It is time to start preparing for October 31st to arrive with Halloween window decorations. The air is crisp and the nights are becoming longer, making this the perfect season for a whimsical, yet spooky holiday. As an adult, there is no better way to embrace this holiday than to decorate. Pumpkins, bats, skeletons, witches, ghosts, and other creatures of the night will make great additions to your home this season. No matter how you decorate, whether it is placing jack-o-lanterns on your pathway or adding Halloween window decorations to your windows, decorating is part of the fun, especially if the decorations are scary. Choosing a theme for your decorations this Halloween can be a difficult decision, so we’ve put together a few ideas to help you to create an atmosphere that adds to the trick or treating excitement. Take a look.
1. Black Cat Silhouette Halloween Decoration
Black cats are typically at the root of many superstitions during the Halloween season. This Halloween window decoration is not spooky or scary, it simply plays on the fright that is created by this superstition. Black cats are not bad luck, but the silhouette of the black cat in the window with an orange glow behind it, which is created by hanging lights, adds a mystical aura to the cat. The silhouette of the cat and the chandelier is simple to create. The designs can be cut out of paper or cardboard and attached to the inside of your window.
2. The Monster Mashup
Imagine that you are a child on Halloween night and you encounter a house that has windows that are filled with scary monsters. It is dark outside, so all you can see is the shadows of the creatures from the light inside the home, but their silhouette is spooky enough to give you a fright. To create this Halloween window decoration, all you need to do is find large pieces of cardboard; a box will do, and cut monster shapes into the material to be attached to the windows. If you need inspiration, Monsters Inc has some amazing monsters that you can style your creatures after.
3. Zombie Escape
Zombies are terrifying for many of us, so using decorations to make it appear as though they are breaking free from the confines of your home is thrilling and a little bit scary. This decoration is designed on the outside of your home. It will require a zombie dummy head and arms, which you can sew together if you want, and some wooden beams to make it appear that they are keeping the zombie from breaking through the window. Add some dark paint to the boards to make them look older in the low light of night, and place some bloody handprints on the beams. Attach the beams to the window in the formation of a tic-tac-toe board with the zombie in the center.
4. Blood Splatter Galore
Blood is typically a sign that something has gone horribly wrong, especially when it is seen splattered all over the walls. This Halloween window decoration plays on the scary image of coming home to a blood splattered window. You can add handprints to the blood splatter to make it look like the victim was attempting to escape or keep the splatter design simple. A hand that slides down the window can make this scene even spookier and it will only take a few seconds to enhance the decoration.
5. Tarantula Terror Halloween Window Decoration
Spiders are a part of Halloween, but they are not the scariest creatures that you can encounter. Did you expect to see one whose body covers an entire window? This massive spider silhouette is perfect for scaring those who have a fear of spiders, but encountering a spider this large in nature would be deadly. Make sure to have good backlighting behind the window so that all of the details of the spider can easily be seen as trick-or-treaters approach your home. You can even add some smaller spiders to the window to make it look like your home is infested with the arachnids.
6. Zombie Child wants to Play
Zombies are frightful, but child zombies take it to a whole new level. Imaging that this zombie was your child or one from your neighborhood, how would you cope? If you have a child, create a cardboard cutout of them in a zombified state. During the day it can be an unwanted surprise for you, but at night the neighbors will become terrified knowing that your child has turned into a brain eating zombie. Backlighting the window for this Halloween window decoration can enhance the details greatly.
8. Eerie Glowing Ghost Halloween Décor
Ghosts are Halloween creatures that have been used for ages, but ghosts can also be boring. Make them interesting by creating a Halloween window decoration that will illuminate your window with an eerie blue glow. You can achieve this design by cutting some sheets to look like a ghost and placing a black light in the midst of the sheets. Creating this design in a dark space will make it glow even more. Spirits may exist in this world, but creating a freestanding ghost in your window will make it seem like your home is truly haunted by spirits from beyond the grave.
9. Trashy Spiderwebs
Do you have black trash bags at home? If so, they can be the source of a lot of interesting and creative Halloween window decorations. Cut spiderweb designs out of the trash bags and attach them to your window. During the day they will be visible, but at night when the lights are out you will need some backlighting inside the windows to make the silhouette visible from outside the window. Orange backlighting adds a spooky atmosphere to the spiderweb scene. In addition, spiders can be added to the design to enhance it if you prefer.
10. Halloween Greeting
Your Halloween Window decorations can be creative messages that you want the neighbors to see. Create a cutout that says Happy Halloween to attach to your window and add a few spiders to the design. It is a simple decoration that you can do at the last minute. You can also add candy to let passing by trick-or-treaters now that they can stop at your door for a treat. Use a creative style of lettering to make the design more unique, and don’t forget to keep the lights on at night so that the message can easily be seen.
