Halloween is fast approaching, and AtmosFX has four new digital decorations available this year to scare and delight friends and neighbors. And best of all, they’re all available digitally, so you don’t have to worry about getting them in time for Halloween!
As you may have seen with some of my previous coverage of AtmosFX products, there are many ways that you can set up your home to digitally decorate. But first, if you’re new to this…
What Is Digital Decorating?
With digital decorating, you download themed short films, which can then be viewed in a number of different ways, depending on how you want to decorate. They can be viewed on a television or computer screen, or projected onto different surfaces for varying effects. Here’s a short video from AtmosFX, which shows you the different ways you can use digital decorations:
Setting Up for Digital Decorating
As for myself, I have just moved, and decorating this year has proven itself to be a bit of a challenge. The ideal window for me to use for the digital decorations is the window overlooking the porch, but the size is a bit unconventional. Still, after some experimenting, I was able to hang the window projection material:
The projector setup was also a bit challenging. Because of the shape of the window, I would need to go with the vertical format for projections. For vertical format decorations, you literally need to turn the projector on its side, and the best way to do that is to put it on a tripod. I couldn’t use the Viewsonic M1 Mini Plus projector for that, as it isn’t equipped with a mount for placing it on a tripod.
Thankfully, I also have the larger Viewsonic M1+, which does have a tripod mount. But this created yet another difficulty: my projector is an earlier model of the M1+, and it lacks Bluetooth connectivity. This means that I couldn’t set up a wireless Bluetooth speaker on the porch to provide sound for the digital decorations.
My workaround for this Halloween was the purchase of an inexpensive outdoor speaker and a 30-foot audio cord to connect the speaker to the M1+. It’s an inelegant solution, but I definitely want passersby to not only see the decorations but hear them.
AtmosFX New Halloween Decorations for 2023
AtmosFX sent me their 4 new Halloween decorations to take a look at. Each of these comes with files in multiple formats so that you can display them effectively on walls, through windows, using their Hollusion material, or even just on a television screen.
The first of the new decorations we’ll be taking a look at is Crypt of Creeps. Priced at $19, this is a single 8-minute and 46-second atmospheric mp4 file. Here’s a short clip, as seen through my window:
This was shot before I had received the wired speaker, so you can’t hear any of the sound from the decoration. You can hear it in the clips on the Atmos website, however.
While I enjoy Crypt of Creeps very much, I feel that it benefits more from a landscape format. While AtmosFX still did a very good job making it work in a vertical window, it does feel a bit cramped. Additionally, the darker decoration should be projected in an area with less light. I unfortunately was also dealing with ambient light from a nearby streetlamp, which I was unable to block out. A decoration like this will also benefit from a brighter projector. The M1+ is 300 lumens, while the M2e, which I’m hoping to get my hands on someday, is over 3 times as bright at 1000 lumens.
As opposed to Crypt of Creeps, Legends of Halloween: Gargoyle is made up of 10 different digital decorations. For $39 you can buy the entire collection, or you can pick and choose from 4 smaller sets of decorations. Here’s a bit of “Gargoyle Greeter,” one of the individual decorations from the collection:
The Legends of Halloween: Gargoyle decorations work pretty well in my window. They fill out the space nicely, and are quite visible, despite the light from the street lamp. There’s a pretty good variety of clips in there, so you can mix and match when creating a Halloween playlist of decorations. Some of the decorations are specially set up for use with a motion-detection player like the Sprite Media Player, which AtmosFX also sells. I haven’t had a chance to try one out myself, but the Sprite Media Player will allow a decoration like a jump scare to automatically play when someone comes near.
Like Legends of Halloween: Gargoyle, Season of the Witch is a collection of multiple decorations. For $49, you will get 9 different decorations, which are spread out through 4 smaller sets. You can either purchase the entire collection, or the sets individually.
Many of the decorations in this collection are longer and fairly elaborate and include dialogue and action. Here’s just a bit of “Magical Mischief,” from the Toil and Trouble set.
With its use of color and light, the decorations in Season of the Witch look great in my window, despite that annoying street lamp. And as you can see, you definitely want a speaker nearby for decorations like this, so that you can hear not just the sound effects but also the dialogue.
The final of the 4 new decorations is Ghostly Mansion. As with Crypt of Creeps, this is one single, longer decoration that runs continuously for just shy of 9 minutes. It also costs $19.
Also like Crypt of Creeps, Ghostly Mansion tends to be an overall darker decoration, so preferably needs to be projected in an area that won’t be receiving a lot of light. Because of the shape of the mansion, it does work pretty well in the vertical format.
This is also a decoration that reuses some animations from previous decorations like Macabre Manor and Ghostly Apparitions 2. I wasn’t bothered by that, as the spectral characters fit right in, making guest appearances outside of the mansion.
AtmosFX Halloween Decorations 2023 — Final Thoughts
Overall this is a nice variety of new decorations to add to AtmosFX’s ever-growing Halloween collection. As I’d previously mentioned, I’m somewhat limited this year as to what I can personally do for decorations. Having figured out my limitations with that porch window, I’ll be looking to show brighter decorations, so some (or all) of the Season of the Witch collection will definitely be making the playlist this year. I’ll probably also add in a couple of the Legends of Halloween: Gargoyle decorations.
Strictly because of my setup at the house, neither Crypt of Creeps nor Ghostly Mansion will work very well in my window. However, I may end up projecting both of those on the garage door. If I was really ambitious, I’d mount some Hollusion material up on the roof and project those two decorations up there, but that’s a bit more than I’m looking to do. At least for this year!
As always, AtmosFX including a number of projectable formats for each of the decorations is a boon for the consumer, as it allows you to choose the format that will display the best for your setup. That flexibility, combined with the variety of AtmosFX decorations available, will allow you to perfectly tailor your Halloween presentation. I’m planning on having some of the more kid-friendly decorations for earlier in the evening, slowly changing over to darker, scarier ones. How will your house look with AtmosFX decorations this year?
For more information or to purchase Halloween digital decorations, head to the AtmosFX website.
AtmosFX provided the digital decorations for evaluation but had no input into this review.
