It seems like everybody likes to celebrate, but these people don't want to lay down their hard-earned cash just to spook their family and friends.
So, I've got a couple of ideas for Halloween Decorations which you can achieve on a budget, but will still manage to scare the bejeesus out of your friends, neighbours and any trick-or-treaters that come around!
I have three little decoration ideas that you can pull off yourself. But before I start, a couple of little but first, I need to get you in on some "Cent-Saving Suggestions":
- D.I.Y. or Die: Never buy anything store-made. Anyone can write "Happy Halloween" on a banner; anyone can make spooky paper cutouts to stick on their windows & anyone can bake a cake with a spider drawn in the icing. Saving time is wasting money, but if you want to go to the effort to decorate, then don't skimp on time by spending money, or it will become a budgetary burden.
- Recycle: Have you ever been walking through your house at night, and caught sight of a shadow flicking past that made you jump? Have you ever had to get something out of the cupboard and felt uneasy about the weird-looking stains on the shelf? Your house already has the capacity to be terrifying. Look around for what materials and scary things you already possess, and use them to your advantage.
- Creativity is Free: If you have a talent for craft or drawing or art in any way, or if you have a flair for make-up or putting on a creepy voice, then employ that creativity. After all, if you - for example - know how to draw a realistic pair of eyes, then all you need to do is draw eyes on several pieces of A4 paper and stick them in your windows. Already, you've made your house a little creepier, and it only cost you a pen and a piece of paper. So, use your own talents, and you can reduce your budget tenfold.
The Door of Doom!!!
Why go the the trouble of outfitting your whole house with fake cobwebs and carved pumpkins if all anyone will see is the front door? Don't waste time on the small stuff, go straight for the throat and outfit your door to look like the entrance to something a great deal more terrifying than a suburban home.
You Will Need:
- 1 large axe
- Paint (preferably quick-drying), whichever colour(s) you have
- Paint Brushes
- Drop Cloth (I use an old bedsheet)
- Double-sided sticky tape
- Measuring Tape
- 1 box cutter, or scissors
- Lighter or Matches
- Stapler
- Pens and Pencils
- You may want to start by planning your design. Maybe draw yourself an outline, but I find that a more organic look is best. Use your axe on your front door, so as to cut some nice gouges in the wood. Remember though, you're not chopping it down! Just a cut here and there to add some unsettling disorder to your front entry. Perhaps take a few swings at the banister or mailbox to mix things up.
- Caution: Be careful with your axe, you don't want to hurt yourself.
- After you've created some nice dynamic damage to the front, you will want to get some paint on your paintbrush, and use it to write a message on your door. You could perhaps draw something, like a smiley face, or a cross. Personally, I like to go for the short but effective: YOU WILL ALL DIE.
- Note: If you're concerned about getting paint on the ground, lay down your drop cloth before preparing your paint.
- This is where you can get creative. That alone will do, but you might want to burn some of the wood and paint with some matches to get an unsettling look and smell. or, for something simple but effective, you could use an old knife or hatchet, gouge it into the wood and leave it there, sticking out. That's one of my favourites!
Bag of Tricks
One of my favourite money-saving tricks, is to find something cheap that you can use all over the place, to cover the whole house in creepy. Some people buy bags of "cobwebs" for this very reason. But you can recycle all kinds of things around your home to make several things at once.
You Will Need:
- Several large, black garbage bags.
- Twine or sticky tape
- Gloves (I use gardening gloves
- First, put on your gloves, then find some spare material around your house, anything you can find to fill them up. Laundry, pillows and blankets work well, but also, don't be squeamish about using actual rubbish and compost to fill your bags. I tend to have a lot of old meat and empty clothes in my basement that I can fill them with.
- Note: Something that often terrifies people, but which is sorely underutilized, is smell. After all, a werewolf wouldn't be as scary if he smelled like fairy floss. We're scared by sour, rotten, burnt and unusual smells. So, why not use that to your advantage.
- Next, for that extra touch, feel free to put some aromatics into the bag. I find that milk works best, especially if you do this ahead of time, to allow the bags time to go sour. But, you may just go for eggs or cheese if you don't have any meat around, but this step is optional.
- Now, tie up your bags with your twine. This is where you might want to get creative, with some clever arrangements of bags and tying, you can even make what looks like a make-shift body bag,
- Lastly, move your bags into place, around the front of your house, near the garden, behind the doors and wherever you think would be the most unsettling.
Dope on a Rope
People always find death very unsettling, so why not rub it in their faces with this fun and creepy hanging house decoration? It's guaranteed to put anyone at unease if they ring your doorbell, but it's really cheap to make and incredibly simple, anyone can do it!
You Will Need:
- A set of clothes you're not using
- A long rope or chain (at least 5 metres)
- A counterweight (I sometimes use a pillowcase full of bricks)
- Knife
- First, you'll need to get yourself something to fill your clothes. I find the cheapest method is to get some clothes which are already filled. To save time and effort, I sometimes wait until Halloween itself, and get the help from anyone that comes by.
- Note: You may need a knife for this part. Just remember, the larger the victim, the heavier the corpse; pick someone easy to carry.
- Once you've got what you need, you just need to tie the rope around their neck. You may want to go the extra mile and tie a noose, but any old knot will do, just make sure they won't slip.
- Finally, tie the other end to the edge of your roof or in a nearby tree. If there's nothing to secure the other end of the rope to from your roof, you may need a counter-weight, just tie the rope to it and place it just over the apex of the roof.
- Note: Be careful as you lower it into place, you don't want to break something.
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Anyway, those are my decorating tips. So, as you see, you don't need to break the bank to make your house spooky. I find that I we everything we need to scare your friends, neighbours and guests within the walls of your very own home. With just a little ingenuity, you too could turn your Halloween into one your neighbours will never forget!
