Scary Outdoor Halloween Decorations That Will Make Your Neighbors Tremble With Fear

Once a year, every Halloween, we actually enjoy being scared. This is when scary outdoor decorations are the best kind. Of course, this is a subjective matter since not everyone finds the same things scary but I think we can all agree on a few general symbols and ideas.

Scary Outdoor Halloween Decorations

We’ve gathered some of the scariest outdoor Halloween decorations below and we’re sharing all our favorite ideas with you today in the hopes to inspire you and to wish you a spooky season!

Scariest Outdoor Halloween Décor Perfect For Any Yard

1. Monster Plant

Monster Plant

The fact that there are plants that consume insects and even small animals is pretty scary but imagine that they could get big, big enough to bite humans. Now that’s a scary thought and an awesome idea for an original Halloween yard decor. Check out edenmakersblog for instructions.

2. Scrap Wood Ghost

Scrap Wood Ghost

Put some of that scrap wood to good use and make a few spooky outdoor decorations in preparation for Halloween. These ghosts featured on thecreeklinehouse are actually pretty cute but they definitely look a bit scary too. They’re easy to make and if you’re confident in your abilities you could try some more complicated designs too.

3. Subtle Spiderwebs

Subtle Spiderwebs

Even though most spiders are harmless, they have a bad reputation for being creepy and scary. The fact that they’re a super popular Halloween symbol doesn’t really help their reputation but it does provide us with a great source of inspiration. Check out merrimentdesign to see how you can use spiders and spider webs to decorate the outside of your house.

4. Gothic, Ghastly & Gory

Halloween front yard decoration

Warning signs are also a bit scary, especially when they’re tainted with blood and look like they’re keeping monsters out. You could display something like this in your front yard or on your door or gate. Maybe you could also decorate the fence in a similar manner. Either way, you’ll like the project that we found on attagirlsays.

5. Classic Skeleton Set Ups

Classic Skeleton Set Ups
Halloween front yard decoration

Skeletons doing things that you and your family normally do out in the yard, the garden, or on the porch…now that could be a scary image for someone passing by your house. The inspiration for this comes from a project we saw on gofundme.

6. Ghost Leaf Bags

Ghost Leaf Bags

Another cool idea when it comes to scary outdoor Halloween decorations could be to turn your yard into a graveyard. You could display a few decorative gravestones and a bunch of ghosts in between to make it look like a haunted graveyard. Check out our-everyday-art for details.

7. Cloaked Ghosts

Cloaked Ghosts

These decorations are double scary. They’re ghosts and they’re cloaked which gives them a mysterious look. They also seem to have skeleton hands which makes them even more spooky. We came across these figures while browsing flickr, a great source of inspiration with lots of cool ideas.

8. Spooky Hanging Ghosts

Halloween front yard decoration

Speaking of ghosts, there’s more than one way to make your decorations look creepy. There’s always the cute bedsheet ghost idea which everyone is familiar with but there are also variations, like these floating head ghosts featured on simplidesigning.

9. Giant Halloween Spider

Giant Halloween Spider

If a giant spider doesn’t scare you nothing will. Just admit it, this is an awesome Halloween decoration. You can find out all about this giant spider project and how to build your own version by following the tutorial on isntructables. To make things every creepier, add some tombstones too.

10. Halloween Tombstones

Halloween front yard decoration

Speaking of tombstones, it’s about time we showed you how to make some. After all, Halloween is the day of the dead, more or less. You could give your decorative tombstones a funny touch by writing on them punny names like the ones suggested in this instructables tutorial.

11. Haunted House

Haunted House

Here’s another awesome and scary Halloween idea: create a haunted house. It wouldn’t be so difficult, especially if you like DIY projects. You could make a lot of spooky and cool decorations which you can display inside and outside the house. You can check out instructables for a few inspiring ideas.

12. Massive Spider Webs With Spiders

Massive Spider Webs With Spiders

What if there was suddenly a spider infestation and these creepy crawlers took over your house? That’s a pretty scary thought and a great source of inspiration for both indoor outdoor Halloween decorations. You could decorate the trees in your front yard with spider web and cocoons. That will sure make an impression…Find more details on instructables.

13. Cemetery Entry Pillars

Cemetery Entry Pillars

Let everyone know that you mean business, right from the front gate. You could put up cemetery entry pillars and you don’t actually need a gate, although it would be easier to just customize some existing pillars. In any case, instructables offers a pretty spooky interpretation of that.

14. Cute and Happy Pumpkins

Cute and Happy Pumpkins

Yes, those faces look cute and happy but there’s something spooky about them and that makes this whole installation look scary. Can you imagine looking at this front lawn at night, when the light dramatically touches these pumpkins and scarecrows. I wouldn’t want to be there. Check out flickr for more awesome projects like this one.

15. Scarecrows

Scarecrows

Scarecrows are meant to be scary…for crows, although their role is mostly decorative these days. You don’t really see too many scarecrows these days so making one could be super fun for the whole family. You could turn this into a Halloween project. The idea comes from flickr.

16. Boarded Windows for Halloween

Boarded Windows for Halloween

Boarded windows suggest that something scary happened there…or that the house is abandoned which is scary enough on itself. This is why we think it would be awesome to decorate your house this way on Halloween. It doesn’t take much prepping or effort. Just be careful not to permanently damage your window frames. You can find details on instructables.

