Have you stood by year after year as your neighbours routinely one-up each other with extravagant Halloween decorations? Have you looked on as their competitive natures propel their ambition and creativity to new heights? Perhaps this is the year you’ve decided that enough is enough? Perhaps this is the year you’ll show your neighbours that you’re the real monarch of Halloween decoration? Well, here you’ll find the right inspiration for your outdoor Halloween decoration needs. Continue reading to discover how you can transform your home into a frightfully fun carnival of spookiness.
Humongous Spiders Scare Everybody
There are few things more terrifying than the thought of a giant spider click-clacking its way across the floor towards you. Luckily the largest spider known to man is the Goliath Bird Eating Spider in South America, and while it’s roughly the size of a dinner plate, its diet does not include humans. However, if your goal is to frighten trick-or-treaters out of their wits, you can’t go wrong with some store-bought spider figurines. Your local department store is sure to have several fear-inducing selections to choose from.
A Surprise Zombie is a Scary Zombie
Some people find them fun, some people find them horrifying, but the fact remains that zombies remain a pop culture phenomenon. That leaves a lot of room for all Halloween decoration enthusiasts to incorporate the recently risen into their outdoor display. Many Halloween stores, and local department stores, feature inexpensive zombie statues that can be placed behind porch columns, or the ever-popular half-submerged zombie statues that you can place behind hedges, to give the appearance that they’re digging their way out of the ground. The point is that everyone in this day and age is so used to seeing zombies, that you have to get creative if you want to use it to spook them.
Fake Webbing makes for Real Fun
Even without the presence of a big spider descending on an unaware victim, one of the best Halloween crafts with which to decorate is fake spider webs. This inexpensive material is available at most dollar stores, and is incredibly easy to set up and arrange. String it up in all the outdoor corners, spread it above and along walking paths, the opportunities are nearly endless. For the perfect “Halloween look” fake spider webs are practically a must.
Sable Silhouettes
As the sun sets on All Hallow’s Eve, the only shadows cast on the streets are thrown into relief by the flickering flames of Jack-o-Lanterns, their mouths agape in an unwavering smile. This is the prime opportunity for some spooky silhouettes to grace the edges of your lawn. People passing by will see a dark figure on the edge of their periphery, they’ll think nothing of it at first (it is Halloween after all). But then, frightening thoughts begin encroaching upon their mind. “What was it I just saw?” They’ll ask themselves, now doubting their senses. They do a double take and see a shadowy figure looming motionless in the darkness. After a few moments, their eyes adjust to the dim evening light and see that it is, in fact, just a one-dimensional cut-out of a witch hobbled over her cauldron. They laugh and press on trick-or-treating. This is the marvellous effect of propping up some silhouettes for your Halloween decoration.
Straw-Person/Real-Person
This is an age-old classic of a trick, and it’s the type of Halloween decoration you can employ even before the big day itself. First, you get some old jeans, a pair of old shoes or boots, an old button-up shirt, some gloves (to act as hands), and a new mask (like a pumpkin or witch mask to act as the head). You fill these items with straw and arrange the straw-person figure in a chair right next to your front door, or next to where you’ll place the candy on Halloween. When Halloween night comes around, you put the old clothes and mask on yourself! You stick some straw in all the right places to fool everyone and then sit in the same chair. When people come by to take candy, they won’t at first assume it’s a real person, especially if they’re neighbourhood kids. When they get close enough, you jump up and do your best witch-cackle or scary roar! The best Halloween decoration is the one in which you participate yourself!
One Last Thing to Mention
While fright and spookiness are prime themes of Halloween, at the end of the day it’s really all about fun. When employing your Halloween decoration abilities, just remember that especially young kids are easily scared, and for them, being scared is almost never fun. Everybody deserves to have fun on Halloween. So with that in mind, we hope you’ve found some useful tips for your own outdoor Halloween themes, and that you all have a fun, safe evening.