Skip to main content
Tech Radar TechRadar the technology experts
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
RSS
Asia
flag of Singapore
Singapore
Europe
flag of Danmark
Danmark
flag of Suomi
Suomi
flag of Norge
Norge
flag of Sverige
Sverige
flag of UK
UK
flag of Italia
Italia
flag of Nederland
Nederland
flag of België (Nederlands)
België (Nederlands)
flag of France
France
flag of Deutschland
Deutschland
flag of España
España
North America
flag of US (English)
US (English)
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of México
México
Australasia
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of New Zealand
New Zealand
  • Phones
  • Computing
  • TVs
  • AI
  • Streaming
  • Health
  • Audio
  • VPN
  • More
    • Cameras
    • Home
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Opinion
    • How to
    • Versus
    • Deals
    • Coupons
    • Best
Tech Radar Pro
Tech Radar Gaming
Trending
  • Amazon Prime Day
  • Back to school
  • Nintendo Switch 2
  • Best VPN
  • ChatGPT
  • NYT Wordle today
  • Best laptop
  • Best web hosting
Recommended reading
A close up of Alan Wake's face
Consoles & PC The 18 best horror games to play in 2025
Woman using tablet to control smart home devices in kitchen
Smart Home 5 super-techie automations to make your smart home even smarter
Three Philips Hue lights
Smart Lights 3 cool things you didn't realize your Philips Hue lights could do
Jason Voorhees wearing his iconic hockey mask and brandishing a machete
Streaming 4 slasher movies to watch this Friday the 13th on Netflix, Prime Video, and more
Couple arriving home to find smart lights illuminated
Smart Home Think smart home tech isn't for you? Here are 5 easy ways it could change your life
A woman laughs hysterically in this creepy shot from Ju-On: Origins
Netflix I watch TV for a living and these are my top 3 Netflix horror shows if you want a good scare
A woman wearing a red dress being cornered by a man wearing a red raincoat in Fear Street: Prom Queen
Netflix Netflix's Fear Street: Prom Queen was a night to forget - here are 4 better slasher movies to stream instead
  1. Phones

8 high-tech Halloween pranks to spook your friends

News
By Chris Hutton published 29 October 2015

High-tech ideas to give anyone the heebee jeebees

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Surprise your friends with scary tech

Surprise your friends with scary tech

As the month of October comes to an end, a devilish spirit may come over your friends and family: a desire to scare, to startle and to scream.

Most people rely on fairly basic scare tactics, including masks, hiding, and jump scares. They don't realize the potential frightful delights offered by their everyday computers and smartphones. To that end, here are eight unique ways that you can terrorize your nearest and dearest with tech this Halloween season.

Page 1 of 9
Page 1 of 9
Turn your iPhone into a scary noise generator

Turn your iPhone into a scary noise generator

One fairly easy way to scare a friend is to use your phone as a random scary sound generator. While there are plenty of apps out there that can help you do it, each requires you to hold the phone while using it. However, there is a way to do set random screams and cries on a revolving timer.

If you download a few creepy alert tones from iTunes or Google Play, you can set them to go off with the Alarm function. Just set 10 to 12 alarms so that alerts go off every 17-32 minutes, hide the phone, then let the chaos commence. You could also try setting the phone off by changing your ringtone to something really terrifying, then call it with a tertiary phone number to surprise your friends.

Page 2 of 9
Page 2 of 9
Get a jump-scare app

Get a jump-scare app

We've all seen the videos: someone is watching a fairly monotonous video then, suddenly, a scary face and/or loud noise pops onto the screen and scares the bejeebus out of them.

Well, there are folks who made that trick into an app. iPhone and Android users can download one of the many "Scare Prank" apps that looks like a standard game, but will scare your friends after an extended period of time. There are even versions of the app that will scare a friend while they take your picture (just make sure they don't drop your phone)!

Page 3 of 9
Page 3 of 9
Put your head in a jar

Put your head in a jar

Instructables user Mikeasaurus invented a wayto put your head in a jar without actually putting your head in a jar. This prank essentially places an image of your face in a jug of fake formaldehyde that almost looks like the real deal. It requires some photoshopping skill and food coloring, but it's a great way to mess with your coworkers. It'd also be a great prop for a Headless Horseman-type costume.

Image credit: Mikeasaurus

Page 4 of 9
Page 4 of 9
Turn your TV or tablet into a haunted mirror

Turn your TV or tablet into a haunted mirror

You know what's better than setting up a two-way mirror? Scaring your friends with it. If you get a properly sized photo frame and apply a two-way mirror film to the glass, you can turn your television or tablet into a normal looking mirror. You can then create your own footage or buy some stock footage and set it up so that it plays on loop or via remote command. When your victim looks into the mirror, the footage you picked will play, hopefully startling them in a ghoulishly delightful way.

Image credit: Zack Scott

Page 5 of 9
Page 5 of 9
Spook your neighbors with a ghost drone

Spook your neighbors with a ghost drone

Most everyone seems to be a little spooked by drones, but why not give everyone a reason to be scared this Halloween? DIY creator Alton Porter released a video last year showing how one could turn a standard commercial quadcopter drone into a ghostly apparition. All you have to do is find a small ghost hanging ornament (adding glowing eyes gets 50 additional cool points), attach it to the bottom of the drone, then fly it around and scare your neighbors. Just make sure you can keep your eye on it.

