50 DIY Outdoor Halloween Decorations for Seasonal Spookiness These easy DIY outdoor Halloween decorations are fun projects and spooky displays that'll make your yard the eeriest landscape on the block this fall. By Emily Williams Emily Williams Emily Williams is the digital senior home editor at Better Homes & Gardens, where she covers home decor, entertaining ideas, and more. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process and Savanna Bous Savanna Bous Savanna Bous is a digital editorial assistant at Better Homes and Gardens. She graduated from Drake University in the spring of 2022 with degrees in magazine media, advertising, and digital media production. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on September 4, 2024 Cast a spooky spell over the whole neighborhood this fall with these easy DIY outdoor Halloween decorations. This list of crafts covers your entire house and yard from top to bottom—literally—and will enchant you with a wickedly good time while creating the projects with friends and family. Give trick-or-treaters a fun and frightful experience when they come to your door and have your neighbors squealing in delight with these DIY outdoor Halloween decorations that are bewitching, boo-tiful, and bone-chilling. Wondering When to Decorate for Halloween? Here’s the Answer 01 of 50 Giant Furry Spiders Credit: Jay Wilde These giant DIY spiders will turn your home into a house of horrors this Halloween. Nearly seven feet across, these enormous creatures are bone-chilling when hung on your siding and roof with twine, wire, and exterior adhesive hooks. You'll need faux fur, black foam tubes, half-sphere wire forms from a florist's supply shop, and a few other items for this creepy-crawly craft. Follow the Tutorial 02 of 50 Monster Wreath Credit: Carson Downing Create a DIY monster wreath that's a little cute and a little creepy. Handmade yarn pom-poms and giant googly eyes are all it takes to transform a plain wreath into a jolly Halloween monster. Though green is classic for a ghoulish monster, you can customize your decoration with any color that suits your spooky fancy. 03 of 50 Phantom of the Opera Pumpkins Credit: Greg Scheidemann Give your DIY outdoor Halloween decorations a mysterious twist with a grouping of mask-wearing pumpkins. Purchase plastic masks or cut paper mask shapes with holes for the eyes and use glue or pins to attach the eerie accessory to the pumpkins. Stagger pumpkins of different sizes and colors across your porch steps or line a walkway with these spooky faces. 04 of 50 Grabbing Ghoul Walkway Credit: Jay Wilde Sets of ghoulish hands and well-shaded cracks create the ultimate optical illusion. To make these startling DIY outdoor Halloween decorations, use exterior adhesive to attach plastic hands to your walkway, then shade the concrete with black chalk to make it look like the hands are reaching out of the ground. This macabre feature will both spook and delight trick-or-treaters who must traverse the path to get their candy. Dismantling Halloween decor can be quite the task, but removing these ghoul hands and chalk is easy—simply pull up the zombie mitts and spray the concrete with a hose when the holiday is over. 05 of 50 Googly Eye Garden Stakes Credit: Jay Wilde You won't be able to take your eyes off these DIY outdoor Halloween decorations that kids will get a kick out of. Buy some giant googly eyes and attach them to wooden dowels or skewers using hot glue or strong tape. Stake them in your bushes or plants for a funny monster effect in any garden. 06 of 50 Boo-tiful Doormat Credit: Carson Downing Halloween decorations go way beyond pumpkin carving with this boo-tiful fall porch decoration. While you can rely on a store-bought doormat, you can alternatively flex your creative muscles to paint a custom mat for the season. Craft your own design or use a craft store stencil to make a DIY doormat for your threshold. 