Need Outdoor Halloween Decor Inspo? Here Are 62 Ideas to Try
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For some holidays, the majority of the festive decor lives inside the house, but on October 31, the scheme is all about outdoor Halloween decorations. After all, something needs to entice the neighborhood kids to make a stop at your house, and it won’t be indoors. So, if you need some help getting started, you’ve come to the right place. Ahead, we have more than 60 brilliant outdoor decor ideas that range from spooky to charming and everything in between. The best part? So many of them are DIY, so you hardly have to spend any money to go all out.
If you want to lean more into an autumnal floral setup than you do an artificial graveyard, we’ve got you covered. On the flip side, if you’re aching to transform your front porch into a giant spider web dotted with faux creepy crawlers, you’ll find a few ideas below to get you started. What’s more, if you see something you like on our list, you may be able to buy it right then and there. Our only suggestion? If you happen upon something that sparks (or, shall we say, spooks) your fancy, don’t wait. Snap it up fast before someone else does. These picks are so fun that we can’t imagine they’ll be around for long.
Stay Happy
Whoever said all outdoor Halloween decorations have to be scary is sorely mistaken. In fact, we are all for a pumpkin-heavy setup that's cheery above all else. All you need to do is snag a few planters with smiling jack-o-lantern designs, fill them with your favorite blooms, and call it a day. Otherwise, feel free to paint the designs on yourself.
Develop a Sixth Sense
If you have a patch of land you're willing to sacrifice for a terrifying Halloween decoration, this is a good idea. It's easy to miss, but anyone who takes a glance will surely panic.
Elevate Your Scheme
When we say elevate, we mean in terms of aesthetics and, well, literally. If you don't have a lot of ground space to spare for your outdoor Halloween decorations, use your window boxes as a perch for your carefully carved pumpkin.
Keep It Simple
This may look like a great fall vibe, which it is, but it doesn't require much effort. Simply plop a pumpkin (carved or not) beside a fall wreath and drape both with some faux webs.
Throw a Party
If you live in a place warm enough to host an alfresco Halloween fête, hang some string lights, banners, and more from the walls. Don't forget the pumpkin and hay motifs.
Take a Seat
This outdoor Halloween decoration might require more heavy lifting than the others, but the payoff is worth it. Trick-or-treaters will certainly approach with trepidation when they make eye contact with these spooky onlookers.
Bring on the Dogs
Don't leave your pets out (out of the fun, that is). Instead, drape some spare sheets over them and let them greet trick-or-treaters. We can't promise they'll bring the scare factor, but we can guarantee your house will be the most loved on the block.
Put Extra Pumpkins to Use
If you overdid it on the pumpkins, don't toss the extras. Paint them white, give them faces, and hang them from the porch. From afar, they'll look like flying ghouls.
Enlist the Kids
This spiderweb made of black-painted branches and twine is a fun craft project that artistic kids will love to take on. Once it's done, let them decorate it with leaves, faux spiders, or anything else that comes to mind.
Set Up a Ghost
Use your spare sheets, napkins, or tablecloths to erect a hyper-realistic (but also pretty cute) ghost in the backyard. Bonus points if you surround it with pumpkins.
Keep Out
If you already have a fence, you're already halfway there. Otherwise, buy a cheap one online along with some miniature plastic skulls and "keep out" signs.
Don't Descriminate
There are lots of pumpkins in various shapes and sizes, so instead of buying only the classic round ones, opt for a few different kinds and create a little community of gourds in the front yard. The options are pretty limitless.
Don't Get Up
Here's a low-effort, high-reward outdoor Halloween decoration option—especially if you already have lawn chairs. Just order a lazy skeleton and let him take a load off.
Create a Look
This stylish setup is equal parts chic and spooky. A delicate mix of flowers, colorful pumpkins, faux cobwebs, and skeletons creates that coveted cool look.
Set the Scene
Halloween and graveyards go hand in hand, so if you want to stay on theme, go big in your front yard. The best part? You can't really overdo it.
Use the Garage Door
If your garage faces the street, don't let it go to waste. Cover the door with a giant web complete with its own spider. Feel free to make both yourself or buy them premade to save time ahead of the big day—or shall we say night?
Go Kale or Go Home
Decorate with kale and corn? We think so. Fill miniature planters with the bright vegetable and surround them with pumpkins and tricolor corn.
