# how do you decorate your porch?



## TheMayor (Sep 3, 2011)

Do you have a pic or discription of your porch? 
Mine is not big , a few steps and a 4 ft by 4 ft cement block...so on one step I always put a jack-o-lantern and threw my yard and especially on the porch I put leaves for a very "unkept" look .


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## beautifulnightmare (Oct 31, 2010)




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## TheMayor (Sep 3, 2011)

You could totally put up black or gray burlap on rail with cobwebs in front of that and some glowing eyes under one or two of the steps!


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## msgatorslayer (Sep 2, 2010)

I have an odd house with no front door or porch. My door is on the side of the house, along a narrow walkway, with a gate, that we keep padlocked. 

We are garage people and come in that way. Our guests never really see the entry way because everyone knows, call ahead, and we open the garage.

I'd like to decorate that area this year. It's just screaming to be dressed up. 

Only problem is getting DH to agree to unlock that gate. He likes the Fort Knox compound feel that it gives.


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## msgatorslayer (Sep 2, 2010)

You can line the walkway up with something. Skulls or pumpkins. A giant spider would be nice hanging from the side of the house, by the door. Tombstones would look good in the front of the house, by the skirting.


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## Dr_zombie (Aug 15, 2012)

Wow you can do so much with.that... But it really comes foen to your own arttistic point of view. If you think it looks good.. Sorry scarry enoughf then you did what you had to do. Just stand back and a vison will hit you and hard. Even go to store, and see what they have, if something stricks you go with it.


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## bethene (Feb 12, 2007)

oh, I agree, lots could be done there! I also think lining the walk way, and the front , also the side yard, you could put a grave yard, spider webs creep up a place and really add to it, the creepy cloth/spider webs on the porch would be great, also, hang a couple of cheese cloth ghosts in the tree,


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## kingcoop80 (Jul 21, 2011)

Skeletons. Pumpkins hangin ghost lots of lights


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## matrixmom (Oct 29, 2010)

Light with pumpkins on walkway (or lighted candle stakes) ,some spiders on the wall or make paper bats as if they are flying out of your front door, maybe a big reaper or pumpkin scarecrow on the porch with hands hanging over the porch (in a scary position ).


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## SimplyJenn (Jul 29, 2010)

I have a bench that fits on my porch and I usually have a character sitting on it. I put little nails that just stick out of the walls (not really any damage) and line pretty much the whole thing with spider webs, ceiling too. I have spiders everywhere and blacklight for lighting, It's bright enough to see still cuz I use 2. I string 3 to 5 spiders over the door so that when the door opens the spiders drop (thanks to Martha Stewart for that idea). At the entrance of the porch I have a large black and orange flag with a witch flying across the moon (love that) and maybe characters on either side or more spiders. I've also done "shrededed" trash bags just in front as well.


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## MissKiki (Oct 16, 2011)

Hav you thought about adding a backdrop against the house leading up to the porch? Silhouettes out of foam would be fairly easy to do (Trees, witches, zombies). You could backlight them, add webs, moss, pumpkins, etc. Could look really cool.


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## GhostTown (Jul 6, 2011)

I have a rail just like yours along the front of my house so I'll share a pic of what I did.

We scored some orange, old school large bulb (C7?) lights from a yard sale and hung them on the underside of the rail, then Rit dyed and shredded up some cheese cloth and draped it over the top. We finished it off with some corn stalks that our farmer neighbor gave us for free and some paper mache pumpkins (we whipped up quickly ourselves wilst drinking wine and listening to Halloween tunes) lit with dollar store night lights rigged up inside of them.

This is how it turned out:









Couple more shots:


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## Kardec251985 (Jul 25, 2012)

GhostTown, your porch looks *fantastic.* Just the right amount of creepy mixed with elegance. Could you please tell me how you made the pumpkins? I was taught to make objects with wire/paper if solid and start with a balloon if hollow. It certainly doesn't appear as though you used balloons! Did you start with wire frames?


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## Lisaloo (Sep 27, 2011)

I'd love to know how to make those pumpkins as well! They are wonderful!


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## GhostTown (Jul 6, 2011)

If you click on the link in my signature you'll see what we did in the very first post of the thread.


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## IowaGuy (Jul 30, 2012)

I have an enclosed sunroom and since I ordered Spirit Halloweens "Electrified Prisoner" I think I'm gonna put him facing the street in that room. Hopefully to give off the affect like the TOT's are the 'viewers' watching a real execution


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## Kardec251985 (Jul 25, 2012)

GhostTown said:


> If you click on the link in my signature you'll see what we did in the very first post of the thread.


Thanks for the re-direction to your signature. Very clever! How did you get the stuffed garbage bag out of the paper mache? Cut the paper mache through the center, remove the bag, then patch with more newspaper?


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## GhostTown (Jul 6, 2011)

When they dried, we cut a circle in the bottom of them like you might have seen with the large ones in the thread. This is how we pulled everything out. Paper mache does not stick to bag plastic very well, so it can be pulled out relatively easy. We reused the circles we cut out to cover the openings in the bottom by simply poking a few holes and using twisty ties to keep them in place.

