We challenged you to build musical instruments with a Halloween theme and you delivered!  It was a very tough one to judge, especially when we're basing it on just 5 photos per guitar.  (We're dying to test drive some of these freaks!)

Thanks to C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply for the prizes:

1st place:  $50 C. B. Gitty gift certificate.

2nd place:  $40 C. B. Gitty gift certificate.

3rd place:  $35 C. B. Gitty gift certificate.

4th place:  $25 C. B. Gitty gift certificate.

5th place:  $15 C. B. Gitty gift certificate.

So here are your winners:

FIRST PLACE:  THE IVY VINE by Donald Jack

Donald Jack describes his creation:

It is Ivy League and has sufficient spookiness for the Halloween season, I reckon.

I was given a large piece of Ivy taken from a tree trunk and challenged to make a guitar. Well, nothing was straight but then why should that be a problem? All that is needed is a fingerboard, tuners, a bridge and strings.... so I attached a piece of thicker than usual fingerboard in two places. mounted an old set of tuners behind and, using the cuts made already by the chainsaw, managed to build a platform to mount the bridge on. It worked and plays well.

No resonating chamber so I stuck a piezo under the bridge. It certainly has it's own sound but has been well received at gigs.

SECOND PRIZE - THE DEAD RINGER by The Anonymous Pick

Anonymous Pick says about his winning submission: 

This is the "Dead Ringer" special  Halloween edition Swamp Witch guitar.   The term “DEAD RINGER” is often related to an old English fear of being buried alive.  Cemeteries started tying a string around the wrist of the corpse & attached  it to a bell. If the bell rang, the graveyard employees had to dig em up. They even  employed  someone to stay there all night and listen for bells (thus the phrase 'graveyard shift'). And saved by the bell .

It is also said to mean someone that is  an exact duplicate of someone that has   passed... as if come back to life .

This is a special one of a kind Halloween themed 3 stringer slide cigar box style swamp witch guitar.  Eyes are vintage flash cards from Cracker Jack box prizes. They  change from open to closed depending on angle of view  .

• real coffin nail to  use as  a  capo /or  slide
• silver plated bell on headstock.   Tied to the hand (with broken string)
• mortician's yard stick fret board...  ;-)
• hand Halloween prop.  Doubles as a slide holder.

And tons of spooky mojo goodness.

THIRD PRIZE -  GRIM REAPER COFFIN by Ray K III

Ray says,  "I built this last year and had been wanting to build a coffin guitar for many years. This build to me was kind of a challenge in a sense trying to get the right look design to the coffin shape. 

I don't have a lot of written details on it except its made from pallet wood, and most is about 3/8-1/2" thick.  The neck is Maple with what I believe is a light Sapelle wood fretboard. 

The Grim Reaper is burnt into the top to which it was a shadow image I found when googling reaper images. I had also burnt in coffins for the fretmarkers for the 3, 5, 7, 9, 12 potions.

I added a hardtail bridge and also installed a prewired pickup kit. with tone and volume. I plan on making more (just need to refine my patterns) but it ended up turning out awesome.

FOURTH PRIZE - VOODOO BASS by Adam Kovarik

Adam describes the Voodoo Bass:

This is "Voodoo Bass" I custom built this and it was completed about two months ago. I worked on this for over three months designing how to create a cavity to conceal the voodoo beater. It is an actual beater that has been used in ceremonies. It has a thing about it when you hold it.

The pick up is a Bob Harrison custom build which really brings the whole thing together. Cow hide on the back and a real snake head on the headstock.

FIFTH PLACE - HALLOWEEN VOODOO BLACK CAT BONE V by Andries D. Eker

Andries' homemade flying V entry is filled with hoodoo chicken feet, skulls and other magic along with lights and a wild paint job.

Congratulations to all the winners.

And as promised, you all made it into Guitar World!  Here's a link to the article.