Dont worry Oznog! I took most all of the suggestions mentioned here and now Im back from the store and everythings assembled and safe.
first I have the transformer I asked for and one end said 120VAC IN which is where I hooked it up to my house. The other side says 12VAC OUT. this no doubt means i'm down to 12 volts. Very safe!!!! no? Oh, and the electronic guy at the store told me I really should put it behind a fuse. So thatss just what i did, I moved it to the other side of the panel, across from a 20 amp fuse. Just 20 ampes instead of the 300+ that I had before! Any more than 20 ampes and the fuse will blow, protecting any criminal from what you people would call certain death. And no fire hazard. Again, very safe!
ok, then from the low volt wire labeled 12VAC I connect it to the little assembly they connected up. 4 of these step things in there which they say are 4.5 rated and now I guess I have 4,920 volts. I think that should give much better of a shock. it sure seems to... my tester doesn't work anymore. plus I tossed a green branch against the pole and you should have seen it!