22 Wicked DIY Halloween Decorations And Scare Tactics

With Halloween fast approaching, it’s time to get those crafty hands dirty, explore your creativity, and save your hard-earned money by making your own decorations.We’ve compiled the best DIY decorations for both inside and outside your home with varying degrees of difficulty – and there are even some great ideas to get the kids involved too. Happy scaring!

Jump to:

• 1. The Pickled Face in the Fridge
• 2. A Foggy Drink-Cooler
• 3. Boos, Buckets, and Bats
• 4. The Mischievous Magic Mirror
• 5. Jars to Light Up a House of Horrors
• 6. Mysterious Eyes in the Bushes
• 7. Ghastly Severed Head
• 8. Ghosts to Light Up the Occasion
• 9. Pumpkin-less Jack-o-Lanterns
• 10. Ghosts in a Jar
• 11. Pumpkin Balloon Game
• 12. The Flying Witch in the Window
• 13. Spider Webbed Lighting
• 14. Nature’s Spider Webs
• 15. Freaky Face-Changers
• 16. Halloween Mantel Scene
• 17. Grounded Kids
• 18. Bloody Handprints
• 19. Life-Size Female Ghost
• 20. The Massive Leering Eyeball
• 21. Kids’ Crafty Spiders
• 22. The Flying Freak

1. The Pickled Face in the Fridge

Is there anything scarier than opening the fridge and looking for a leftover slice of delicious pumpkin pie, only to find a preserved head in a jar staring right at you? No, we didn’t think so. It’s probably most effective if you take a photo of your own face to put in the jar, so make sure you pull a good ‘dead’ face and follow the photo-editing instructions from Instructables. Otherwise, if you don’t feel quite as comfortable using a photo editing program or just don’t have that much time, you can simply download and print out the face that they’ve already edited for you.

2. A Foggy Drink-Cooler

What’s a haunted house without the spooky fog (i.e., dry ice)? Plus, if you use it in your punch bowl for a Halloween party, not only will it look cool, but it will keep the drink nice and cold. Just make sure that you follow the safety instructions in this YouTube video because dry ice can be dangerous if it comes into contact with bare skin.

3. Boos, Buckets, and Bats

This little craft decoration is great for two reasons: it’s unique, and it gives you a lot of wiggle room to play around with the design. The overall concept of The DIY Village’s bats in the boo-buckets is adorable, and it’s really something you can have a lot of fun with. You don’t necessarily have to go buy the plants and buckets; you can use your own plant pots if you want, and you can spell out more than just “boo”! Set them on the table as a centerpiece, as suggested, on the windowsill, or even on your front porch for a Halloween-y welcome.

4. The Mischievous Magic Mirror

Ever since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, we’re pretty sure every girl and woman has dreamt of having a magic mirror to tell them just how beautiful they are every day. In a Halloween setting, though, a mirror with a live, moving face can be downright scary! If you really like to get stuck on DIY projects, then this one is definitely worth it; the instructions from Instructables are comprehensive and easy to follow.

5. Jars to Light Up a House of Horrors

This glow-in-the-dark jar from Laszlo Luca Gerda is really easy to make and only requires three things: glow-in-the-dark paint, some old glass jars, and a black light (or UV-A light).  These jars will look great if you use them to light up dark hallways, and you don’t have to limit them to just this one holiday. After Halloween is over, you can use different colored paint for any other occasion – maybe red and green for Christmas.

6. Mysterious Eyes in the Bushes

This next Halloween decoration from Rust & Sunshine is probably the cheapest and easiest of all, yet it’s the most effective. First of all, start saving your empty toilet paper rolls right now! Then all you need to buy is a pack or two of glow sticks, and viola! You can tuck these ominous eyes into your bushes around the yard or even have them looking out of your windows to scare any passers-by.

7. Ghastly Severed Head

This mummified severed head (Crafts Unleashed) looks fantastic in a Halloween house, and the best part is that it looks like you went through an awful lot of trouble when, in fact, it’s actually quite easy to make! If you’re a crafty person and coffee drinker, then you’re likely to have most of the supplies at home; the foam head shouldn’t be too difficult to find in a craft shop. You can put this on a coffee table as a simple decoration, hide it in a bed to scare someone, or put it out on your lawn to depict a mummy coming out of the ground.

8. Ghosts to Light Up the Occasion

No Halloween is complete without ghosts, and lucky for you, this ghost only takes about five minutes to make with minimal effort and just a few easy-to-find components. The spooky bed sheet ghost may be a Halloween cliché, but it’s a cliché for a reason! This little craft project from Domestic Fits offers a fresh take on the old classic with a glow stick and a cheesecloth instead of a bed sheet; the cloth offers a different type of drapery element, making your ghost look less like a sheet and more like a real floating ghost.

