Anyone familiar with the 1960s movie Psycho will recognize this amazing haunted Psycho house Replica DIY. This film was produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. More recently the television series The Bates Motel a contemporary prequel to Psycho has been popular and gives a portrayal of how Norman Bates’ psyche unravels through his teenage years.

Artist Richard Veillette has created his own incredible version of the Bates Motel featured in Psycho which we take a look at today. His goal was to build a Psycho Hotel with most of the supplies readily available to most crafters and from things you can repurpose. Building a static model is just the first phase of this project and the second phase will be to animate it and have it interactive. Have a look at the wonderful but spooky images and try your hand at creating your own Haunted Psycho House DIY.

Haunted Psycho House Replica DIY

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About the artist

For as long as Richard can remember he has had an insatiable curiosity about how things work and what makes it tick along with a very vivid imagination coupled with designing and creating things. His entire professional career has been a magical ride. From the movie theatre to live stage productions, to TV and Film productions, to Disney and Universal studios, he has always worked in a technical capacity surrounded by very talented artists from around the world. Craftsman, Imagineers, and visionaries. Although he wouldn’t compare himself to these amazing people he says that he is grateful for all the artists in the world at any level who have given him so much joy and inspiration with their gifted abilities. 

Hopefully, viewing this amazing project will inspire you to get creative and build your own DIY haunted house model.

Inspiration

The inspiration for this haunted house DIY came from the movie Psycho.

Back Story for the inspiration.

The famous Bates Motel is no more. It is now a parking lot. The old iconic Bates house AKA, Psycho House is still standing like a sentry on the distant hilltop. 

Investors have purchased the property with intention of turning it into a hotel. Apparently, there are still residents living in the property, the poltergeists kind and they have no intentions of leaving any time soon. Make your reservations now, enter at your own risk. We are dying to see you soon.  VACANCY

Materials Used

Following is a list of materials used to create this project. You may find that you have some alternative materials already at home that can be used as an alternative that will also get fantastic results.

• Foamcore board
• Craft paint
• White craft glue and hot glue
• Craft sticks
• Dollhouse doors and windows
• Dollhouse wallpaper and flooring as needed
• Clear acetate
• Painters tape
• Safety craft blade cutter
• Lighting system
• Mod Podge
• Imagination. Add or delete anything that you so desire.

Time To Get Creative

The dimensions of this Haunted Psycho House DIY are, 35 inches tall, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches deep. Richard wanted it to be lightweight and Something the average person could build without breaking the bank and which is why he built this 1:12 scale facsimile. It was built without blueprints or measurements, instead, a photo was used to go by. This results in an excellent representation and an inspiring version of what Richard would imagine the Psycho Haunted Hotel to look like if there were one.

The haunted house has been built mostly from foamcore board that you can get at any craft store. Foamcore is also known as foam board, or paper-faced foam board, and is a lightweight and easy-to-cut material. Because it is lightweight and easy to cut it is the perfect material to make models such as this Haunted house.

The Interior

Dollhouse doors, windows, and internals such as flooring and wallpaper can be used. These can be sourced online or from hobby stores. Richard used a couple of windows that were dollhouse scale and modified with a Dremel sanding drum to create the style he was looking for, but most of the windows including storm shutters were scratch-built from foam-core and craft sticks. The windows were made from clear acetate and secured in place with tacky glue.

The Exterior

The exterior walls are covered with 1:12 scale dollhouse clapboard siding. Weathering the siding with diluted craft paints gave it the desired dirty age look. Vines and moss were added to the siding and attached with hot glue. The gutter downspout pipes were created with traditional drinking straws painted in copper and given a rusty patina effect and then secured in place with tacky glue. To create the realistic front porch craft sticks were used, this includes the railings and vertical supports. The front steps were crafted from a scrap piece of 1-inch pink insulation foam which was painted and glued in place.

The main roof is covered in 1:12 scale dollhouse shingles. To create the illusion of mold and spores growing on the shingles Richard selectively brushed across the shingle grit lightly with a cotton ball to get the hairy look he was going for. Then the roof was aged to say “hey I have been here a long time and I’m weathered and old” by using water down dingy paint like green and black.

The very top Belfry Tower was made from a discarded Led pathway light fixture, inverted, painted and scratch-built windows were added.

One of the coolest features is the working fireplace chimney where smoke bellows out from it. The realistic smoke effect is created by water vapor from a miniature smoker taken out of a battery-operated train engine. The dual chimney stacks were crafted out of pink insulation foam.

To give extra durability the Haunted Psycho House Replica DIY was painted and hard coated using Mod Podge.

Lighting

The exterior/ interior lighting is a combination of effects. Sequential, strobing, intensity, color, duration, and automated. This is A very effective low voltage miniature lighting system that can be very useful for all miniature projects. Woodland Scenic “Just Plug” series via Amazon. Also, miniature lighting system’s from “Even Designs” supplies are good choices.

How it appears in the daytime is nothing like how it will look during the witching hour when the permanent spirit residents let themselves be known!

A big thank you to Richard for creating such an excellent Haunted Psycho, Bates Motel replica model!

If you would like to contact Richard directly for some Q & A he would love to hear from you. Please forward this article to your friends and family.

You can contact Richard at PropDad2022@gmail.com

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