17. Lawn Skeletons

Halloween front yard decoration

Just look at these skeletons, going about their business as if it’s just another regular day. Instead of looking natural, this is actually a pretty spooky image. That’s actually the cool thing about it. Check out helpfulhomemade to find out how to make your DIY skeleton lawn decor look awesome.

18. Spiders and Skeleton dogs

Spiders and Skeleton dogs

This skeleton is calmly walking her dogs while giant spiders take over this haunted house. If you decorate your house like this you’ll definitely win Halloween. It’s not a very flashy Halloween decor but it’s definitely spooky and that’s the best kind. 

19. Graveyard Front Yard Decor

Graveyard Front Yard Decor
Halloween front yard decoration

The list continues with…you guessed it…more skeletons. We found some pretty scary outdoor Halloween decorations on confessionsofaserialdiyer and we think they could inspire you to create something truly spooktacular this year.

20. Skeleton Front Yard Decor

Skeleton Front Yard Decor
Halloween front yard decoration

We almost forget to mention zombies. They’re sort of similar to skeletons but even scarier and they’re also a bit more difficult to decorate, especially if you’re going for a realistic look, if that’s even possible. Once again, you can find inspiration on confessionsofaserialdiyer. Feel free to customize and improvise.

21. Spooky Outdoor Witches

Spooky Outdoor Witches

I wonder what these witches are summoning here….whatever it is, it’s probably pretty scary. After all, it’s Halloween. It’s nice to leave room for imagination when decorating. This way the mind will fill in the blanks will the worst possible scenario it can find. Find more details about this project on turtlecreeklane.

22. Deck Out the Whole House

Deck Out the Whole House

Now that we showed you quite a few of our favorite scary Halloween ideas, it’s time for you to pick your own favorites and combine them to create a display that spans your entire lawn and the front of your home. This way your house will definitely be the one to stand out on your block this Halloween! If you need more inspiration to fill your entire lawn, you can find some more ideas on chengallery, or you can keep on reading.

23. DIY Creatures In Cages

DIY Creatures In Cages

Nothing is quite as spooky as the thought of being locked in a cage! And when you are on a budget when it comes to choosing your Halloween décor, a DIY project like this one featured on Everyday DIY Ideas is perfect. You’ll just need some paint, fake chains, a couple of plastic laundry baskets, then whatever creatures you wish to lock up! You can use skeletons like the example, or grab a couple of your kid’s old stuffed animals or dolls.

24. Doll Zombie Set Up

Doll Zombie Set Up

While on the subject of old toys, if you have a bunch of old dolls lying around your home, these can be perfect for creating a spooky doll zombie set up like in this example on the Fabrne Network. Just put the dolls in some of their clothing, then use a red marker or paint to make them look ghastly and scary. You can even get a little extra and dismember parts of dolls and glue them to other dolls for a Frankenstein look.

25. Creepy Jack In The Box

Creepy Jack In The Box

Do you remember playing with a jack in the box when you were a kid? Did you enjoy it? Or did you jump every time the jack popped out? Either way, a creepy jack in the box is a perfect addition to your yard this Halloween. Take a look at this example on Holidays Blog For U and then find an old wooden crate and a clown head, because this is one decoration you won’t be able to resist setting up in your yard.

26. Angry Toadstools

Angry Toadstools

Maybe you are looking for something a little less obviously scary for your yard. Then look no further than these angry toadstools from Everyday DIY Ideas. They are a bit complicated to make unless you have wood carving supplies at home. But you can also head to your local craft store, find some fake foam toadstools and add your own scary faces (or even glue on creepy masks) to them to get the spooky feel you desire.

27. Antiquated Coffin Decoration

Antiquated Coffin Decoration

When it comes to yard decorations, people often get so swept up in creating gravestones and creepy ghosts that they forget all about how spooky a mummy can be. With these instructions from K4 Craft, you can use wood to create a mummy coffin that you can place in your front yard. To make it extra realistic, be sure to grab a withered arm from the craft store to have protruded from the front of the coffin!

28. Googly Eye Door

Googly Eye Door

Young children can often be frightened by Halloween decorations that are too scary. So when you live in a neighborhood with lots of young kids that you want to come trick or treating at your door for Halloween, it might be better to stick with a less spooky project like this googly eye door from Craftaholics Anonymous. Besides being a little less spooky than other decorations on this list, this is additionally a very inexpensive and easy décor to set up.

29. Executed Clowns

Executed Clowns

For those that hate clowns, these executed clown decorations from Fabrne Network are a must have. And, even better, they are easy to make. You will simply need some poles, clown heads, and red paint to use as blood. If you can’t find full clown heads, then grab some spooky clown masks, and attach them to balls or stuff them with some paper! This is one decoration that will definitely keep any little clowns from ringing your doorbell this Halloween.

30. Old Stump Frankensteins

Old Stump Frankenstein’s

It can be difficult to find the time to create all these Halloween decorations. So when you are on a time crunch, consider making these tree stump Frankensteins from K4 Craft. Grab a few of the old tree stumps or logs you have lying around, and paint them with a funky or spooky face. You can also use painted grass or straw to give them a creepy hairstyle. If you only have some oddly shaped stumps lying around, don’t worry, as these are perfect for this project!

Whether you decide to make your home the scariest on the block or stick to some of the cuter but still spooky ideas on this list, you are sure to have the whole neighborhood jealous of your yard this Halloween. So head to the craft store, grab those old toys, and start creating your dream scary outdoor Halloween décor. After all, Halloween is a holiday that only comes once a year!