Tips on Decorating House for Halloween

by Yu Qing

Overview

Get in the Halloween spirit by decorating your house with holiday-inspired decor. Choose decorations based on the look you want to achieve. Use Gothic decorations for a sophisticated and eerie Halloween dinner party, or use shocking and gruesome pieces to frighten trick-or-treaters. Regardless of the look you want to achieve, decorating your house for Halloween makes the holiday more exciting for your family and guests.

Halloween Decorations
Create Shadows

Shadows add a spooky Halloween effect to your house. Shadows are dark and mysterious, and give the impression that something scary is about to jump out. To create illusions of shadows, use black paper to create Halloween silhouettes. Cut out forms of a witch's profile, flying bats, Frankenstein heads and vampire fangs to affix to the walls and hang from the ceilings. You can also change the lighting to create shadows. Dim the lights and place flickering candles around your home. Cover chandeliers with papier-mache shades so that they cast an eerie glow.

Add Scary Elements

Add elements of drama and suspense to heighten the fear factor in your house. Place a skull on the window sill or on a bookshelf. Add cobwebs and plastic spiders to give the impression that the skull has been there for a long time. Create an illusion of cobwebs by stretching cotton thin. Or use a hot glue gun to create cobwebs. Squeeze the tip over one object and quickly move onto the next object. Once the glue dries, it will give a likely imitation of cobwebs (see References below). Create fake cobwebs all over your home. Purchase a severed hand from a novelty store (see References below) and place it next to the candy basket for the trick-or-treaters. Place eerie stuffed birds on the fireplace mantel and cover them with cobwebs.
Add a Gothic Touch

Decorate your house with Gothic decorations that are both sophisticated and spooky. Search flea markets and vintage stores for tarnished vases and candlestick holders. Place candlestick holders on mantels and shelves. Place taper candles dripping with wax in the holders. Create Gothic bouquets with flowers in dark colors such as burgundy, deep purple and olive to put in the vintage vases. Keep the palette monochromatic to keep the bouquet from looking cheerful. Use large blooms such as scabiosas and roses for a dramatic effect. Add dark eucalyptus leaves and seedpods to create an uncomfortable Gothic look.