Many transformations take place during the month of October. Leaves are starting to turn different shades of orange and red as the weather gets decidedly cooler. Meanwhile, neighborhoods across the country are starting to look quite different, with many homes decked out in Halloween garb.
The National Retail Federation, along with Prosper Insights & Analytics, reports that decorating your home for Halloween is the second most popular way to celebrate the holiday. Only the buying and sharing of candy knocks out the interior design. Individuals collectively spend billions on Halloween every year, and one of the ways they can have some scary fun is by turning an ordinary, unassuming home into a haunted house.
There are certain necessities to turn an otherwise typical home into a suddenly spooky abode.
Scene setter: Start with a scene setter if you want to decorate both inside and outside. Scene seters are plastic or paper backgrounds that can be adhered to walls to make a house look completely different, especially under low light. A scene is an investment of time and money, but it can be recycled every year and really get a room to get a new look quickly.
Lawn Cemetery: Home visitors who have to step through a cemetery will know there are more scares ahead. It is relatively easy to make your own grave markers from wood or foam. If you’re not handy, you can buy them from a Halloween store. Disturb the soil at the markers to make visitors think each grave is fresh. A bony hand sticking out of the dirt or some wilted flowers placed by the graves can also set the scene.
Floating Candles: Simulate the look of floating candles with an easy craft. Take toilet paper or paper towel cardboard tubes and use hot glue on top to make it look like beads of dripping wax. Paint the pipes with white chalk paint, as this type of paint is thick and covers easily. Glue a battery-operated tealight on top to the wick. Punch a hole through both sides of the pipe and thread some fishing line through. Use your chosen mounting device to attach the fishing line to the ceiling indoors or outdoors to hang each candle. When the light is dim, it is very difficult to see the fishing line and the candles will appear to float.
Haunted archway: Make a bow using PVC pipes, and thread Jack-O-Lanterns or Pap Mahe Heads or Masks through to create an ominous arc that welcomes visitors.
Handprints: Use window-proof paint to create bloody handprints on the inside of the windows. This is a design feature that will improve both the interior and exterior of the windows.
Fog Machine: Use a fog machine to spread an eerie mist wherever you need it, whether it’s on a porch or indoors.
