If the festive season isn’t an excuse for decorating, we don’t know what is. While individuals and families have been carving pumpkins for centuries, Halloween-inspired house decorations have only really taken off over the last few decades – with some households taking this spooky event very seriously indeed.
Whether you’re trying to create the most haunted house in your neighborhood or you just enjoy decorating your home with the latest festive trends, it’s an opportunity to get creative and put your own personal spin on a much loved holiday.
So, with all that being said, we’ve put together our top tips for decorating your home this spooky season.
Create a No-carve Pumpkin Display
While carving a pumpkin has long been a tradition for celebrating Halloween, it can be a messy business. Thankfully, there’s a more effortless approach to decorating your pumpkins that the whole family can get involved in – no-carve pumpkin displays.
When you’ve got your no-carve pumpkins, think about the most impactful way to show them off, for the most fright-inducing display. Think about creating a creepy walkway up your porch steps, framing your fireplace, or one in each window to look down on Trick or Treater’s.
Design a Spooky Table Setting
For those hosting a Halloween party, you need to get your spook on with all the small details around your home. Before even thinking about the gory and gruesome foods you’ll serve on the night, you need the perfect way to lay them out. A spooky table setting is just the thing to tie all your fightful details together.
For those hosting adult-only parties, we recommend taking your decor up a notch with dark gothic motifs and a grand centrepiece – we’re talking skulls to drink out of, black candles, dried red roses, and small accents of gold.
If you’re hosting a party for the kids, then think about more cartoon skeletons, fake cobwebs and spiders as a tablecloth, pumpkins filled with candy, and fake candles to keep them safe.
Decorate Your Kitchen with Halloween-inspired Kitchenware
The table is all set, so now you’re ready to serve the most horrifying dishes your guests have ever seen!
Normally, homeowners focus their decorating efforts on outdoor spaces or their living rooms, but we think the kitchen is the perfect place to create a festive and spooky atmosphere and feature fun, practical items on your countertops and stoves.
Some of our favorite ways to incorporate decor into a kitchen is to use Halloween-themed dishware, for example pots in the shape of pumpkins or plates with spooky detailing. You could also swap your dish towels, oven mitts, and aprons for scary designs, too.
Incorporate Lanterns for a Cozy Feel
When creating a spooky ambience and atmosphere, lanterns are the go-to addition to your home. Make your house look “haunted” by using the dim lighting of lanterns to create shadows when placed near decorations like pumpkins and cobwebs, or create an elaborate Halloween-inspired display at the front of your house using a combination of lanterns, pumpkins, and other spooky-themed decorations.
The great thing about lanterns is that they come in all shapes, sizes, and materials, so they’re incredibly versatile. Need another use for your pumpkins? Carve your pumpkin and pop a candle in to create a pumpkin lantern that can sit either inside your home or outside in the garden. It’s that simple.
Create a Festive Wreath for Your Front Door
Why not get your creative juices flowing and design your own festive wreath. Wreaths can be a lovely decorative feature to add to your front door or even inside your home, but they can also be eerie and creepy if you’re looking to embrace the Halloween vibe.
For an autumnal-themed wreath, we recommend using dried flowers or foliage in brown, orange, and yellow colors. You can also add fruit for a different texture, like berries or citrus peels..
However, for a more spooky feel in celebration of Halloween, you may want to consider attaching small props like pumpkins, faux spiders or bats, and using a color palette that includes black and orange.
Get Creative with Halloween Crafts
Halloween decoration ideas don’t have to be expensive, nor do you have to go and shop for new furnishings and kitchenware. In fact, Halloween crafts are a great way to be eco-friendly and cost-effective by repurposing materials that you already own, while adding a personal and unique touch to your home.
Need some inspiration for your home? Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Style your mantel with spooky touches to make it a festive focal point
- Draw and cut bats from black card and hang them from the ceiling
- Use white string to create spider webs
- Turn old glass bottles into poisons and potions
- Create mini pumpkins with your socks
- Use balloons to create decorations like bats and pumpkins
Build a Scarecrow for Your Garden
Traditionally a symbol for autumn and harvest, scarecrows are a natural fit for Halloween due to their eerie, and sometimes creepy, vibes. Building a scarecrow is fairly simple to do – all you need is a few materials like wood (for the skeleton), straw, string, old clothes, and props, and you’re good to go!
