by Austin Moore

Created on: September 20, 2010   Last Updated: September 28, 2010

Halloween is just around the corner, and I want you to be prepared! Below is a list of  7 ideas and tips to help you get your house up to spooky standard:

1.      Put out some scented candles, pumpkin or cinnamon should do nicely. Rely on these solely for light sources, it helps set the atmosphere.

2.      Create your own scary soundtrack! Get samples of you and your friend’s voices, and use your computer’s voice editing system to make it sound as creepy and chilling as you want. Burn it to a CD, and voila! Instant atmosphere inducing background music.

3.      Take a ball of thin white yarn, and drape it across any high rise areas you might have in your house. Arrange it into designs resembling spider webs, and add novelty spiders for added effect.

4.      Making mannequins to put outside or around the house help increase the general feel of Halloween. Take an old shopping catalog, and some old clothing, to start. Fill the clothing with crumpled up pages of the catalog, and tie it off at the open ends. And there you go: A fully customizable body to do with as you wish, be it to dress him as death or a ghost, anything’s possible!

5.      Via the same method used to make dolls, you can also make fake body parts. Simply get some gloves, or shoes, and fill it with crumpled paper. Then, add red food coloring around the openings to give off the appearance of blood. Put these around the house, sticking out of doors and closets for a laugh.

6.      And let’s not forget the outside! You can replace your customary outside lights with black lights to give your yard a disembodied spooky effect. Placing fake tombstones and dirt in your yard also adds to the ambience you’re building. For those who want to go the extra mile, there are even coffins you can buy online, a perfect place for friends to jump out at trick-or-treaters.

7.      Getting outdoor speakers is also a good investment for the truly Halloween spirited. And finally, playing a medley of spooky background noises, such as owls hooting, wind blowing eerily, etc will complete the transformation from your normal house into an unearthly place of the dead!

So go all out this year, armed with plenty of insightful and creative ideas to make your house into one of the best decorated places on the street. Enjoy the mayhem you cause, and above all, have a happy Halloween!

Learn more about this author, Austin Moore.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.