5 Tips for Spooky Halloween Lighting

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Home Improvement Writer: Kathy Hatter

When it’s time to turn the exterior of your house into something out of a horror flick, don’t let your electric bills become scream-worthy, too. Recent outdoor lighting innovations have created a variety of options in outdoor Halloween lighting.

 

The U.S. Department of Energy has cost-saving information that can help you with your Halloween decorating. Go ahead – decorate your porch, walkways and doorways with creepy lights of the season. Done right, you shouldn’t have to pay for it with a big electric bill after the big night.

 

With five tips for spooky Halloween lighting, your home will look scary enough to give trick-or-treaters a thrill.

 

1. Once you have a collection of Jack-o-lanterns in various sizes and shapes with different faces; place them here and there in your landscape.

   1.Luminaries

   Line your driveway, sidewalks, walkways and surround your house with luminaries. Luminaries are a row of lights at the ground level that can help you set the right atmosphere in your outdoor lighting. Make your own luminaries inexpensively out of household products. Using cans, you can punch holes in assorted designs and add a battery-powered light to each can. Using paper bags, you can draw a scary ghost-face on the side of the bag and then cut it out with scissors. Weight the bags with sand and place a battery-powered light in each bag.

2. 2.String Lighting

   The options in string lighting are extensive – there’s something for every budget and every decorating theme. Look for funky pumpkins, Jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, spiders, zombies – the list is long. Once you’ve chosen the string lights that fit your theme, add them liberally around the exterior of your home. Line porches, cover trees and shrubs, hang them around windows, string them through step railings – there’s really no end to the spots that would benefit from string lighting.

3. 3.Lighting Colors

   One of the most important keys to making Halloween lighting spooky is the colors of the lighting you use. While green and red fit Christmas lighting, Halloween lighting has a darker twist. Instead, opt for black and purple lights to cast a creepy doom over your yard. You might choose a combination of purple and orange for a freaky glow. Try directing purple lights toward your house to create scary shadows.



4. 4.Illuminated Spider Web

   Create an extensive spider web over your landscape with rope and then illuminate it when you’re done. With anchor points in various spots and different heights – trees, shrubs, porch, house, garage, front steps – create the web with the rope. Once you’ve finished winding the rope for the web, go back and wrap LED lights around the rope to light up the web. The finished effect depends on the lighting color you choose.

5. 5.Pumpkins

   Try the old-fashioned effect of Jack-o-lanterns in your landscape. Carve the pumpkins in the traditional way or make them fancy with newer kits that provide elaborate stencils. Once you have a collection of Jack-o-lanterns in various sizes and shapes with different faces, place them here and there in your landscape. Simple battery-powered lighting in each pumpkin will light them effectively and safely for the entire evening.
    
   With an eye on safety and creativity, you can light up your home for Halloween in a spooky, yet safe, way.

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