A classic clip from Jim Henson and company.

Nearly every free hour I’ve had since the the release of Fallout 3 has been spent wandering the post-apocalyptic wastelands portrayed in the action-RPG game world created by Bathesda.

I absolutely did not expect to be as swept up by the amazing atmosphere and story created by the developers, yet I would often find myself staring at my computer screen late into the night, wishing for just a little more time to explore one more undiscovered area in the game’s barren and war-torn landscape.

In many ways, the highest compliment I can give to the game is that it makes me look forward to re-entering it’s bleak world as soon as I get home from work.

(YouTube Video)

After a few weeks of setup, the Meister House is ready for Halloween 2008. Since we had the lights up to show to some friends, I took a few minutes to walk through the setup to show both our indoor and outdoor decorations.

We’ve got over a hundred animated figures inside the garage, all waiting for the kids to come and press their buttons or trigger their light sensors. Outside, we’ve got animated skeletons, giant inflatable decorations and a new entry: the computerized graveyard light show.

I’m looking forward to seeing the kids and their families and friends that always make the Halloween night a lively one here at the Meister House.

If you remember the videos a few years back of elaborate Christmas light shows synced to music, you may have wondered how you could do something similar for your own holiday decorations.

In the process of planning my own Halloween decorations, I discovered that there’s an entire industry that has sprung up around helping make displays like that possible for anyone, with the only limit being the time and money you want to invest.

Now, instead of hand-built electronics, you can buy unassembled light controller component kits from companies such as Light-O-Rama or D-Light Designs. Prices for 16-channel kits range from $120 and up, with pre-assembled kits being as cheap as $200.

To create your computerized light show, you’ll need sequencer software. The program I used for my own Halloween light show is called Aurora, available for purchase for $100, though there are a wide range of programs at different price points, including some free, no-frills command-line programs.

If you don’t have the time to create a light show and sync it to music, you can even find pre-programmed sequences from companies such as WowLights Productions, along with a number of other light show product packages.

Having assembled the pieces for my Halloween light show, I can say that it’s definitely not a cheap holiday project, but I can say that the sense of satisfaction when the lights come alive and dance to the music I’ve synced them to makes it worth every dollar I’ve spent.

I just finished listening to the audio version of The Graveyard Book, read by author Neil Gaiman, courtesy of my Audible membership.

It’s a great all-ages story for the Halloween holidays, especially as read by Gaiman. He has a real skill with storytelling, both in the written and spoken sense.

The Meister House is busy with work put into its Halloween makeover. The above photo is of a table full of indoor decorations that we put on display inside our over-sized garage for both our annual Halloween party, as well as Trick-or-Treat with all the kids a few days later.

There will be more pictures to come as things come together. It’s a lot of work, but the reaction Halloween gets here at the Meister House every year is worth it.

I’m currently working on a Halloween light-show project to add a little technology to this year’s display. I have a programmable light controller from D-Light Designs that allows a program called Aurora to tie light patterns in with music and video.

In the above video, I’m only using 7 of the 16 channels on the controller to do an initial test run using a light and music sequence available from Wowlights to make 5 gravestones come alive to the song “This is Halloween”.

I plan on adding at least two “singing” pumpkins over the next few weeks, and then move the display outwards to fit in with the rest of our annual Halloween decorations.