9. Pumpkin-less Jack-o-Lanterns

Jack-o-lanterns are great, but for those who aren’t great at carving pumpkins, they can be a bit of a drag to make, and it can get pretty messy. Enter the Mason jar jack-o-lantern from My Crafty Spot. You can get everything you need for this DIY gem from your local craft store without having to spend a pretty penny on pre-made decorations. This is also a fun project to get the kids involved in since it’s relatively simple to do.

10. Ghosts in a Jar

Apart from merely hanging ghosts around your house, why not create a little Halloween ghost scene in a jar? Mason Jar Love’s is spooky but in a cute way – instead of an in-your-face shriek-with-terror kind of decoration, this DIY project is all about subtlety and detail. It’s almost like Halloween’s version of a snow globe.

11. Pumpkin Balloon Game

Not all Halloween decorations have to be frightening; some can be fun and playful, like Martha Stewart’s balloon pumpkin decoration. Not only is this an innovative piece of wall art, but it also turns into a game! The kids will absolutely love the excitement that comes with popping the balloons to reveal glitter and candy, and you’re sure to enjoy the delightful looks on their happy little faces.

12. The Flying Witch in the Window

You may not have a real witch flying out your window, but you can create your own little witch-in-the-window. If you aren’t able to get your hands on an old rustic window pane like the one shown by Lolly Jane, try a regular frame instead – a big vintage-looking one (flea markets and fairs are good places to look). You can also do a great deal of experimentation with this project: you can use other subjects instead of the witch, and you can play around with the backgrounds.

13. Spider Webbed Lighting

If you’re planning a delicious feast and want something that can both light up the table and decorate it, then look no further! These creative webby candle holders from Chicken Scratch NY are super easy to put together, and they look great when they’re done. You can also put them somewhere close to a wall (like on a mantelpiece) because the shadows that the webs create on the wall add an extra element to the decoration.

14. Nature’s Spider Webs

On any normal day, spiders and spider webs give us the heebie-jeebies, but Halloween is the one day of the year when we actually love the little critters – as long as they’re fake, of course! We love the use of sticks and twigs in these DIY spider webs from Trinkets in Bloom; plus, it’s just one less item that you have to buy. And instead of simply sticking a spider in the web, you can get creative by tying in some helpless prey.

15. Freaky Face-Changers

If you’ve ever wanted to turn any members of your family into frightening zombies, then here’s your chance. This face-changer from Bloesem Kids is both whimsical and frightening. You won’t need very many supplies, and as long as you have a relatively steady hand, you’ll be good to go. If you’ve got the time, try to make one for each of your friends or members of your family; they’re guaranteed to get a fright when they see their new faces!

16. Halloween Mantel Scene

You may not like the idea of ugly and terrifying decorations, so this mantel display may be the perfect example of a sophisticated Halloween. The design by Laughing Abi makes use of all the Halloween iconography without being cheesy while at the same time making October 31 a stylish and trendy affair.

17. Grounded Kids

Here’s an outdoor decoration that’s not only hilarious but pretty clever, too! This “grounded kids” scene from Fun Times Guide will have the neighbors and trick-or-treaters (and hopefully, the kids) in stitches.  You can even put some lights around the display if you really want it to capture everyone’s attention.

18. Bloody Handprints

You can buy bloody handprint stickers in stores, but making your own is a lot more fun! Kylyssa’s instructions are clear and easy to follow, and this is another project that you can get the kids involved in because they’ll be able to get their hands dirty. You can stick these bloody handprints on any smooth surface; of course, the window makes for the best effect.

19. Life-Size Female Ghost

Although this isn't something that you can make yourself, we had to include it because it’s just so darn petrifying! This life-sized ghost bride with flashing eyes eBay is the perfect addition to any house of horrors, and you can reuse it year after because, let’s face it, it will never lose its appeal.

20. The Massive Leering Eyeball

If you’ve got an old fitness/yoga ball lying around, Cut Out + Keep has the best idea of what to do with it – turn it into a giant, creepy eyeball! You can get creative with this one – maybe use yellow for the white part and add in some red veins so that it looks more like a zombie's eye. Either way, leaving it outside to scare the trick-or-treaters could be quite entertaining!

21. Kids’ Crafty Spiders

If you’re looking to get the kids involved then this DIY decoration from Mom Endeavors is the answer to your prayers. Get those paper plates out of the pantry and enjoy some bonding time as your little ones make their own little hand spiders and webs. It’s fun and simple, yet crafty and appealing enough to pique their interests.

22. The Flying Freak

If you’re the type who really loves to prank and scare your friends (or even strangers), then you’ll absolutely love this video clip from Tom Mabe. You’ll need some sort of remote-controlled flying device, though, so if you don’t have a techie friend from whom you can borrow a drone or quadcopter, maybe you can just rent one for a day or two. And don’t feel as if you are limited to just the Grim Reaper; you can use any Halloween costume you see fit.