Maximize Everything
Some people prefer decorating for Christmas, others like Thanksgiving, but for a select few, Halloween is the holiday to go big on decor. If spooky season is your favorite, don't hold back. Hang lights, carve pumpkins, and drape faux cobwebs wherever you can.
Make Them Shriek
Here's how this one works: When the little ones approach, they'll see the pumpkins and maybe a fake black cat propping the door open and won't think much of it. Then, when their guard is down, someone jumps out in a scary mask and screams. Now, that will haunt them forever.
Embrace Your Spidey Senses
Picket fences are great for Halloween, so if you happen to have one, go all out with signage, cobwebs, and more.
Carve Out an Area
Anyone low on lawn space can attest that finding an area for scary decorations is no easy feat, but if you have a few square feet to spare, create a mini graveyard complete with a skeleton trying to escape.
Make Faces
The front door is arguably the most important place to decorate because it comes face-to-face with trick-or-treaters. So if you want to make this outdoor Halloween decoration yourself, we suggest going with a spooky set of eyes and toothy grin made of construction paper.
Be Cheeky
Okay this may be an adults-only type of decoration, but we couldn't resist. From the enormous toothy grin to the fake cigarette, this giggly jack-o'-lantern is too funny to forget.
Find a Nook
Front porches often feature not one but two adorable nooks, so if you want to fill one with sweet outdoor Halloween decor, use this as a starting point.
Head to the Pumpkin Patch
For the other nook, fill a planter with autumnal flowers (we have a thing for yellow lantanas) and surround it with pumpkins. Bonus points if you throw in some dried corn.
Utilize Nature
Have a few trees that look a bit lonely? Hang a few of these spooky things and watch them rustle in the wind.
Re-create The Shining
Okay, so this isn't exactly the same exact scene as the one from The Shining that will forever scare us, but it's pretty close. If two of your kids are over trick-or-treating and want to freak the little ones out, have them dress up as matching ghosts and stand perfectly still until the candy-seekers get to the door.
Minimize Everything
Not everyone wants to go overboard when it comes to outdoor Halloween decorations, so if you want to scale back, this scene should spark some ideas.
Arrange Witch Shoes
Creep out your neighbors by leaving a pair of witch shoes on your front porch. Make it a little cuter (but still eerie!) by creating a sign advertising the friendly witch's specialty.
Lean a Vintage Broom
For an easy, budget-friendly option, simply bring a broom out onto your front porch. Here, designer Tom Scherer leaned an antique-looking broom near the door. It's both functional for quick maintenance sweeps and a fun nod to Halloween.
Make Your Own Halloween Window Clings
Window clings can make your home look festive all year long, and they're especially useful come Halloween. The best part? You can actually make them yourself. Get the tutorial from Lia Griffith.
Stack Pumpkins
While browsing your nearest pumpkin patch, give yourself a fun mission: Find a few pumpkins in various sizes that you can easily stack and place on your porch. It's an easy outdoor Halloween decoration you can leave out all fall.
Buy Ceramic Jack-o'-Lanterns
Or if you don't like how real pumpkins can turn out to be a huge mess, show off one or a few ceramic jack-o'-lanterns.
Reach Out
Do these haunting hands require any further explanation? We don't think so. Sadly, the smoke isn't included, but that can easily be arranged.
Make a Hay Bale Buffet
Sugar and Charm set up the ultimate outdoor Halloween decorations for a buffet by using cobweb-covered hay bales for a table. Hang some string lights, surround the spread with pumpkins, add a bouquet of fall flowers, and call it a day.
Go Shopping
Jennifer Perkins got creative with some pool noodles, a rusty old shopping cart, and a pair of black pointy-toed boots. This DIY Halloween porch decor is the perfect balance of funny and spooky, and it requires only a little resourcefulness.
Hang a Wreath
Line your front steps with pumpkins (paint one of them black to add some darkness), then make a mini Halloween-themed "street sign" to stick into a pot of plants. See more from Emily Henderson.
Go Girly
Planning an outdoor Halloween dinner party? A black-and-white tablecloth, plus hot pink and orange accents add contemporary playfulness to the mood. Glue little ants to your napkin rings to be freaky but not too freaky.
