Stranger Things Functioning Demogorgon Mask DIY

When my son Cam requested that I make him a functioning Demogorgon mask for Halloween, it came as no surprise. This year has been all about the Netflix series, Stranger Things. My kids love, love, love this show!

I made Cam this epic DIY Stranger Things Demogorgon Mask in no time with supplies found at the dollar store. The only problem? That mask didn’t open and close like the real Demogorgon on the show and I had a child who was determined to have a functioning Demogorgon costume this year. So back to the drawing board we went… with huge success!

Today I am thrilled to share this tutorial for our functioning Demogorgon Mask. Honestly, I did not think that I could pull this mask off. I told Cam numerous times that it was impossible to bring a computer generated effect to reality! I mean common… a moving monster mouth of this magnitude?! Not possible! My friend Amy came to the rescue with all kinds of Stranger Things inspiration from her haunted mansion this year.

How to make a functioning Demogorgon Mask:

Fold the craft foam in half and glue the two layers of foam together. Cut into a five petal flower shape where each petal is about 24″ long.

2. Use the wood burner to carve lines into the petal front and back. This step is optional and not necessary but gives the mask amazing texture and dimension.

3. Cut the foam poster board into a small flower shape and glue to the back of the mask. Each of these petals should be about 6″ long. This provides more support to the mask so that the petals don’t flop over when its being worn. If you use a thicker craft foam this step could be skipped depending on how sturdy the petals are.

The more gory the paint, the better!

4. Paint the front of the mask using a combination of black, red, brown and white paint. Cam loved being involved in creating this mask! We used foam paint brushes to give the paint job a mottled effect.

5. Paint the back of the mask and edges using a combination of black, white, green and brown paint.

Finished painting the front.

Finished painting the back. Here I’ve glued a hat to the back of the mask to wear it. Ultimately we chose to use a sturdy plastic Halloween mask to use for wearing this finished mask.

6. Next cut a tiny hole in the end of each petal and in the center of the mask. Glue a perler bead into each hole so that the fishing line does not cut through the foam when pulled.

7. Tie the end of the fishing line through a perler bead and thread it through the end of each petal and through the center hole. Each petal will need about 3′ of line.

Here each petal is attached to fishing line that has been threaded through the center hole and tied together at the back of the mask.

8. Using clay, form hundreds of teeth 1/4″ – 1/2″ long. We rolled at least two baking sheets full of teeth.

9. Allow the teeth to dry then paint each of them a cream colour. We used a combination of white, yellow and brown.

10. Using lots of hot glue, affix teeth to the mask. We placed smaller teeth around the edges and longer teeth in the center of each petal.

11. Coat the entire mask generously with mod podge. This gives the mask a glossy look and seals the whole thing. Leave the glue gun strings attached to add a drippy saliva effect.

12. We created Demogorgon hands too. Use two plastic skeleton hands from the dollar store.

13. Wrap the hands in masking tape to create three fingers and a thumb.

14. Paint them the same colour as the back of the mask. Glue to black winter gloves and voila!

Our finished functioning Demogorgon mask!

To say that Cam is thrilled with the way this Demogorgon Mask turned out is an understatement! I’m so glad that he pushed me to flex my creative muscles this Halloween. It’s probably the coolest costume I’ve had the priveledge of creating for the kids.