Along with creaky doors and flickering lights, no haunted house would be complete without a few creepy family portraits. Which is strange given that most of them just sit there looking about as scary as the Count off Sesame Street.

Thankfully Haunted Portraits are guaranteed to scare the pants - and quite possibly the vests and socks - off everyone unfortunate enough to clap eyes on 'em. And that's because they transform into vampires, zombies or bloodthirsty maniacs before your very eyes. Eek!

At first glance these spooky pics look like antique photos of dearly departed relatives. But clever lenticular (no idea) technology causes each eerie image to miraculously morph into a hideous ghoul as you walk past. A bit like those advertising boards that change depending on the viewing angle.

There are three Haunted Portraits to collect: Uncle Charles, a dapper chap who becomes a rotting cadaver; Little Ruthie *cue demonic nursery rhymes*, a sweet little girl who moonlights as a bloodthirsty vampire; and Granny Hazel, a stern looking old biddy who morphs into a decomposing zombie. Which is nice.

Hand-made from quality materials, each elaborately framed 5"x7" Haunted Portrait is genuinely unnerving, even before the ghoul within is revealed. We're talking Nosferatu/Norman Bates' mother/Salem's Lot levels of creepiness here, folks. Indeed, we've got a few hanging in the entrance hall here at Castle Firebox and we've already received umpteen dry cleaning bills from quivering couriers who've soiled their pants in terror.


Ideal for Halloween shindigs, ghostly gatherings, horror buffs and anyone with a twisted sense of humour, Haunted Portraits will add a putrid touch of flesh-tingling dread to even the jolliest of dwelling. So hurry up and get ordering before we run out of brave souls to staff our stockroom. Aargh!