Terrifying Recycling

It’s that time of year again, the nights are drawing in, there’s a chill in the air, and all the ghouls and ghosts come out to play. That’s right, it’s almost Halloween. But remember it’s not just about candy; it’s about making your home look as scary as possible. Lots of retailers sell Halloween decorations, but if you want to decorate on a budget how about creating your own spooktacular decorations from items you can find lying around the house.

Yard Cemetery

If you’re having a party why not turn your whole back yard into a cemetery, or even have gravestones running alongside your path creating a spooky trail for trick-or-treaters. Cutting cardboard into different shapes and painting them dark grey gives the impression of tombstones. Writing sayings such as “R.I.P.” or “Here Lies…” can give them a sinister edge, before sticking a garden stake onto the back and planting it into the ground. To make them look even more authentic try gluing some moss or grass onto the corners to give them a further distressed look.

Giant Spiders

Spiders are scary, everyone knows that. So why not create a giant one to hang from a tree or put on your shed, you could even create more than one and make a cluster of giant spiders. Firstly you need to fill a garbage bag with something soft, such as leaves, newspaper, or packaging materials; then tie the end to create the spider’s body. To create the legs you just fill one of the bags along its length, and wrap the bag over itself repeatedly. Tie the end with tape, a cable tie, or any other implement you can think of; do this seven more times to create the rest of the legs and glue them to the body.

Specimen Jars

If you’ve got any leftover jars or beakers you can make a table or sideboard into a mad scientist’s workstation. By finding some eerie objects and placing them in glass jars filled with water and a drop or two of food colouring you can create a simple yet imposing visual effect. Using objects like plastic spiders, fake fingers, or dolls heads can be made to look absolutely terrifying using the appropriate mood lighting.

Ghost Lantern Walkway

By saving milk cartons you can find another way to use them and produce some petrifying recycling. To create the lantern effect all you have to do is draw a face onto the milk carton using a black marker pen, cut a hole in the bottom, and put some artificial candles or white Christmas lights in the hole. This simple yet effective decoration can be placed along the garden path or positioned in your porch to create an eerie aura.

Hopefully these ideas will inspire you to create your own frightening decorations this Halloween, and if you enjoy crafts you’ll probably already have the necessary equipment to create your own chilling Halloween decorations.