Hang Ghosts
Haunting, huh? These lacy creeps are probably the chicest a ghost has ever looked. Bonus: These outdoor Halloween decorations are super easy to make. Get the tutorial at A Beautiful Mess, and then hang them either inside or out.
Let Them Eat Candy
You may not have a giant candelabra on hand, but you probably have some summer lanterns (and you can always use smaller candelabras). Repurpose them for Halloween by filling them with candy and setting them atop faux cobwebs. See more at Sugar and Charm.
Push Their Buttons
This doorbell may not actually work, but it does the trick. Here's what it does do: When trick-or-treaters push it, the eyeball moves. How creepy is that?
Light the Way
These are not your typical string lights. These are adorned with cute little plastic pumpkins, making them the perfect light source for Halloween.
Fill a Bucket
If you aren't going to be home (or don't want to answer the door) on Halloween night, fill a pail with candy, stick in a scoop, and set it atop a hay bale. Add a skeleton and some pumpkins, and you're ready for trick-or-treaters! See more at Sugar and Charm.
Stand Tall
Stack craft pumpkins on top of each other and fill them with twinkle lights for an unexpected but seriously fun topiary. Get the tutorial at DIY Candy.
Float Your Pumpkins
Make pumpkin lanterns out of paper maché and hang them on clear fishing line string so it looks like they're floating. Light them up with battery-operated tea lights. See more at Sugar and Charm.
Make It a Leg Day
Stuff a pair of tights with paper and add some glittery red shoes. Ding, dong…. See more at Come Together Kids.
Design a Lair
Paint a sign, add some black shoes, throw in a broom, and you've got a wicked-witch-themed porch. Do one better and play a sound bite of "I'll get you my pretty" on loop. See more at Boston Interiors.
Create an Insta Moment
Create your own mini pumpkin patch with bales of hay, pumpkins, and cornstalks. If you're feeling extra spooky, throw a black cat in there.
Paint the Pumpkins Gold
Mini pumpkins get a glam upgrade thanks to a metallic paint job. Opt for faux pumpkins for a wreath that'll last for years. Get the tutorial at Good Housekeeping.
Harvest Your Own Decorations
Scout the backyard for supplies to whip up a rustic ornament. Combining it with an orange ribbon and a bundle of pine cones, wheat, or twigs looks extra festive. Get the tutorial at Woman's Day.
Keep It Classic
A festive door hanger, a hay bale, and dangling bats are the perfect combo for simple outdoor Halloween decorations.
Be on the Lookout
Skip the spooks and opt for a funny take on outdoor Halloween decor. Peering out from behind topiaries and bushes, styrofoam peepers can keep an eye on everyone who walks by. Get the tutorial at Woman's Day.
Consider Monochrome
An all-white color palette makes fall staples like pumpkins, baskets, and mums look totally elegant.
Cast a Glow
Light the way up the front walk or porch steps with painted pumpkins featuring cut-out "lanterns." Get the tutorial at Country Living.
Plant Some Flowers
Think beyond the front stoop and stick mini pumpkins in unexpected places, like on top of window sills.
Line 'Em Up
Line a porch bench with mini pumpkins for an adorable display. No carving is required!
Offer Directions
Point out spooky attractions near and far with a homemade signpost. Other potential destinations? Amityville, Elm Street, and Frankenstein's (or Dracula's) Castle.
Use a Not-So-Secret Symbol
You can't get any further from orange than teal, but the blue hue has an important role come October 31. The Teal Pumpkin Project helps trick-or-treaters with food allergies by signaling houses with other safe goodies. Get the tutorial for this helpful outdoor Halloween decoration at Practically Functional.
Enlist Tin Cans
Making cute DIY Halloween decorations for outdoors can be as easy drilling holes in tin cans from the recycling bin and setting LED tea lights inside. Nestle mini pumpkins among your upcycled luminaries for an extra festive look. Get the tutorial at Jolly Mom.
Go Blind
Fill any bare spot in your home, like the fireplace mantel, with a flurry of wings. Or hang these bats in windows to cast eerie, lit-from-within silhouettes once darkness falls.
Light It Up
We love this prelit spider web so much that we're tempted to leave it up well past October. Whether you slap it across the front door or on a window, it makes the perfect statement.
Feel the Fear
You can't have a giant spider web without a giant spider web. This guy with eyes that glow bright yellow is one of our favorite large outdoor Halloween decorations. Creepy, right?
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