The World's Scariest Gadget

by Courtesy Innovative Design Solutions Courtesy Innovative Design Solutions

Halloween is one of the only times when it's socially acceptable to scare the bejesus out of little children, and the time-tested best way to do it is with a haunted house. But nothing makes your amateur fright farm seem more like a joke than bad sound. Until recently, most garage crypt-keepers relied on cheesy effects tapes to terrify the tykes. Time to get with the 21st century.



Chips International's wallet-size Superseller ($50) lets you record up to 20 seconds of shrieks, creaks and moans, then plays them back when triggered by a motion sensor. End result: perfectly timed screams and petrified visitors.



The battery- or AC-adapter-operated Superseller comes with a line-in jack and onboard mike for recording, a line-out for amplification, and a reset timer to keep the shrieks from getting repetitive during high-traffic times. Sound effects can be retained indefinitely without power, and a swivel-type mounting bracket makes temporary installation easy.



For a DIY visual to complement the Superseller, Gore Galore offers a $35 â€corpsification" kit for making your very own real live fake corpse. The package includes flesh-colored latex, special cotton matting and other materials. This art project of the damned can morph a flimsy $20 fake skeleton into a mass of hideous rotting remains. Who wants some candy?