Credit to Stalloween for the idea.


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## MrNightmare (Mar 2, 2009)

GhostTown, all I can say is WOW!!! That is one incredible porch display!

beautifulnightmare, for Halloween, I used 2 $30 walgreens skellys, a green light, Jack-o-Lantenrs, and a tiki torch for the ToT's:









Our main display/Haunt is for the Party. We don't get many ToT's so we keep a simple display on the porch.


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## kab (Oct 13, 2010)

I love what you did here! I am totally going to steal your idea!


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## beautifulnightmare (Oct 31, 2010)

TheMayor I like your idea of black web and eyes watching you!


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## beautifulnightmare (Oct 31, 2010)

Msgatorslayer I love the idea of doing a giant spider. Might have to haunt the tutorial area and see if I can figure out how


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## beautifulnightmare (Oct 31, 2010)

Bethene, I love ghosts. But don't know if my skinny tree can hold them. Might try it though I know cheesecloth isn't heavy.


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## beautifulnightmare (Oct 31, 2010)

Kingcoop definetly need to invest in some orange lights

Matrixmom I would love to have a big pumpkin Rot in my yard but I really don't think I am that good


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## MissMandy (Apr 18, 2011)

I am in love with your decor, GhostTown! You captured the epitome of Halloween in my eyes. And perfect pix too! What camera do you have? lol


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## GhostTown (Jul 6, 2011)

Thanks. 

Pentax K5


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## dariusobells (Sep 24, 2007)

I am looking at your porch and the first thing I spot is a nice creepy shadowy area .. under the porch. if you skirt the porch with burlap, or mesh , or just torn strips of fabric to make it even darker (with occasional bits of partial lighting getting in to create shadows and silhouettes) it would be a great place for a captive beast of some sort with red eyes glaring out between the steps.


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## beautifulnightmare (Oct 31, 2010)

Misskiki that's A great idea too. But don't know where to find big enough pieces of foam. And how would I get them to stick to the wall without ruining it!


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## dariusobells (Sep 24, 2007)

beautifulnightmare said:


> Misskiki that's A great idea too. But don't know where to find big enough pieces of foam. And how would I get them to stick to the wall without ruining it!


sticky velcro... really useful stuff....


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## Bforeverknight (Aug 10, 2004)

you could do a sort of people under the stairs type of theme, enclose the sides with black plastic and cover with pumpkins and cornstalks, then mount colored spot under the steps so it shines up through, you can put this on a switch to be activated such as a simple surge protector. If you are going for scare to death also could have someone hanging out down there to thrust a hand out at the tots. Lots of potential just depends on the amount of money you want to spend and time and effort hope this helps!


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## Minakitty (Jul 29, 2011)

Maybe you can set up something underneath to make it appear that "something" is under the stairs (like those lights that look like creepy eyes).


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## djkeebz (Oct 1, 2005)

My house that is being built has a front porch similar to GhostTown's...love that idea and will try some similar next year!


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

You have little ones? .. maybe you want to start off kid friendly for a few years? Then make it scarier each year as they get older. 

Here's mine...


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## MissMandy (Apr 18, 2011)

Blow mold central....I love it!


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## kprimm (Apr 3, 2009)

Definately, some stuff on the roof also. A big spider or tentacles reaching down. Maybe just a monster or goblin looking down. Alot could be done with the front and side yard , as has been stated. I would have something at the back of the porch there also, in the back behind the railing so that when you stood on the porch it would be right there.


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## ecto1 (Jul 15, 2012)

So many ideas!!! First is to hang a sheet of spooky cloth or netting from the top of the home over to the railing. add sum up lighting from the back rail and place a spider in the middle. What this will do is enclose the porch and play off the fears of Clausterphobia and Arachnaphobia. Make the up lighting something in the red or green range or a dark blue to black light works well too. Subdued though you don't want it to be bright.

Second Idea would be to put cornstalks down both sides of the walkway to give the illusion of a corn field. line it all the way to the top of the porch. Place hands along the way on the ground to simulate creatures grabing out from the corn and on the top place a pumpkin rot looming over the corn like he's going to attack.

Third Idea would be to do a swamp style entry... this requires a fake top to the porch, hanging bottles, maybe a skull or two of animals, rubber snakes and of course a wind chime made from chicken bones. and lots of moss, Hanging, laying on the railing, growing on the furniture legs ect.

Hope these Ideas help.


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## djkeebz (Oct 1, 2005)

Hilda said:


> You have little ones? .. maybe you want to start off kid friendly for a few years? Then make it scarier each year as they get older.
> 
> Here's mine...
> View attachment 123061


That is what my wife suggested... But my almost three year old loves all my skeletons and poses for pictures with them. We set up the spooky town stuff yesterday and she was running around telling her mom she was SOOOO excited about Halloween!


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