We've always thought our basement full of old Newtons and Amiga machines was pretty spooky, but we'd admit that we've been one-upped by Pennsylvania's Halloween Park, which built an entire haunted mansion using off-the-shelf HAI home automation equipment. Designed by Digital Panacea, the system is "run by typical motion detectors, contacts, resets, and timers," which trigger spooky sound effects and mechanical effects, including a leaping ghost nicknamed Dead Fred. That's way more interesting than the usual home-automation setup, we'd say -- any of you planning on re-rigging your systems at home before the kiddies come by?

We hope you're prepared to be menaced by the unstoppable, demon-like tech punditry and heart attack-inducing fear that only the Engadget Podcast can provide. This week, the team takes you on a hellish ride through the rancid underworld of the New Xbox Experience with Joystiq's evil kingpin Chris Grant. You can also hear Josh, Paul, and Nilay psychotically sound off on new Netflix happenings, explore the twisted nature of HP's Mini 1000, tear into the meaty gristle of Windows 7, and more. Enter at extreme risk of bodily harm to your personage!

WARNING: This podcast has been known to kill people. Engadget assumes no responsibility for injury or death.

[Thanks, JS and Rom for the image]

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, and Nilay Patel
Guest: Chris Grant
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Don't Fear the Reaper

00:01:08 - New Xbox 360 Experience hands-on and impressions
00:31:54 - Week of Netflix
00:51:39 - HP Mini 1000 hands-on
01:02:16 - Windows 7 details galore

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Good thing Halloween is months away. You'll need that time to hone your sewing skills in the noble quest to create a Daft Punk suit of your very own. Instructables has everything you need (except the electroluminescent wire, soldering iron, heat gun, and pleather tracksuit) to build an EL suit worthy of electronic celebration. Best of all, your tutor for the course is none other than the suits' creator for the duo's 2007 tour. Now get moving humans, it's time to let the robots rock the party.

[Via Hack n Mod]

Terrifying robots most certainly aren't anything new, and be it frightening or downright creepy, there's probably a bot out there weird enough to freak just about anyone out. Enter Morgui, the University of Reading-based robot that has been around for some time, but is just now getting the credit a bizarre skull that follows humans around should. The creation, which consists of a disembodied head, oversized blue eyes, and a classically evil grin, has been officially banned from testing around anyone under the age of 18 (permission notwithstanding) by the school's ethics and research committee, leaving the "Magic Ghost" to spook only mature audiences from here on out. Mo, as it's so aptly nicknamed, sports a metal head, the ability to detect visual / auditory cues, and sensors for radar, infrared, and ultrasonic detection as well, but oddly enough, it cannot detect human emotion, so you better not count on this fellow to have sympathy on your soul when you're screeching. The purpose of the machine is to judge how "people react to robots," and when the bot just so happens to lack any form of facial covering beyond a skeletal structure, we're sure the reactions are quite noticeable.

[Via CollisionDetection]

If you happen to have one of them shiny new 2G iPod nanos, and you happen to have a penchant for the occult, and you're looking for a new party trick to impress your friends with while dressed in your gadgety-themed costume that you're wearing to that hot Halloween party, well, right now -- fear not, Engadget is here to keep you on the techno-supernatural cutting edge. Those creative friends of ours at CNET UK turned their iPod into a Ouija board, remarking on the similarities between the Click Wheel alphabet-search system and an analog board. CNET UK's ghost (named "Brad") communicated through various tunes on the iPod, clearly the medium of choice for today's hip 21st century spirit. Now if you do try this at home or are participating in other Halloween festivities, make sure to keep it fun and safe for all involved -- awakening long dead spirits can ruin somebody's night. You do want to be around to read Engadget on Día de los Muertos, don't you?

[Via The Uber-Review]

Sure, we've got plenty of options to sit in when it comes to rewarding yourself, but what if you've got a mischievous trick-or-treater that really needs some payback for stiffing you in the candy department? Enter Lil' Sparky, the miniaturized (albeit potent) electric chair, handcrafted to scare the living daylights out of anything or anyone who dares to place its behind in it. Rob Cruickshank has officially "put the cute in electrocute" by wiring up a wooden electric chair that's powered by a single 9-volt battery and can deliver the juice to the unlucky participant with just the flip of a toggle switch. While we certainly don't condone the act of channeling unabated voltage through anybody's bones, be sure to peep the video of the electrifying chair in all its sizzling glory just in case the need presents itself.

[Via BoingBoing]

The time for slacking around is over! It's Halloween eve, and if you want to have a chance at winning that sweet a VidaBox SLIM Media Center PC, you're gonna have to get your best gadgety Halloween contest going. It doesn't have to be scary, but you definitely need to get creative! Send it in by Wednesday, 11:59pm EST, November 1st. Full details on how to enter here, last year's winners here (for inspiration). Let's make it happen.

Charlie would be better off trying to kick that football than tracking down this jack-o-lantern. The guys at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories put their l33t stenciling, carving and LED wiring skills into this Cylon Centurion née pumpkin, and naturally posted all the info necessary to create your own. This stacks up pretty well against the pumpkin PC and even the Engadget pumpkin. But for truly evil and mad status, we'd prefer a fruit-based rendering of Number Six, destined to be destroyed October 31st by Starbuck Power Mac -- only to download, re-emerge next Halloween and continue its plan of human genocide through sweet, pie-based deliciousness. Frak.

[Via Make]

Aight everybody, it's October, which is known around here at the office as Halloween-month. More specifically, the month where we solicit you, our dear, faithful readers, to dress up like the consumer electronics devices, mascots, etc. of your choosing, for which we'll reward you with all manner of prizes. Yep, it's our second annual Engadget Halloween costume contest, and we want to see your best gadgety Halloween costumes. Here's what we've got to give:


First place gets a VidaBox SLIM Windows Media Center PC (MSRP $2,200), courtesy of VidaBox.

• AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Processor
• 1GB of DDR-400 RAM
• 500GB of VidaSafeT protected storage
• VGA, component, and S-Video outputs
• TV/FM Tuners: Dual ISF certified Analog TV Tuners w/ coaxial or
• S-Video/RCA-audio in; FM antenna(s) included
• Dual-layer DVD burner
• Dual TV tuners w/ coaxial, S-Video, and RCA-audio
• Wireless keyboard, Media Center remote
• 7-in-1 card reader / AV cable set
• Your choice of silver or black.

Second place gets an unlocked Motorola PEBL (tangerine)
Third place gets an HP Photosmart E317
Three runners up get a PowerSquid black Surge3000

You get points for creativity, complexity, and, to a certain extent, obscurity (translation: unless you're planning on making the most amazing iPod costume the world has ever seen, like these guys', then try something different!). Need a little inspiration? Check out last year's winners.

Here are the rules:

• You may enter other Engadget contests, and...
• You may enter this contest as many times as you like; however, you can only win once. Be prepared prove all these costumes you're submitting are really your creations.
• No, you can't send us your costume from last year! This kind of goes without saying, but you know.
• You can only win once. (If you win and then try to go for a second prize during our relaunch giveaways, you'll be automatically disqualified, etc.)
• This contest is open to the US only -- sorry, VidaBox's rules!

You have until Wednesday, November 1st, 11:59pm EST to submit your entry! Send in pics to contest at engadget dawt com with Halloween in the subject (please, no larger than 10MB or it will bounce). Oh yeah, make sure you're entered for our other contests, too (just in case).

• We have a Samsung HL-S5679W DLP with LED backlight!
• Get yourself a Slingbox AV!
• Here's a second Xbox 360 Premium pack
• The final Nikon S7c digital camera!
• Fourth shot at a Zune