What you will need:

  • 1/2 Sheet of 3/8 plywood
  • 1/2 Sheet of 3/4 plywood
  • 3 8 foot pine boards (2 4in, 1 6in)
  • Wood stain (I used (1)"dark walnut" and (1)"golden oak")
  • Satin or similar fabric
  • 2 bags of Poly-fil or pillow stuffing
  • Misc. saws, routers, clamps, nail gun, drill, screws, staples, etc.
This is built the same as my Full Coffin except it is cut at a 45 degree angle approx. 12" below the widest point of the coffin. By building the coffin this way, you make it appear as if it was emerging from the ground. Pipe some smoke into it along with some dirt around the base and a colored light, and you have a unearthed coffin.


I designed my half coffin to be lifted out of the ground with the help of a pneumatic cylinder. To help make this an animated prop, I first built a ramp for the coffin that has walls and guides so the coffin doesn't move around too much. As well as gives me a surface to mount my false floor to. Once the ramp is complete I mounted caster wheels to the bottom of the coffin. Once the wheels ride smoothly on the ramp, I added a 24in pneumatic cylinder* to raise and lower the coffin out of and back into the ground. I personally build a false floor in my cemetery so when the coffin raises, it appears to lift out of the ground. You can do the same, or go dig a grave in your front yard and place this concoction inside. Just be careful that their are no obstructions that interfere with the coffins travel. The cylinder can easily break the plywood coffin and possibly cause injury. *The cylinder I use has a 1.5" bore and a 24" stroke. This bore size is necessary because the actual stroke rod can easily bend if it is not thick enough and destroy your cylinder.

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