How To Prep Your Yard for the Big Scare

This Halloween, indulge in the eerie, dark side and put a spell over your house  with some creepy decorations. With a little black magic and creativity, transforming your yard into a big scare will turn your house into a yearly favorite stop. So, to gear up your front door beyond the traditional decorations, here are some hair-raising ideas for creating a memorable trick-or-treating experience.

Spook Out Your Landscaping

Set out more than just pumpkins lit with tea candles. Use extra décor and make sure your house doesn’t get missed, whether people risk going for the treat or choose to admire it from afar. Halloween is all about the spook so add some tombstones around your front lawn, creating an eerie cemetery. Trying to keep the trick-or-treaters off the lawn? Line the pathway with gothic skull fences, keeping trespassers out and they can choose to enter at their own risk.

Get Ghastly

There are many props that can be placed on your lawn from friendly inflatables to terrifying, real looking monsters. Casper the friendly ghost can make an appearance but sticking to a spine-chilling theme requires some cruel looking monsters. Hang giant reapers, bloody zombies or haunting spirits from your roofline or nearby trees. All you need is a gust of wind to get them moving. Animatronic decorations give a surprise spook to unsuspecting guests. If they get close enough a zombie clown might be creeping towards their feet, a creepy doll head spider can lunge at them, or a shrieking clown will catch them by surprise.

Add Scary Window Treatments

Create an ominous scene with a window of silhouettes. If you’ve got a theme going, there are plenty of window clings and decals that will amp up the Halloween spirit. Black spiders are commonly associated with this fun evening. Hang a massive spider silhouette along with smaller ones to show that your home is infested with this 8-legged creature. Zombie cut-outs are a frightful addition to your cemetery lawn or take it a step further and make it seem like a real zombie is trying to break through your window. Place a zombie dummy in between some old looking boards with a little bit of blood splatter on your windowsill.

Carve the Pumpkins

Halloween isn’t complete without the pumpkins. Pumpkin carving is a beloved activity where you get to choose your own design. There are many stencils you can find online depending on your expertise or beginner skills. Find adorable kittens, a one-eyed monster, or your favourite movie character. Sticking to a terrifying theme? Try out a haunted house, a wicked witch or Frankenstein. If you can, show off your carving skills and go beyond the classic jack-o-lantern design.

Get Creepy with Spider Webs

One of the simplest ways to add some creepiness to your yard is scattering fake cobwebs. Everyone knows the sight of spider webs gives you goosebumps all around. Unevenly stretch cobwebs in areas you would normally find them such as corners of your front door, railings, fences, and trees. Hang them low in your entryway, making everyone walk through them to get to the treats that wait on the other side.

Frightful Lighting

Amplify the experience with some spooky lighting. Cute pumpkin-shaped lights displayed around your yard can make for a welcoming atmosphere. However, if you’re looking to make it a spine-chilling ambiance, there are different colors of lighting that are perfect for this occasion. Dark blue lights recreate a moonlit night, perfect for a graveyard setting. Orange and red lighting may call for the immoral one below himself. While a lime green may indicate that something wicked is brewing nearby. Colored flood lights can highlight a spooky feature and a lightning machine can add some drama. 

This year, turn your yard into a frightful nightmare that will have neighbours cautious the next time they pass by. What spooky Halloween decorations can be found on your lawn?