After becoming internet-famous for their interactive Christmas lights, the Poplawskis have expanded their festive offerings this year with Holiday Frights, a fiendish collection of spooky decor controlled by a Raspberry Pi.
The Poplawskis’ holiday lights
Full of lights and inflatable decorations sprawling across the front lawn, the annual pi-powered Poplawski Christmas setup is something we await eagerly here at Pi Towers. What better way to celebrate the start of the holiday season than by inflating reindeer and flashing fairy lights on another continent?
image c/o Chris Poplawski
So this year, when an email appeared in our inbox to announce the Holiday Frights Halloween edition, we were over the moon!
Take control
It’s about 5am in Easton, Pennsylvania, but I’m 99% sure the residents of the Poplawski’s Holiday Frights home were fully aware of me endlessly toggling their Halloween decorations — on, off, on, off — in the process of creating the GIF above.
The decorations of the Poplawski’s Holiday Frights are controlled by a Raspberry Pi which, in turn, takes input from a website. And while we’ve seen many Pi projects with online interfaces controlling real-life devices, we can’t help but have a soft spot for this particular one because of its pretty, flashy lights.
To try out the decorations yourself, go to the Poplawski’s Holiday Frights website. Also make sure to bookmark the site, or follow the Facebook page, for updates on their Christmas edition.
When you’re on the site, you will also see how many other people are currently online. If you’re not alone, the battle over which lights are turned on or off can commence! In case you’re feeling extra generous, you can donate 10¢ to fix the decorations in a state of your choosing for 60 seconds, while also helping the Poplawskis power their lights.
Getting spooky
Have you built something Pi-powered and spooky for Halloween? Make sure to share it with us across our social media accounts or in the comments below.
Website: LINK
