Eerie Outdoor Halloween Decorations

These unblinking eyes are sure to make guests do a double take. Select plastic-foam balls in varying sizes and draw large pupils using a permanent marker. Use a toothpick or stick to hold eyes together. Attach the pairs of eyes to a dark-colored bench or fence to help them pop

Gather a group of skeletons to act as spooky yard greeters. Perch the gang on a bench or ledge, and add top hats and bow ties. These guys are sure to create a bone-chilling Halloween.

Turn a tree into a frightening spider nest with stringy white "spiderweb" material. String material around tree branches to create the illusion of a massive spiderweb. Fashion some of the material into balls and add small plastic spiders for a spooky spider tree.

Show the neighborhood your Halloween spirit with a facade of sinister decor. Copy, enlarge, print, and cut out our silhouette patterns. Trace onto black paper. Cut out the silhouettes and tape onto the inside of indoor windowpanes. Illuminate your display from the inside with a few strategically placed lamps.

Let a large bug lurk in the yard for a startling effect on unsuspecting guests. Use painted pumpkins and felt spots to create a slithering caterpillar. Googly eyes and chenille-stem antennae make the critter even more outrageous.

A simple leaf garland turns into a haunting decoration when sinister eyes are added. Paint real leaves a solid color or trace and cut leaves from cardstock. Add evil eyes with permanent marker; then tie the leaves to twine and hang them on a railing to stare down visitors.

A bony figure sets a spooky scene in your grassy front yard. Set up a skeleton head, arms, and legs as if he's relaxing on his final resting spot. Plastic posts and a headstone (from a party-supply store, such as Party City) provide the atmosphere.

Transform a column from traditional to Transylvanian in seconds. Wrap black cheesecloth from top to bottom, knotting it as you go to keep it tight. Rip holes in random spots to add instant aging.

Every high-quality Halloween display requires a few creepy-crawlies. Sculpt a parade of scarab beetles from plastic-foam eggs enhanced with dimensional paint, chenille-stem legs, and antennae bent to simulate motion. Then learn to make a foam crypt to give these beetles a place to crawl.

For a less scary approach, cut out some costumed trick-or-treaters for your yard. This ghost and witch fit right into the Halloween scene with their candy-filled buckets.

Light your sidewalk with a lineup of petite pumpkins. Hang carved jack-o'-lanterns from shepherd's hooks, using hangers crafted from heavy-gauge wire. Battery-powered candles will keep the pumpkins illuminated without risk of fire.

Craft a sophisticated crow-and-birdcage pumpkin decoration using cutout adhesive vinyl. Or "literally" carve a jack-o'-lantern! Get the patterns for both below.

Think of your garage door as a giant canvas on which you can place a multitude of Halloween images. This temporary artwork is made from removable black cloth tape (in 2-inch and 3-inch widths) and black crafts-foam sheets cut into spooky shapes. Simply use loops of tape to press the silhouettes into place on the garage door.

Scare the pants off passersby with a front yard featuring zombielike mummies that eerily rise to haunt the twilight landscape.

Give giant spiders (created from crafts-foam balls) a place to call home with window webs spun from a few crafts store supplies.

Put your wheelbarrow to work during the graveyard shift. Punctuate a heap of dirt with plastic bones and watch the trick-or-treaters' reactions.

Skip the standard jack-o'-lantern and step it up a Halloween notch with pumpkin-face silhouettes. The scary stack gets some company from a pack of black cats.

Cover your front windows in black paper that's been cut with a spooky design. When the lights are on inside, the designs will show in spooky splendor.

Adorn your front stoop with a tangle of lifeless branches and vines hung from porch rafters. Paint gourds white and add ghostly expressions with black paint. Suspend gourds from the rafters so they hang down among the vines. When darkness comes, the apparitions will be illuminated by shifting shadows, a scene guaranteed to frighten and chill.

Designate a spot on your front porch as a witches' parking lot. Wrap twigs and grasses around wooden dowels and bind with rope. Hang a sign to warn those who may be tempted to park illegally. Our sign reads "Witch parking only! Violators will be toad!" Type your sign on the computer using fun fonts. Print the sign on iron-on transfer paper and iron it onto a painted artist's canvas.

Wrap your front door in stringy white spiderweb material to create the illusion of a haunted house. Add a dark purple plant to your container garden for an unusual pop of Halloween color.

White plates adorned with skeletons display house numbers in a way that gives guests a glimpse of spooky things to come. Simply decoupage computer-printed numbers and Halloween graphics to clean, dry plates. (You could also use rub-on numbers or number stickers.) Use your fingers to push out any extra wrinkles and decoupage medium. Let dry, then completely coat the plate with decoupage medium again and let dry. Display in a plate rack or by using multiple plate hangers.

Editor's Tip: These plates are for decorative use only and should not be put in the dishwasher. Simply wipe them clean with a damp cloth.

Guests will feel right at home with this friendly invitation -- until they realize they've been bewitched! Use a spooky Halloween font, such as Chiller or Jokerman, to stencil the words on wood-pattern paper. To decorate concrete steps, affix the phrase with double-stick removable poster tape. (NOTE: Be sure to use outdoor paints for this project.)

A gaggle of ghosts descends on this yard to claim their territory for Halloween. Craft your own ghost posse with white bedsheets and dowels.

A natural twig wreath and a gazing ball transform an ordinary birdbath into a crystal ball on a stand.

Simplify the window silhouette concept by crafting just one shape and placing it in a prominent spot: your front door. All who ring your front doorbell will be greeted by this chilling display, perfect for trick-or-treat night.

Outfit your front door with a warning to all who enter. Start with a weathered board and sticks. Shape the sticks to form letters that spell "beware." Lay the twigs onto the board and hammer insulated staples (available at home centers) around the twigs to hold them in place. For the hanger, attach a piece of jute to the front of the board with nails.

These creepy cutouts made from painted plywood lend an eerie vibe sure to scare the neighborhood on Halloween night.

Brighten your walkway for trick-or-treaters with extra lighting to safely guide their way. A garden lantern hung from an illusionary lamppost will do the trick.

These creepy mummy-head statues are perfect for a haunted house or scary party. To make them, decoupage head forms with strips of white muslin (a great use for old sheets) and then scuff them up by rolling them around in the yard. Hot-glue the heads to wood posts and add bits of raffia.

Pay tribute to those who have gone before with tombstones cut from plastic-foam planks. Finish the markers with specialty stone paints and add humorous epitaphs to curb the fear factor.