07 of 50 Supersized Spiderwebs Credit: Carson Downing These supersized spiderwebs would go gruesomely with your giant furry spiders. The sprawling faux webs are easy to make with braided yarn, hot glue, and a short list of tools. The giant DIY outdoor Halloween decorations can be reused year after year with proper storage, which makes the simple project even more worth your time. Follow the Tutorial 08 of 50 October Ornament Wreath Credit: Laurie Black It seems like Christmas decor hits the shelves earlier each year, but you can use the premature holiday spirit to your advantage. Create a jewel-toned wreath fit for Halloween with orange, purple, and black ornaments. Complete the DIY outdoor decoration with mini pumpkins, skulls, spiders, masks, eyeballs, and other spooky items, using hot glue to hold everything together. 09 of 50 Painted Pumpkins Credit: Scott Little Although it's a beloved seasonal tradition, pumpkin carving is messy and results in unpleasant odors—especially after a few days or weeks. Swap your carving knife for paintbrushes this year and create painted pumpkins instead. Copy these owl-inspired DIY outdoor Halloween decorations or come up with your own bewitching design. 10 of 50 Metallic Letter Message Credit: Adam Albright Typically inviting farmhouse style takes an unnerving turn with a mass of mischievous mice and a ghostly greeting that says it all. Create a metallic message with oversized cardboard box letters, twine, and gold spray paint, wrapping the twine around the letters and securing with hot glue before applying paint. Search for decorative mice at your local craft store and paint them black for an eerie effect. Keep the ladder, corn stalks, and pumpkins but replace letters and mice with pretty fall decor to greet guests when Thanksgiving rolls around. 31 Festive Halloween Porch Decor Ideas 11 of 50 Behemoth Bats Credit: Jason Donnelly These larger-than-life bats are eclectic, easy-to-make DIY outdoor Halloween decorations. The winged creatures are made from plastic hangers, pipe foam insulation, and black trash bags, making them a budget-friendly project. If the giant spider craft is a little too spine-tingling for your liking, go with these behemoth bats instead. Follow the Tutorial 12 of 50 Cold Hands Wreath Credit: Jacob Fox You've heard of cold feet, but how about cold hands? This wreath is simple but stands out among other Halloween door decorations. Apply a few even layers of silver spray paint to nine plastic skeleton hands. Add a liberal amount of hot glue to the back of the hands to affix them around a small chalkboard circle. Write a spooky phrase in the center with chalk, then hang the wreath with string. 13 of 50 String Art Pumpkins Credit: Scott Little Get super creative with these DIY outdoor Halloween decorations that involve painting pumpkins and crafting spooky imagery with string art. Trace Halloween shapes of your choosing, such as a moon and a bat, onto separate pumpkins, then paint one pumpkin black and the other white, leaving the shapes unpainted. Hammer craft nails around the edges of your shapes, leaving the nails slightly above the pumpkin's surface. Wrap string in a contrasting color around the nails to create the webbed design, and finish the pumpkin project by looping the string around each adjacent nail to create an outline of the shape. 80 Easy Halloween Crafts You Can Make in a Day 14 of 50 Witchy Foliage Garlands Credit: Cameron Sadeghpour Classic fall foliage takes on a witchy look when painted an unnatural color. Black spray paint transforms basic leaf garlands into eerie DIY outdoor Halloween decorations that look menacing when wrapped around a fence, porch rail, or pillar. Gray-painted garlands look drained of life and create an ultra-spooky effect when combined with faux cobwebs. For a touch of sparkle that flickers in the candlelight, shake glitter in a color that matches the paint onto the garlands while the paint is still wet. This Gothic Flower Is a Pop Culture Favorite for Fall Decorating 15 of 50 Skeletons with a Wild Twist Credit: Brie Williams Make a pile of pumpkins a little scarier with faux animal skeletons. This raven, for example, contrasts nicely with a pile of pretty painted pumpkins. Find decorative animal skeletons at your local craft store and put your own twist on them by painting them, perching them on faux human skulls, or outfitting them in costumes for a more playful effect. 16 of 50 Paper Bag Lanterns Credit: Matthew Clark These outdoor Halloween luminarias are super simple and a great project for kids. Decorate an assortment of paper bags with stickers, paint, tape, and other crafting materials, then arrange them on the front porch or line them up your driveway to welcome trick-or-treaters. Choose battery-operated tea lights for fret-free lighting on Fright Night. If you don't want to worry about your paper lanterns getting ruined in the rain or remembering to put them away ahead of wet weather, wait to set them out until trick-or-treating hours begin. 