to their Halloween plans, allowing them to connect virtually with their nearest and dearest.
The research revealed that 48% of Scots are considering using smart technology to elevate their Halloween celebrations. Top tech cited by Scots to upgrade the Halloween experience at home include smart lighting (44%), smart speakers (44%) to create spooky playlists, and smart cameras (29%) to watch out for trick or treaters.
Samsung have released a video guide on how to replicate some of the effects seen in the film using SmartThings technology at home. Â
The handy ‘how to’ guide illustrates how music & sound effects, smoke and lighting can all be triggered using the app to create a next level Halloween at home experience
Despite Government restrictions, over half of Scots those polled (53%) said they will still be dressing up at home and 55% said they were determined more than ever to make Halloween fun.
69% of Scottish parents surveyed said they are planning on going all out at home this year to keep their children happy.
Top home Halloween activities planned by families include movie nights (42%), family fancy dress (34%), creating spooky Halloween-themed food (22%) and carving pumpkins (26%.)
The new research also reveals that over half (55%) of all Scots think Halloween is more fun than Christmas. Of those surveyed 44% said they put more effort into decorating the house for Halloween than they do at Christmas.
Kyle Brown, Head of Connected Living Solutions, Samsung UK said: “We wanted to showcase how SmartThings technology works in a fun and interactive way. The Halloween House display demonstrates the simple capabilities on a mass scale and the how to guides simplifies further how people can replicate this at home.”
The average family spend £142 preparing for Halloween and 56% said Halloween is on par with Christmas as the highlight of the year.
40% of Scots said they are drawing inspiration from hit Netflix show Tiger King for their Halloween costume –famed for its stars Joe Exotic and Carol Baskin. Popular shows and films such as The Joker (44%), Killing Eve (34%) and Doctor Who (47%) were also cited as inspiration for outfits this year.
Samsung’s Halloween light show was designed to inspire children and adults who may not be able to celebrate Halloween in the usual way this year due to COVID.