11. Miniature Pumpkins
Not all of the decorations that you put in front of your windows need to be silhouettes; you can create pumpkin decorations using orange and green construction paper. Hang the pumpkins from the curtain rod or the top of the window to make them sit at different heights in front of the window. These little pumpkin ornaments are perfect for the hallways and the spooky corners of your home as well. If you have children in your home, it is a great way to involve then in the decoration creation for Halloween.
12. Stop Looking at Me!
Silhouettes are great to have for Halloween window decorations, but creating a design that makes it look like the eyes of the cats, ghosts, or other creatures are following you is one of the spookiest ideas you could have in your window. As your neighbors pass by your window, they will feel like they are being watched. The trick to creating this effect is to position the pupils slightly back in the eye cavity. The pupils will also need to have a dome shape, and no matter which direction you are looking from, the eyes will be looking back at you.
13. The Spooky Tree
Old crooked trees that creek in the wind on Halloween night can be scary, especially if you are traversing through the forest alone. To recreate this unsettling feeling, make a silhouette of a large tree that has jagged reaching branches that could easily grab you from the path that you are walking on. You can complete the look of the tree by adding an owl to one of the branches or you can add some upside down bats if you prefer. Add a tombstone at the base of the tree for a spine tingling graveyard feel.
14. Ghost in the House
Attaching a ghost to the window can provide an awesome silhouette, but have you ever considered designing a ghost that is attached to your curtains? All you need to do is create some large eyes and a wide open mouth that looks like it is saying boo. Attach them to your curtains with some tape or glue, and it will be easily visible to neighbors passing by your window. You can even incorporate a fan to make the curtains blow around so that the ghost appears to move in the window. This design is a fun, yet haunted decoration that the kids can enjoy creating.
16. Jack-O-Lantern Design
Most people like to carve jack-o-lanterns near Halloween to create unique looking pumpkins that express your creative side, but doing that can be messy. If you prefer to avoid the mess of a live pumpkin, then you can use an orange colored string of lights to create a pumpkin design on your windows that will glow at night. You can make the pumpkin look anyway you want, and there is no backlighting required to see the display from the sidewalk, so you can easily watch a movie in the dark if you wish.
17. The Bats Attack at Night
Bat silhouettes are perfect for Halloween night. They are simple to create, and it takes very little time to create a window full of these creatures of the night. Use black construction paper and a pair of scissors to create bat shaped cutouts, and then use clear tape to attach them to your window in any pattern you like. You can even include a moon design to make it a little more terrifying. Once the sun goes down and the lights inside are turned on, the window will look spectacular from the sidewalk.
18. Is this House Haunted?
Boarding up the windows on your home will make it look abandoned, haunted, and an extremely terrifying place to visit on Halloween night. Since these are only Halloween decorations, you can simply create this look by cutting cardboard into lengths that can reach both sides of the window frame. Make sure to add details to the cardboard planks to make them look as close to similar to real wood as possible. Add knots into the wood design and you can even add areas that look slightly rotten to show that the wood has been there for an extended period of time.
19. Bubble, Bubble, Toil, and Trouble
Nothing can have more of a classic Halloween feel than a witch. Creating a window silhouette of a witch can add a sense of mystery to your Halloween decorations. Use construction paper to create any witch you desire, but don’t forget the hat. You can also use green construction paper for the skin if you wish. It will be able to be seen during the day, but at night it will become a mere shadow of what it once was. If the witch is concocting a potion in her cauldron, it invites more mystery and intrigue into the design. Including bats above the witch or a cat as her familiar will enhance the image as well.
20. Portal from the Afterlife
Creating a unique skeletal looking ghost that looks as if it is emerging from your window is perfect for Halloween. You can use any skeleton decoration, but you only need the top half for this idea. Place the torso on the window and make it appear as though the deceased individual is coming into your home through the window. Placing this design on a window that is located behind a couch or chair is perfect. Invite your friends to your home, and let the hilarity of the avoidance of the seat with the skeleton ensue. You can even use a thin piece of curtain or a veil to make the skeleton into an undead bride.
21. Always Watching
Do you have two windows in your home that are positioned beside each other? If you do, then consider making those boring windows into glowing eyes that follow you down the sidewalk. The eyes should be big enough to cover that majority of the window to create the illusion that a very large creature is inside. Cat eyes would be perfect; it is Halloween after all, but the eyes of a monster would be a great way to decorate your windows as well. When you are designing the eyes it is going to be important to add creases, wrinkles, and folds to make it look more like a real cat that is looking out of the window.
22. Window of a Haunted Mansion
Decorating the inside of your windows is just as important as decorating the outside. Hang some old drapes in the window and decorate the area with a large cheesecloth spiderweb. Add a lot of small spiders onto the web, and make it seem like the area has not been cleaned for years. You can use baby powder to create dust and silver sparkles on the web to make it sparkle in the light that comes through the window. Incorporate bats into the design where you feel that it is appropriate, and maybe add some candles onto a small table that is located in front of the window.