17 of 50 Rat Invasion Credit: Adam Albright The only creature more eek-worthy than a mouse is a rat. For these DIY outdoor Halloween decorations, trace a few variations of oversized rat outlines on large pieces of paper, then use the cutouts as stencils over plywood. Cut out the wood rats, sand them, and paint them black. Screw vertically aligned U-brackets to the back of each rat, propping them up by slipping the U-bracket over a plant stake pushed into the ground. Your yard will look like Ratatouille met The Walking Dead—what's more creepy-crawly than that? 18 of 50 Burlap Bat Wreath Credit: Jacob Fox This festive Halloween wreath is the perfect blend of spooky and stylish. Orange chevron ribbon dresses up a basic straw wreath, but the real star is a trio of glittery bats crafted from burlap using a stencil. Up the cute factor by fashioning a bow using patterned burlap ribbon, and loop a piece of twine through the back of the knot to hang the rustic DIY outdoor Halloween decoration from your door. 19 of 50 Caught in a Web Mat Credit: Jay Wilde Capture trick-or-treaters on your porch with this crafty Halloween doormat that resembles a spiderweb. Cut a lightweight black mat into a 36-inch-diameter circle using heavy shears, then draw a spiderweb design onto the mat with chalk. Cut a clothesline into pieces to fit your design and singe the ends of each piece to prevent fraying. Use hot glue to attach the clothesline pieces over the chalk lines for a quick and easy DIY project. 20 of 50 Pumpkin Messages Credit: Scott Little Send a spooky message with style this Halloween. Paint one pumpkin black for each letter in your word, then use metallic foil and decorative tacks to spell out your saying. Cut the stems off the bottom pumpkins so you can stack your gourds, or set them out side-by-side to avoid this step. Use metal-leaf adhesive to get the metallic foil to stick to the pumpkins, then gently brush the silver-leaf letters with a sealer before outlining each letter with decorative tacks. 21 of 50 Painted Pallet Decor Credit: Alice & Lois Use a scrap wood pallet to create DIY ghost and jack-o'-lantern decorations for your yard. Cover wood pallet boards with white paint, then freehand three ovals in black paint to form a ghost face. Repeat with orange and black paint to create a smiling jack-o'-lantern for a pair of seasonal characters. 25 Halloween Craft Ideas to Fill Your House with Spooky Fun 22 of 50 An Unkindness of Ravens Credit: Adam Albright One bird: Not a big deal. A whole flock of them? Well, that's an unsettling assortment of DIY outdoor Halloween decorations. Assemble a collection (or unkindness) of ravens arranged in various poses on your fence, porch banister, deck railing—even your roofline! Secure the faux birds with cable ties and black duct tape. If one of the oversized DIY projects feels too overwhelming but you want the same visual impact, try this eerie raven decor idea instead. 23 of 50 Fall-Textured Pumpkins Credit: Edmund Barr DIY outdoor Halloween decorations don't have to be overtly scary. Pumpkins—the most beloved symbol of the season—come in all sorts of colors, shapes, and sizes that can be used to create a unique display that's pretty but a little preternatural. Stack several white pumpkins atop each other with clumps of dried moss or straw between each gourd. Accent the bone-colored pumpkins with potted seasonal flowers and dried cornstalks, then finish the porch decor with a faux raven or skull. 50 DIY Outdoor Halloween Decorations for Seasonal Spookiness 24 of 50 Mummy Wreath Credit: Carson Downing Looking for the quickest of DIY outdoor Halloween decorations? This wreath can be wrapped up in minutes. Use masking tape and gauze to create a pair of spooky mummy hands, then add them to a plain grapevine wreath and finish the craft with faux spiders and webbing. 