Halloween Dry Ice - Fog, Jack O'Lanterns, Punch Bowl & Witch's Cauldron

Using dry ice is the best way to get that creepy, spooky graveyard effect for Halloween! Read below to learn how to use dry ice to create special effects for Halloween such as fog, spooky jack-o-lanterns, and foggy, crawling bubbles!

Where Do I Buy Dry Ice for Halloween?

Continental Carbonic can provide you with all the dry ice that you need for your Halloween party from one of our 37 locations throughout the United States! In most instances, we sell dry ice for $1 per pound or less. Prices vary based on quantity. The more dry ice you purchase, the greater the discount. Dry ice is sold in 10 lb quantities or more. This amount will last approximately one day in our insulated coolers, with the cover seated in place. Please choose from the different forms of dry ice we sell.

Dry Ice Fog Effect To create a fog effect with dry ice, you will need: a large container hot water dry ice CAUTION: Only use dry ice in a well-ventilated area. The carbon dioxide released from dry ice will displace oxygen. See our dry ice safety page for more safety information. Fill a metal or plastic container half full with hot water, add a few pieces of dry ice every 5 to 10 minutes. As water cools, it will be necessary to start over with hot water to maintain the fog effect. As a rule of thumb, one pound of dry ice will create 2-3 minutes of fog effect. The hotter the water, the more fog but the quicker dissipation of the dry ice. When you place dry ice into some warm or hot water, clouds of white fog are created. This white fog is not the CO2 gas, but rather it is condensed water vapor, mixed in with the invisible CO2. The extreme cold causes the water vapor to condense into clouds. The fog is heavy, being carried by the CO2, and will settle to the bottom of a container, and can be poured. You can produce enough ground - hugging fog to fill a medium-sized room with a pound or so of dry ice. Do not allow anyone to lie down in this fog, or allow babies or pets into it, as CO2 gas does not support life. Learn how you can buy dry ice for this effect.

Witches Cauldron - Dry Ice Punch for Halloween To make a foggy dry ice punch bowl, you will need: a large bowl for the dry ice a smaller bowl for the punch hot water dry ice CAUTION: DO NOT let the dry ice come in contact with punch! If the dry ice comes into contact with the punch, tiny chips may flake off and burn the throats of those drinking the punch. Be careful! See our dry ice safety page for more safety information. Place a smaller punch bowl into a large metal or plastic container half full with hot water and a few pieces of dry ice. Then add punch to the punch bowl, making sure that the dry ice does not come into contact with the punch. Again, as the water cools, it will be necessary to start over with hot water to maintain the fog effect. As a rule of thumb, one pound of dry ice will create 2-3 minutes of fog effect. The hotter the water, the more fog but the quicker dissipation of the dry ice. Learn how you can buy dry ice for this effect.

Spooky Jack-O-Lantern with Dry Ice Fog To create the Spooky Halloween Jack-o-Lantern with dry ice fog, you will need: a large pumpkin a large glass hot water salt dry ice CAUTION: Handle dry ice only while wearing heavy duty gloves. Dry ice is extremely cold (-109 F) (-78.5 C) and can cause instant frostbite. Use extreme caution. See our dry ice safety page for more safety information. Choose a pumpkin large enough to hold a large can inside. Clean out the pumpkin and carve a friendly or a frightening face. Keep in mind, carbon dioxide fog sinks, so more fog will flow out of the mouth of your jack-o-lantern than through its eyes. When you are done cleaning out and carving your pumpkin, fill a large glass about half full with hot water and mix in a cup of salt. Try to find a glass that is taller than the eyes of your jack-o-lantern, to get fog to flow through all the carvings. Place the glass inside the pumpkin. Wearing gloves, drop two or three large pieces of dry ice into the cup of water. Replace the top of the pumpkin. You want the lid to fit tightly so there won't be air currents dissipating the fog. As the water cools, it will be necessary to start over with hot water to maintain the fog effect. As a rule of thumb, one pound of dry ice will create 2-3 minutes of fog effect. The hotter the water, the more fog but the quicker dissipation of the dry ice. Learn how you can buy dry ice for the Spooky Jack-o-Lantern.

Spooky Crawling Bubbles from Dry Ice For this Halloween party spectacular, you will need: a tall, clear plastic cylinder-shaped vase warm water dry ice liquid dishwashing detergent food coloring CAUTION: Dry ice is very cold and will freeze your skin instantly. Never let dry ice touch any part of your body. Use only heavy gloves or tongs to handle dry ice. See our dry ice safety page for more safety information. Fill the vase with warm water, add a few drops of detergent and food coloring, and carefully drop a piece of dry ice into the water. The dry ice will turn into a gas under water and make colorful bubbles that will crawl up out of the vase and "pop" with a little cloud of carbon dioxide fog as they climb out of the vase. Learn how you can buy dry ice for this effect.

