Spooky Halloween decorations can be both creepy but easy to set up. Create a fun atmosphere by welcoming guests in with a friendly ghost, then serve up other treats. Turn up the scare factor at your house with these tips and tricks.
Ghostly Greeter
Greet trick-or-treaters with a standup ghost loitering in your doorway or perching on a side table. Start by creating a form for the ghost. Take a 2-liter plastic bottle and twist the center of a 3-foot length of wire around the top. Bend the ends to make arms. Push a 6-inch (or bigger) styrofoam ball onto the top of the bottle.
Working on a protected surface, drape a piece of cheesecloth over the form. Pool the cheesecloth to make a base on which the ghost will stand. In a spray bottle, mix three parts water to one part fabric stiffener. You can find fabric stiffener in craft stores. Saturate the cheesecloth and then let it dry completely (about 24 hours). Repeat if needed.
Cut out eyes from black felt and hot glue them onto the head.
Bat Colony
Create a bat colony that will make hearts flutter with fear. Tie them to your stairs or attach them to a tree branch. Use a template to cut out shapes for the bat bodies and heads.
Tie a 6-inch long piece of monofilament line around the middle of each bat body. Let the ends dangle. Hole-punch two pieces of orange paper for eyes and hot glue them to the head. Glue the head onto the middle of the body.
Tie the bats to your stair railings and the long ends of filament line. These bats will move when you walk past the tree branch or go up and down the stairs.
Who’s Your Mummy?
Carve a large mouth into a pumpkin with a utility knife. You can use either real or fake foam pumpkin. Hot-glue gauze around the gourd and add felt eyes. Fill the pumpkin with treats, and dare guests to help themselves to a snack.
Creepy Eyes
Every move you make will be the target of creepy eyes when you attach these orbs to your front door and potted plants. Cut pupils out of adhesive-backed felt and put them on styrofoam balls.
Stake them into your potted plants around the front door.