25 of 50 Bats in the Bushes Credit: Adam Albright This fun bat decoration will ominously animate your bushes with colonies of airborne creatures. Enlarge and trace our printable bat pattern onto black foam-core board, then cut out the shapes. Poke two holes into each bat for black cable ties to hold them onto dowel rods—or collect branches from your yard for a more natural, rustic look. Stake the skewers into the ground or sand-filled buckets, placing the largest bats higher on the sticks and smaller ones toward the bottom. Download the Free Printable 26 of 50 Wayward Witch Credit: Bob Greenspan This easy-to-make DIY outdoor Halloween decoration looks like a wayward witch landed headfirst in a moss-filled urn. To craft your own version of this wickedly fun witch decor, dress bendable mannequin legs in striped hose and buckled shoes. Use hot glue to secure the upside-down legs to a large foam block in a tall urn, then fill the space around the legs with reindeer moss and leaves. Situate the cackle-worthy creation by your front door for a creepy and campy display. 27 of 50 Scaling Skeletons Credit: Jason Donnelly Speaking of campy DIY outdoor Halloween decorations, these scaling skeletons are a hilarious addition to your fall yard decor. Pose several skeletons on your porch, siding, roof, and even in trees and bushes, securing them with fishing line. Add props to create an elaborate scene, such as incorporating decorative gravestones in the spooktacular setup. 25 Outdoor Skeleton Decor Ideas for the Spookiest Halloween Display 28 of 50 Bug Infested Toxic Spill Credit: Adam Albright Poisonous, it is not: This toxic spill puddle is actually hardened white glue. To make the simple but spooky Halloween decoration, outline a puddle shape on a melamine sheet, then fill it with glue. While it dries, create a "poison" label to attach to an empty bottle. Remove the dried glue puddle from the melamine, then situate it on your front porch, deck, stairs, walkway, or other outdoor area. Finish the display by placing the poison bottle and plastic insects around the spill, using outdoor glue to hold them in place. 29 of 50 Ghouls in the Garage If your garage door is outfitted with windows, don't miss the opportunity to incorporate these DIY outdoor Halloween decorations. The key to creating this scary scene is a combination of tissue paper and card stock. Cut bright-colored tissue paper to fit your windows and set aside. Cut outlines of hands and feet from black cardstock, then attach the hands to the bright tissue paper. Use tape to adhere the tissue paper creations to the windows and the feet cutouts to the base of the door. Turn on your interior garage lights for an eerie glowing effect at night. 30 of 50 Candy Corn Wreaths Credit: Adam Albright Candy corn is Halloween's candy mascot, so use it as a theme for the DIY outdoor Halloween decorations on your stoop. Greet trick-or-treaters with a trio of foam wreaths wrapped with alternating white, orange, and yellow yarn. Add decorative "trick" "or" "treat" banners—you can download and print our free templates—then vertically hang the wreaths on your front door. If you want to double down on the candy corn theme for maximum impact, create stacked candy corn displays using faux pumpkins. For one display, use a small, medium, and large pumpkin, painting them white, orange, and yellow, respectively. Let them dry, then remove the stems from the middle and bottom pumpkins. Stack the artificial gourds with the smallest on top and the largest on the bottom to mimic a piece of candy corn, using hot glue to adhere the pumpkins together. Download the Free Printables 31 of 50 Carved Craft Pumpkin Credit: Matthew Clark Carve a craft pumpkin instead of a fresh one to add to your DIY outdoor Halloween decor this year. It's just as easy (maybe even easier) as carving a real pumpkin, but you don't have to worry about these pumpkins rotting. That means you can store this decoration and display it year after year—make it an annual tradition to add a new carved craft pumpkin to your arsenal! 