23. Sinister Smile
Do you have bay windows in your home that you are not sure how to incorporate into your Halloween decorations? Try to create a giant smiling skeleton that will give your neighbors a spine tingling sensation as they pass by. Start by hanging thin black curtains on the window because they will add a unique background to your design. You can also use black cheese cloth if you prefer. Create the image of a very large skeleton face in the window, and make sure that it has a big toothy smile that is almost too creepy to look at.
24. Friendly Skeleton
Not all Halloween decorations need to be frightening; some can simply be whimsical and fun. One way to create this type of Halloween vibe is to place a place a waving skeleton in your window. If you want a little less friend of a creation, then you can incorporate spiders and bats into the design. Spiders make it easy to add cobwebs in front of the skeleton if you wish. This idea is perfect for homes with older windows. It makes it seem like the person who these bones belong to simply died inside your home; turning this friendly waving skeleton into a frightful figure of Halloween.
25. Haunted Windows
Ghosts can take a bit of work to create, and once they are designed, do you really want your house to be haunted? Instead of going through a lot of work to make a ghost, simply make the window look like a ghost is present in your home. Make sure to tear a lot of holes in the material that you are using to create a large web that covers the entire window. This idea works really well for windows that are on the second floor’ it allows the design to lack details that you may wish to have when the window is easily visible from the sidewalk.
26. Perfect Pumpkins
If you have kids, you know how much they enjoy helping you to create new ideas and decorations for Halloween. Using a sheet of tissue paper and some orange and green construction paper you can create pumpkins for your windows. Add eyes, a mouth, and any features that you desire. Clear tape is perfect for adhering them, and the tissue paper allows the sun to shine through the pumpkin to give it a unique glow. You can make a pumpkin creation to represent each member of the family. Smaller sized tissue paper can even be used to represent the younger individuals of the family.
27. Bats, Bats, and More Bats
Curtains are the perfect background for silhouettes, but they can also serve as a place to hang bats from. The more bats that you incorporate into this design idea, the better it will look. Anywhere that the curtain is bare, place a bat. Use several different sizes of bats to make it look like they have been living in your home for a while. The simplest way to make these bats is to cut them from black construction paper. Once you make one bat, it is easy to trace a few to recreate more that are the same size.
28. Archeology or a Massacre?
Bay windows are perfect for Halloween decorations. It gives you a window to create silhouettes that can be seen from the sidewalk, but you can also use the area in front of the window to create a Halloween themed scene that will look amazing. You can simply strategically place bones, skulls, and spiders around the window pane and incorporate webs to create an enclosure that only the spiders can get through. Tombstones, plant life, and anything else that you feel will add to the design is welcome.
29. Shades of a Ghost
Adding shades to your windows is a great way to add an extra layer of Halloween fun. Purchase some cheap paper shades in both the black and white variety, and then cut a ghost shape out of the blackout shades. Place the two shades together and tape them or glue them so that they remain attached. You will see a ghost in the shade from the sidewalk below as you walk by. The ghosts can be standing still or flying through the air. In addition, the shades can also be cut into any design pattern you want, so a moon, stars, bats, or other simple designs can be added as well.
30. Creepy Jack-O-Lantern House
If you live in an old house that has an attic, then you have the perfect place to create an unforgettable Halloween window decoration. Using the windows in the attic, take some black construction paper and cover up the entire window. Mark the paper with the locations for the eyes, nose, and mouth; in fact, you can even throw in some eyebrows if you want. Remove the paper from the windows to cut the design out, and then secure it in the window. Place spotlights or other bright lights in the attic to give the eyes an eerie jack-o-lantern glow.
31. Vintage Pumpkin Design
The kitchen is an area that is often overlooked, so when you have a large open area in front of your window that you can decorate for Halloween, the options are endless. Use this space to create a design that features pumpkins and vintage decorations. Place some pumpkins on raised surfaces and others right on the window pane. Crows make everything seem a bit more vintage, so try to incorporate those as well. The last consideration that is important with this design is the lighting; this can be incorporated on a plant, on a lighting string, or with candles.
32. Creepy Cemetery at Night
No one likes to be alone in a cemetery, but one way to bring the creepiness that comes with a graveyard on Halloween night is to create a design that can be seen on your window. Use black construction paper to cut out images of tombstones, skeletons, bats, and spiders. Attach them to your window with clear tape, and then place green or orange tissue paper over the construction paper so that it covers the entire window. When light shines through, an eerie light will shine out to the sidewalk to invite trick-or-treaters into your home.
33. The Creeping Overgrowth
If you are looking for a creepy setting, then an abandoned cottage in the woods is perfect for Halloween. Make your windows resemble a home that is overgrown by wildlife in the woods. Brick homes will look damaged and the bricks will look cracked, making for an abandoned place that is taken right out of a horror film. Use lots of sticks, leaves, and spiderwebs to make sure that it looks like the window to your home has not been used for years. If the window is on the second floor, incorporating ivy growth may also be a great idea.