Barbie Dreamhouse Becomes a Halloween Spook Shack

Oppenheimer may excite the high-brow intellectual types, but we all know that the Barbie movie is the true work of cinematic art. The whole lineup of Barbie products has a very distinct bubblegum chic aesthetic, but that only captures one facet of her personality and we like to think that she has a darker side. Jaimie and Jay of the Wicked Makers YouTube channel seem to agree with us, because they gave the classic Barbie Dreamhouse a sinister makeover to create this Barbie Screamhouse that is sure to be a big hit on Halloween.

The Wicked Makers have built a following through their absurd attention to detail and this project doesn't disappoint. The Barbie Dreamhouse isn't a mansion, but Jaimie and Jay managed to cram all kinds of effects and Easter eggs into the Screamhouse. From internet memes to movie homages, it has everything. And they brought that all to life with technology backed by the new Arduino UNO R4 board.

Being the artists they are, the Wicked Makers understood that tech should enhance the aesthetic and not overpower it. So they started by downgrading the Dreamhouse from a cute starter home to a derelict haunted house. With a lot of paint, theywent beyond standard weathering and gave this a vibe that would scare away even the bravest house flippers. A plethora of handmade and 3D-printed accessories add detail to increase the spook factor.

The addition of electronic elements furthered that goal. There are too many individual effects to list here, but the Arduino UNO R4 controls flickering LED lamps and candles, a glowing EL wire summoning circle, and the backlight on an old CRT TV for Samara to crawl out of. An iPad positioned behind the window in the summoning room loops a video of a floating ghost, while a smaller iPad shows something similar through a two-way mirror in the bathroom. The summoning room also has a hole in the ceiling so viewers can see the screen of a phone displaying a video of a portal to another realm.

All of those effects come together to form a cohesive diorama of a haunted Barbie Dreamhouse, complete with customized dolls that tell a little story in every room.