Page 6 of 9
Page 6 of 9
3D-print yourself

3D-print yourself

Do you have a mug that could startle your everyday onlooker? If so, you should consider 3D-printing a mask version of your face. 3D-printing site thatsmyface.com will print a photo of your face (or maybe someone else you think is scary) for you to wear. While you might be as attractive as Anne Hathaway, there's no doubt that surprising your friends or your favorite monster with a 3D mask of yourself will freak them out. A mask costs $299 plus shipping from the site, but the look on your pals' faces may be priceless.

Image credit: That's My Face

Page 7 of 9
Page 7 of 9
Turn your smartphone into a beating heart

Turn your smartphone into a beating heart

Want to be more open with your friends? You should show them your heart with the iWound app. Originally developed by a NASA engineer, iWound is designed so users can wear a smartphone with the app installed under their clothing and trick passersby into thinking that they're actually looking at a bloody wound. While it might not be the scariest thing by itself, it's an easy way of making it look like you have a hole in your chest.

Image credit: Mark Rober

Page 8 of 9
Page 8 of 9
Watch an evil nurse try to stab your friends

Watch an evil nurse try to stab your friends

If you have an excessive budget for your haunted house, then you might consider startling your friends with this unconventional door scare designed by special effects company Hi-Rez Effects.

The idea is that you would set up a video display on a fake steel door, which would occasionally show an evil nurse walking towards the door. The nurse will walk around for a while, but eventually she'll take interest in the door and the viewer. As she walks up, she grimaces and attempts to stab a nearby door user with a big metal syringe.

The screen syncs up with a mechanical prop that would attempt to "stab" the viewer with a big syringe – don't be too worried though as the needle is made of vinyl tubing. On the crap-your-pants scale, this could get some big results out of your friends. However, the DVD, video display and mechanical prop cost more than $850 (about £556, AU$1,197) in total. Now that's a frightening figure.

Image credit: Hi-Rez Designs

  • 5 tech tips to help you survive Halloween
Page 9 of 9
Page 9 of 9
TOPICS
Apple
Chris Hutton
See more News about Phones
Read more
A close up of Alan Wake's face
The 18 best horror games to play in 2025
Woman using tablet to control smart home devices in kitchen
5 super-techie automations to make your smart home even smarter
Three Philips Hue lights
3 cool things you didn't realize your Philips Hue lights could do
Jason Voorhees wearing his iconic hockey mask and brandishing a machete
4 slasher movies to watch this Friday the 13th on Netflix, Prime Video, and more
Couple arriving home to find smart lights illuminated
Think smart home tech isn't for you? Here are 5 easy ways it could change your life
A woman laughs hysterically in this creepy shot from Ju-On: Origins
I watch TV for a living and these are my top 3 Netflix horror shows if you want a good scare
Latest in Phones
Belkin MagSafe 3-in-1 Foldable Charger
I don't travel without this combo iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods charger, and it's 33% off for Prime Day
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 on a pink deals background
I kid you not, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is already on sale at Amazon
Two Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE devices in black and white closed in hand
Samsung Galaxy Flip 7 FE is a black and white bargain flip that costs more than most flagship phones.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 next to the Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7
9 things we learned from Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked July 2025 event
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 on magenta pink background with don't miss text overlay
T-Mobile's opening Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 deal gets you $1,100 off - here's how
The Google Pixel 9, Google Pixel 9a, and Google Pixel 9 Pro XL on a yellow background. Text reads: Don't miss
Take your pick – every single Google Pixel 9 phone is on sale this Prime Day (yes, really!)
Latest in News
Two men holding the all-new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Z Fold 7
Samsung's big folding phone redesign is a breath of fresh air in a sea of AI-first phone launches
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 next to the Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7
9 things we learned from Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked July 2025 event
Windscribe app on an app store on a mobile phone (on the left), a screenshot of BulletVPN's closure statement taken on July 9, 2025 (on the right)
BulletVPN bites the bullet and shuts down for good – but you may be able to claim a free Windscribe subscription
Gemini Live
Google just announced 5 new Gemini features coming to Android, and it’s good news for fans of foldable smartphones
Wednesday Addams holding a back airhorn and looking unimpressed in Wednesday season 2
Netflix reveals new trailer for Wednesday season 2 that sees Jenna Ortega's reluctant hero on a race against time to save her best friend's life
A close-up of an interent search bar with 'http://ww' visible
Wix teams up with Monotype, introduces new fonts
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. 1
    Some Prime Day deals are better than they look, I picked through 6 deals to find deeper savings on great tech
  2. 2
    I think these Amazon Prime Day Apple deals could convert even die-hard Android and Windows fans
  3. 3
    The Sony Bravia 8 II is one of the best TVs I’ve tested this year, and it’s hit a record-low price for Prime Day
  4. 4
    I don't travel without this combo iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods charger, and it's 33% off for Prime Day
  5. 5
    The ‘most all-around attractive TV in Samsung’s 2025 TV range’ is getting a big Prime Day discount

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Web notifications
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...