Between eager trick-or-treaters and friends stopping by for a visit, chances are your home will be getting more foot traffic than usual this October! So why not brainstorm some BOO-tiful Halloween outdoor decor ideas to help bring your yard to a whole new level of festive this year? By crafting your own decorations, everyone will be in awe at your spooky skills!
While the classic jack o' lantern is nice, we think it’s time to kick it up a few notches! Not sure where to start? Check out this list of our favorite outdoor Halloween decorations to get your creativity flowing. No matter if you choose a more traditional theme or a “send people running for the gate” creepy facade, your house will be the talk of the neighborhood!
1.Spiders + Spider Webs
These chilling outdoor decorations are an arachnophobia sufferer's WORST nightmare. By covering your yard with large spiderwebs, visitors will beware! Having to walk past larger than life webs to ring the doorbell will have trick or treater’s second-guessing their decision to approach your house.
This scary spider with an accompanying web set includes a 50-inch giant spider and 200 inches of realistic triangle web. For more frightening furnishings, you can even bunch up a cluster of webs and stick on smaller plastic spiders to create an icky spider egg sac! They can be placed anywhere inside or outside your house.
2.Skeletons + Skulls
Chill your visitors down to the bone by decorating your yard with skeletons and skulls! Try lining your stairs and walkway with skulls for a spooky entrance, or add a bit of color to your decor by painting them as traditional sugar skulls. You can use full-sized skeletons to add some humor to your theme by posing them to do silly things such as walking the dogs or sitting at a table for dinner!
You can even create a lifelike graveyard outside by breaking apart the skeleton into individual bones and scattering them around. It’ll be a frightening find when someone stumbles across Mr. Bone’s arm hanging out of a pile of leaves!
3.Hay Bales
Hay bales are a great outdoor Halloween decoration, and they’re so versatile! You can place a few bales near the entrance to your home for a rustic way to display other accent pieces, or you can utilize them as a table to hold your candy bowl for trick or treaters. To create a creepy pathway, use a few rows of hay bales. Set the rows about 4 - 6 feet apart from one another and insert some fire-safe, solar lights into the bale to increase visibility and create spooky shadows.
Some people like to drape cobwebs off of them or wrap them up in string lights to add some extra flair. If you plan on having guests over, they can even be used as seating! You can purchase hay bales at local farm stands, craft stores, home improvement stores or garden centers.
4.“Bloody” Handprints + Footprints
To create a truly horrifying entryway, lead your guests to your door with a trail of (fake) bloody footprints! It’s an easy and fun DIY project. Simply step your bare feet into washable red paint and walk towards your front door. Be sure to take the paint supplies with you in case you need to repaint the bottom of your feet along the way!
If you want to use the prints inside, too, use a long length of an old sheet or light-colored floor runner. Add a few additional drops of paint to convey the ambiance of a murderous crime scene. When the season is over, fold it up and reuse it next year.
You can do the same thing with handprints, stamping them on the path alongside the footprints, insinuating someone had to crawl away from the scene! Frightening to say the least. If you want to leave some prints on the windows, you can purchase a small amount of fake blood and pour a bit into your palm. Rub your hands together and place your hand against the window - let it smear and drip a little bit to add some authenticity to the look!
5.Stray Black Cat
As far as we’re concerned, no Halloween scene is complete without a cursed element. So, add some terror to your yard or walkway with a hair-raising black cat! This outdoor Halloween decoration can easily be made from plywood, landscaping stakes, and paint. You can find a downloadable template online to trace or free-hand your own spooky feline.
Add some haunting cats around flower beds, gates, entryways, or even in trees and shrubs. We guarantee no one will want to cross its cursed path!
So, there you have it, five awesome outdoor Halloween decoration ideas! Now it’s time for you to pick your favorites and get started with assembling an extraordinary display of creepiness and festivity. What is YOUR plan for decorating your outdoor space this year?