They’re also very versatile. You can build your scarecrow to be scary and sinister or friendly and charming – the choice is yours. If you happen to live in a town or suburb that celebrates Halloween with scarecrow-building competitions, it’s a great activity to get to know your neighbors, too.
Go Big with Horror Movie Decor
If you’re a fan of scary movies, this is your time to shine. Imagine a yard full of references—a Pennywise balloon peeking out from a storm drain, Jason in his hockey mask, or classic horror film scenes projected on your garage door.
Inside, create a “mini theater” corner with our officially licensed horror movie metal posters — from vintage vampire flicks to modern slashers. Not only do they add instant personality, but they’re also durable enough to become a permanent part of your home’s style.
Stage an Eerie Window Display
Windows are the perfect stage for your haunted home’s opening act. Backlight them with green, purple, or red LED strips, then fill the space with creepy silhouettes — witches stirring cauldrons, gnarled trees, or shambling zombies. For a truly unsettling touch, add animated props like eyes that follow people as they walk by.
Bonus: window displays look just as good from the inside as from the outside, letting you soak up the spooky ambiance without stepping outside.
Create a Haunted Pathway
If you want to impress trick-or-treaters before they even ring the bell, turn your driveway or garden path into a spooky journey. Line it with flickering pumpkin lanterns, add fog machines for eerie mist, and hide motion-sensor props that spring to life as visitors pass by. Just don’t make it too terrifying — you don’t want kids dropping their candy and running for the hills.
Add Ceiling and Overhead Decor
Most Halloween decorating happens at eye level or lower, but don’t forget to look up — the ceiling is often wasted space just waiting to be transformed. Hang floating witch hats with fishing line for a “hovering” effect, drape gauzy fabric like ghostly curtains, or dangle bats and spiders that sway as people walk by. It’s a subtle but immersive touch.
Introduce Scent and Sound Effects
Decorating isn’t just visual — the right smells and sounds can make your Halloween home truly atmospheric. When it comes to scents, lean into seasonal favorites rather than gore-themed aromas.
Use cinnamon, clove, and pumpkin spice candles for cozy fall vibes, or go spookier with smoky incense and “old attic” scents. Pair that with soundscapes of creaking doors, distant thunder, or faint ghostly whispers, and your guests will feel like they’ve stepped right into a haunted house.
Turn Your Bathroom Into a Creepy Surprise
Bathrooms are the last place people expect to be scared — which makes them perfect for a Halloween prank!
Swap your regular soap for black “witch’s brew” liquid soap, add fake bloody handprints to the mirror, and toss a few plastic spiders in the sink. If you’re feeling mischievous, hide a motion-sensor scream box behind the door — just be sure your guests don’t have any heart conditions first.
Build a “Potion Bar”
Transform a side table or bar cart into an apothecary worthy of a dark wizard. Fill glass bottles and jars with colored water, glitter, and odd objects, then label them with names like “Toadstool Tonic,” “Witch’s Tears,” and “Zombie Elixir.”
If you want to serve real drinks, add syrups like grenadine or Monin for spooky blood-colored cocktails that taste as good as they look. Add flickering candles, cobwebs, and maybe even a faux (or real) spellbook to complete the vibe.
Make a Graveyard in Your Yard
To be clear, we’re not talking about a real graveyard here! If you have lawn space, turn it into a miniature cemetery. Foam or cardboard tombstones are easy DIY projects, and you can personalize them with humorous (or ominous) epitaphs like “Died trying to leave the party early.”
Scatter some skeletal hands clawing their way up from the ground, add a low fog machine, and maybe have a crow or two perched nearby. Just be prepared for neighbors to slow down as they drive past — and maybe a courtesy knock from the local law enforcement.
Spooky Decor at Displate
We hope you enjoyed our top tips for decorating your home for the spooky season. From pumpkin displays to spooky table settings and Halloween crafts, there is sure to be something to inspire your home decor for the coming festive season.
When you’re ready to add the finishing touches to your home decor, explore Displate’s Halloween-inspired collection of metal posters – from scary movies to pumpkins and ghosts.
And, in the meantime, keep up-to-date with the Displate blog for more design and decorating inspiration.
