Content Recast Tonight's build
Halloween window projection

EP 019 · First aired 2026-09-25

The Haunted Portrait

A gallery portrait hangs in the window and the eyes inside it follow the sidewalk.

The painting in the window is watching the street. It is not watching the room.

Download the loop What this uses All builds
Live from the street House view first, then the loop that produces it.

Four steps. One evening.

Every build is made the same way

  1. 01

    Hang the fabric

    Pin a white sheer curtain or thin sheet across the window, on the inside. Keep it loose — wrinkles break the image.

  2. 02

    Put the projector behind it

    Aim the projector at the back of the fabric from inside the room. Nothing sits between the projector and the window.

  3. 03

    Kill every other light

    The projection competes with every lamp in the room. This step matters more than any projector spec.

  4. 04

    Play it and go outside

    Loop the file fullscreen, then walk to the kerb. If you can read it from there, it works.

The prompt that generated it

Paste this into a text-to-video tool to recreate or remix it at a different scale, speed or colour.

This build's prompt
Decorative Halloween projection animation on a black background: a tall gilt-framed portrait hanging in a pitch-black hallway, the pale face inside turning slowly to face the viewer, the painted eyes blinking open, torn canvas edges trembling, all in black silhouette. High-contrast luminous tones, bold silhouette shapes, clean composition centred in frame, no text, no borders, seamless looping motion.
Write your own instead of buying a loop. No subscription or stock licence needed. Hand this to Claude or ChatGPT, fill the brackets, and paste the result into a video tool:
The recipe
Write a text-to-video prompt for a Halloween window projection.
Subject: [WHAT IT IS, e.g. a skeletal pirate crew on a galleon]
Style: pure black background, high-contrast luminous silhouette, bold shapes
Motion: [SIMPLE MOTION, e.g. drifting slowly sideways through low fog]
Framing: centred, wide 16:9, nothing near the edges
Exclude: no text, no watermarks, no borders, no camera shake
Loop: the first and last frames must match so it repeats seamlessly
Give me the finished prompt only, ready to paste into a video tool.

One subject per clip — crowded scenes turn to mush through a curtain.

Make your own version

The prompt above is the whole recipe for this build. Swap the subject, generate it tonight, and you have a theme that is not on this site — no stock footage and no subscription.

What this build uses

Projector, screen surface, and the atmosphere items that make the street stop walking. Brightness matters more than resolution once a porch light is on.

YOWHICK DP02W Mini Projector Native 1080P portable, WiFi, budget tier Check price
Extra Wide Sheer Curtains White 84in Widest option, best for the street glow Check price
Low Lying Fog Machine 1200W Water Based Ground Fogger with Wireless Remote + DMX 1200W ground-hugging fog (no dry ice), remote/DMX, stays below knee height Check price
Portable Bluetooth PA Speaker 200W rechargeable, for the sound Check price
BELECO 10x8ft Fabric Horror Halloween Hospital Backdrop 10x8ft polyester 'abandoned hospital pathology' bloody wall backdrop Check price
amscan 670357 Asylum Scene Setters Wall Decorating Kit 2 wall sheets 65x32.5in (bloody hallway w/ wheelchair + gurney on posters) + 30 creepy cutouts Check price
Black flameless LED candles, set of 10 with remote Amazon Check price
Black metal candelabra, 5-arm Amazon Check price
Disclosure: the product links on this page are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Prices change on Amazon at any time.

Questions about this build

Short answers on the projection, the loop, and doing it yourself.

What is the The Haunted Portrait window projection?

A gallery portrait hangs in the window and the eyes inside it follow the sidewalk. It is a looping video you play through a projector aimed at a sheer curtain from inside the house, so the image shows through to the street.

Is the The Haunted Portrait loop free to download?

Yes. The download button on this page gives you the clean looping MP4, free for your own display.

What projector do I need for this?

Brightness matters more than resolution here, because the projection competes with porch lights. The list below covers a budget tier and a higher-brightness tier — either works for a window.

Can I make this myself with AI instead of downloading it?

Yes. The prompt used to generate this loop is printed on this page, along with a reusable template you can hand to Claude or ChatGPT and then paste into a text-to-video tool.

How long does the setup take?

About an evening. Hang the fabric, aim the projector from inside, kill the room lights, then check it from the street. Four steps, no tools, nothing mounted outdoors.