25 Creative Pumpkin Carving Ideas for Cool Jack-o'-Lanterns 32 of 50 Monster Garland Credit: Matthew Clark Whether you're throwing a Halloween party or just decorating your home for the season, this colorful monster garland is adorable and easy to make. Use a package or two of multi-colored, multi-sized paper honeycomb balls, depending on how long and voluminous you want your garland to be. String the paper globes together using fishing line or thin twine, then add monster-like features with craft paper, markers, and googly eyes. 33 of 50 Spooky Silhouette Mural Credit: Jason Wilde Think of your garage door as a giant canvas where you can display an expanse of DIY outdoor Halloween decorations—even an entire mural. This bat and cat silhouette art is made from removable black cloth tape and black foam sheets cut into signature Halloween animal shapes. In addition to creating the fence using the tape, fashion loops from the adhesive to affix the cats and bats on the garage door. For the fence posts, 3-inch-wide tape works best. For the cross sections, use 2-inch-wide tape. 34 of 50 Creepy Coquettish Wreath Credit: Cameron Sadeghpour Creepy meets coquette in this elegant Halloween-themed wreath. Visit your local craft store to find decorative mesh spiderweb fabric, then cut it to tautly cover an embroidery hoop and secure it with hot glue. Attach a large plastic spider with another dab of glue and give the DIY decoration a darling touch with an oversized bow made from black satin or velvet ribbon. 35 of 50 Ever-Watchful Eyes Credit: Matthew Mead These unblinking eyes are sure to make trick-or-treaters do a double take. Grab pairs of plastic foam balls in varying sizes and draw on large pupils with a permanent marker. Use a toothpick to hold each set of eyeballs together, then attach them to a dark bench, fence, or bushes so they pop. Create an eerie nighttime effect by strategically shining outdoor spotlights on your display—it'll make the eyes look like they're glowing in the dark. 36 of 50 Painted and Carved Pumpkins Credit: Greg Scheidemann Trick or Treat, Happy Halloween, Boo: Whatever your Halloween sentiment, use pretty painted pumpkins to spell it out, and give them extra decorative pizzazz with a carved element. Use painters tape to mark off stripes, painting the exposed part of the pumpkin with black acrylic paint. Trace letters or words onto the gourds and use a small brush to fill them with paint. Let the paint dry, then create evenly spaced holes in the striped sections using a large drill bit. 37 of 50 Slithering Snakes on the Stoop Credit: Adam Albright Accessorize your front door mat with a slithering mass of snakes this Halloween. Spray paint a dozen or more rubber snakes glossy black, and cut some of them in two to create various lengths. Arrange the snakes at the edge of a thick plastic foam board and hot glue them in place. Set the board underneath your doormat for one of the most scream-inducing DIY outdoor Halloween decorations. 38 of 50 Hanging Jack-o'-Lanterns Credit: Andy Lyons Light your sidewalk with a lineup of DIY outdoor Halloween decorations. Hang mid-sized carved jack-o'-lanterns from shepherd's hooks using heavy-gauge wire poked through the pumpkins and twisted together for security. Battery-powered candles keep the pumpkin lanterns illuminated throughout the season without risk of fire. 39 of 50 Night Sky Porch Setting Credit: Adam Albright This porch display starts with creating a crescent moon wreath using two wire wreath forms and yellow electrical tape. Set the smaller wreath inside the larger one, offsetting the two so they almost touch on one side. Wrap with electrical tape until the crescent shape is complete. Next, use our cat stencil to cut shapes from black foam core and tape the back side to something heavy (like a mason jar filled with rocks or sand). Finish the DIY outdoor Halloween decorations by adding a few stars cut from cardstock and gauzy black fabric for the night sky. Download the Free Printables 40 of 50 Flaming Pumpkin Display Credit: Blaine Moats A pile of pumpkins transforms into a cozy campfire-inspired display with a flame stencil and a simple carving technique. The outdoor decor is finished with a few logs and a cozy blanket. Use battery-powered flickering lights to give the "fire" a realistic look. Follow the Tutorial 41 of 50 Window Webs Credit: Jason Wilde Give giant spiders a place to call home with window webs spun from a few craft store supplies. Create the spiders using foam balls, black paint, and black pipe cleaners, and fashion the webs from black tape and black yarn. These DIY outdoor Halloween decorations are cheap and easy to make—and they're sure to send a bone-chilling sensation through even the bravest of visitors. 