Halloween Laser & Fog Fun For this experiment, you will need: any kind of laser beam or laser show machine a large container for holding hot water dry ice CAUTION: Only use dry ice in a well-ventilated area. The carbon dioxide released from dry ice will displace oxygen. See our dry ice safety page for more safety information. Low powered VLDs and HeNe lasers do not produce visible beams in clear air, unless you look almost directly into them, at which time you see a sparkling effect produced by the beam scattering off the dust particles. Mount the laser on a tripod and aim it across a large field at night. Hike to the other end of the field and look back at the laser (while you're there, measure the diameter of the beam - you'll be surprised). To be able to see the beam from larger angles requires that the beam be scattered by more than just dust. Use dry ice to make fog. Just drop chunks of dry ice into some hot water for a dense ground - hugging fog. For safety, don't allow anyone - pets or people - to lie down in this fog, as they could be asphyxiated. CO2 gas does not support animal or human life. Fog Cutter While you've got this dense fog filling your living room, try this: Get a small polished cylindrical object, such as a drill bit, and aim the laser beam at the cylinder. The beam will spread out into a fan. Aiming the beam through a glass or clear plastic stirring rod will do the same thing. Now orient the cylinder or rod vertically so the laser fan sweeps out in a horizontal sheet. Look at the cross section this cuts in the fog. Try not to disturb the fog too much, but let it settle down into a steady, ever shifting maelstrom of micro eddies and vortices. It's incredible to watch. When you place dry ice into some warm or hot water, clouds of white fog are created. This white fog is not the CO2 gas, but rather it is condensed water vapor, mixed in with the invisible CO2. The extreme cold causes the water vapor to condense into clouds. The fog is heavy, being carried by the CO2, and will settle to the bottom of a container, and can be poured. You can produce enough ground - hugging fog to fill a medium-sized room with a pound or so of dry ice. Do not allow anyone to lie down in this fog, or allow babies or pets into it, as CO2 gas does not support life. Dry ice fog allows low powered laser beams to be seen; see the laser experiments page for details. Learn how you can buy dry ice for this Fog & Laser effect.

Ghostly Floating Bubbles For this dry ice experiment, you will need: a fish aquarium or similar large, clear container for holding water dry ice bubbles & a bubble wand CAUTION: Dry ice is very cold and will freeze your skin instantly. Never let dry ice touch any part of your body. Use only heavy gloves or tongs to handle dry ice. See our dry ice safety page for more safety information. You'll notice that when you add dry ice to water, the cloud of carbon dioxide and water does not go up into the air, but instead falls toward the ground. Why? This cloud-like mixture of carbon dioxide and water is heavier than the surrounding air. A small fish aquarium works well for this activity. Fill the bottom of the aquarium about an inch deep with warm water. Use gloves or tongs to add a few pieces of dry ice. Of course, the dry ice will begin to smoke turning into carbon dioxide and water vapor. Using a bubble wand and a bottle of bubble fluid, blow a few bubbles into the aquarium (it's a little difficult, so be patient). To everyone's amazement, a few bubbles will appear to float in mid-air in the aquarium. The bubble is really just floating on a cushion of invisible carbon dioxide gas. Of course, the spooky Halloween story is up to you... but I'm almost certain that the aquarium is the home of a ghost who has been known to play with soap bubbles! Learn how you can buy dry ice for this Fog & Laser effect.

Watch a video on how to create spooky special effects for Halloween Watch this video to see how to use dry ice to create dry ice fog, do the Ghostly Floating Bubbles experiment, and see Spooky Crawling Bubbles in action!

CAUTION! Dry Ice (Solid Carbon Dioxide)

• Dry ice is extremely cold (-109 F) (-78.5 C)
• Avoid contact with skin, eyes, mouth and clothing. Dry ice may cause cold burns.
• Asphyxiant - liberates heavy gas which may cause suffocation.
• Keep out of reach of children.
• Do not eat or put into drinks.
• Do not seal in glass or other closed containers.
• Do not enter areas where used or stored until properly ventilated.
• Use heavy gloves when handling.
• See all dry ice safety precautions.

Call Continental Carbonic toll-free at 800-DRY-ICE2 to buy dry ice.
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