42 of 50 Skeletons from Another Century Credit: Jason Donnelly Gather a group of skeletons from generations ago to act as yard greeters. Outfit the gang in top hats, bow ties, and boutoneires, then perch them on a bench or ledge to watch over the neighborhood. Give them an even more old-timey effect with musical props or croquet mallets. 43 of 50 Yarn Web Wreath Credit: Jay Wilde Kids will love creating this whimsical DIY wreath with a hidden surprise—spiders! Wrap different-sized foam balls with black, green, purple, and orange yarn, using hot glue to secure the ends. Tie black yarn to a wreath form to create a spiderweb, then hot glue the yarn-covered balls to the wreath. Add pipe cleaners and googly eyes to a few black balls to transform them into spiders, bending the pipe cleaners into the shape of legs and feet. 44 of 50 Chilling Carved Crows Credit: Adam Albright Try a different pumpkin carving technique with these crow-themed DIY outdoor Halloween decorations. Pay homage to the spooky bird mascot of the season by etching crow imagery onto pumpkins using a gauge, craft knife, and our free carving templates. Stagger the pumpkins on the porch or in the yard, finishing the display with a few faux crows. Download the Free Printables 45 of 50 Mummy Statues Credit: Greg Scheidemann These DIY outdoor Halloween decorations take unsettling to a new level. You'll scare the pants off passersby with a front yard featuring mummies that eerily rise and pose to haunt the twilight landscape. Make your own mummified statues with old mannequins and bandage wraps, and use brown eyeshadow to shade the wrapping for an ancient effect. 46 of 50 Hanging Ghost Gourds Credit: Steven Randazzo Adorn your front awning with a tangle of lifeless branches, vines, and ghostly gourds. Paint a few elongated gourds white and add haunting expressions with black paint. Suspend the gourds from the rafters using fishing line so they hang down among the vines. When darkness comes, the apparitions will be illuminated by your porch lights for a scene guaranteed to spook and startle. Look for white or cream-colored gourds to skip the initial painting step. 47 of 50 Village Wreath Credit: Brie Passano Put a spooky spin on classic Christmas village decorations with this charming Halloween wreath. The project involves crafting houses and other decorative elements from recycled materials, covering a grapevine wreath with moss, and creating a village scene around the hanging ring. We even have a tutorial on how to make the DIY outdoor Halloween decorations if you're not quite sure where to start this intricate project! Follow the Tutorial 48 of 50 Gauzy Ghosts Credit: Ann VanderWiel Wilde Create a set of DIY outdoor Halloween decorations with white balloons, cheesecloth, and decoupage glue. Blow up a few balloons, then draw eyes on each using a black marker. Use a paintbrush to coat the balloons in a thin layer of decoupage, then cover each with cheesecloth, cutting the bottom of the fabric for spindly strands. Hang your gauzy ghosts from your porch rafters, where they'll gently bob around in the breeze, using fishing line. 49 of 50 Stuck-in-the-Soil Skeleton Credit: Adam Albright Spruce up your garden bed with a skeleton stuck in the soil. For this Halloween craft, you'll need a skull, two skeleton arms, and a piece of hardscape. Prop up the hardscape at an angle, then tuck the skeleton parts beneath it as if the bony body is coming out of the ground. If needed, use outdoor glue or stakes to help pose the skeleton, and spread fallen leaves around the scene to finish. If you don't have a slab of rock that will work for this DIY project, use a thick piece of foam core instead. Cut it into an irregular shape, then paint it with gray paint. Use white and black shades to mix with the gray to paint streaks for texture and dimension. 50 of 50 Jack-o'-Lantern Door Cover Credit: Carson Downing Make a big statement with one of the easiest and most affordable DIY outdoor Halloween decorations. Grab a plain white tablecloth and cut it to fit your front door, including a hole for the doorknob. Paint a jack-o'-lantern face onto the door cover, then affix it to your portal point with loops of masking tape. 29 Easy DIY Halloween Door Decorations Explore more: Holidays & Entertaining Halloween Outdoor Halloween Decor Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit