19 DIY Halloween Door Decorations That Will Spook Trick-or-Treaters

Even if you're not willing to paint your front door orange for Halloween, a black feather wreath, DIY bats stuck on with glue dots, and spooky display of marigolds and succulents will make an impact.

Gather floral foam, craft foam sheets (in yellow, orange and white), sewing pins, and decorations like faux flowers, sticks, dried flowers, and plastic spiders. Then, cut floral foam into triangle. Wrap sheets around foam to create candy corn pattern and secure with pins in back. Trim excess material. Insert decorations into foam and secure with hot glue if needed.

Trick-or-treaters will love this furry purple monster with its slithering tongue doormat. To make the eyes, paint black circles on two 8-inch foam half balls and let dry. Paint white highlight, then cut black foam eyelashes and eyebrows. From 3 yards of faux purple fur, cut two 16-inch squares and hot-glue each around a 12-inch foam wreath. Glue the eyeballs in the center and the eyelashes across the top. Add a horizontal string across the back of each eye for hanging.

Once the eyes are set, frame the door with strips of fur using tacks of hem tape. Use Command Hooks to hang the eyes above, then tack or tape the eyebrows in place. For teeth, attach foam cones to the top of the door frame with hem tape. Finally, draw and cut a tongue shape from a floor mat. Spray paint red and let dry.

SHOP PURPLE FUR

This pretty display sets the tone for a harvest-style holiday. To make, use a utility knife to halve two Fun-Kins lengthwise. Print and cut out stencils for the word "BOO," then trace each letter onto a halved Fun-Kin with a pencil. Use a small paintbrush to apply gold enamel paint inside lines and let dry. Then hang the Fun-Kins on your door with Command wire hooks. Add potted mums in apple baskets, a maple leaf garland, and sugar pumpkins striped with dried corn husks to complete the look.

SHOP FUN-KINS

This creepy ghost will warn trick-or-treaters and party goers to beware before entering your decked-out house.

Ghost decoration: Sketch the lower portion of a ghost body onto white foam core (it should be about 2-feet to 3-feet tall), then cut with a utility knife. On the back of the foam core, position 2 skewers as the base of the arms and duct-tape in place. Then, duct-tape a loop of monofilament at the top for hanging. To create the head, wrap a 4-inch foam ball in polyester batting until it's about 6 inches in diameter and secure with hot glue. Pierce the ball with 3 skewers to create a tripod, then poke the other end of the skewers into the top of the foam core body and secure with hot glue. Wrap more batting around the foam core body and the skewers. To hold in place, lightly wrap with monofilament. Then, wrap batting around the neck skewers to fill out the ghost's body. Continue adding and fluffing batting until it feels full. Finally, cut eyes, eyebrows, and a mouth from black felt and attach with hot glue.

Moon decoration: Push the end of a paintbrush into the front of 15-inch foam disk to create various-size craters. Then, mix together ½ cup of light orange acrylic craft paint and ¼ cup flour. Add water or more flour for a paste-like consistency. Spread the flour/paint mixture over the surface and the sides of the disk, covering (but not filling) the craters, and let dry. Finally, tie monofilament to a thumbtack and press into the back for hanging.

Cemetery sign decoration: Lay the top piece of a 7-foot-by-4-foot metal garden arch on top of 40-inch-by-60-inch piece of black foam core. Use a ruler to measure 5 inches above and 5 inches below the arbor arch, marking the foam core with a pencil every few inches to replicate the arch shape. (To check size, place 6-inch wooden craft letters to spell CEMETERY on the foam core arch.) Connect the marks, then cut out the arch with a utility knife and smooth ragged edges with sandpaper. Apply purple spray paint to the foam core arch and stone spray paint to the letters and let dry. Hot-glue the letters into place on the arch. Finally, duct-tape the back of the foam core to metal arch in several places to keep it secure, then assemble rest of the arch.

SHOP METAL GARDEN ARCH

A shiny black wreath fashioned out of spray painted newspaper is a clever — and easy — way to welcome trick-or-treaters

Get the Halloween Newspaper Wreath tutorial.

SHOP FLORAL WIRE

To make this pumpkin-themed entryway, trim orange wrapping paper to the door and secure with masking tape. Overlap another sheet to cover the rest of the door and tape down. Then, lay gold glitter paper facedown and use a ruler to draw an eye (a triangle with 12-inch sides), nose (a triangle with 10-inch sides), and lopsided smile. Cut out, arrange, and tape to the door as shown.

SHOP ORANGE WRAPPING PAPER

For this ghostly graveyard entryway, stretch fake cobwebs to somewhat cover door and secure with masking tape. Then, cut cardboard to resemble various-size wood slats. Paint a KEEP OUT sign on two slats and let dry. Glue bolts to each piece of cardboard, and once they're dry, tape the slats to the door. Next, arrange fencing around the perimeter of your front steps, and make an X with duct tape on the bottom stakes to keep them upright. Cover the tape with leaves from your yard or green moss, and set gravestones on and around the steps. Finally, string a plastic chain from one light to the other. Tap in nails over your door, and loop a chain link over each nail to secure.

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If you're looking to keep things simple, then go with this broomstick door design. To make, drill a small hole in the handle of two large outdoor brooms. Hammer five small nails in your front door, then hang two brooms, right sides up, through the holes. Then, hang a third large broom and two small "witches brooms" by threading the bristles over the remaining three nails.

SHOP WITCHES BROOMS

To make this creepy morgue entryway, attach 3 precut 20- by 30-inch pieces of foam core together with spray adhesive. Then, attach a piece of black paper, cut to size, to the top piece of foam core using spray adhesive. Insert the rectangular piece of 2 6-inch stainless steel T-hinges between the first and second pieces of foam core on one of the short sides and "screw" in place. Next, place a 6 1/2-inch handle on the opposite side and"screw" in place. Cover exposed edges of the foam core with silver duct tape, folding any excess to the back. Make two more doors, and adhere to your own door with heavy-duty self-adhesive Velcro.

SHOP FOAM CORE

Your front door, potted plants, and more will peer at passersby with this fun door decor idea. To make, cut pupils out of adhesive-backed felt and position them on assorted Styrofoam balls or half-spheres. Then, use double-stick tape to attach peepers to the door or use skewers to stake them into greenery.

SHOP BLACK FELT

Trick out your front porch with a layer of moss, spiderwebs, and critters — plus a menacing tree trunk on the door. Use painter's tape to affix brown kraft paper onto your door, making slits for the handle and knocker. Cut eyes and a mouth out of black construction paper and tape or glue them onto the kraft paper. For the wood grain, take white craft paint and draw curved lines first around the facial features, then vertically on the door. To complete the look, place preserved green moss along the edges of your front steps or porch.

SHOP BROWN KRAFT PAPER

Three supplies are all you need to create spooky shapes you can stick right to your glass door panes.

Get the Spooky Door Decals tutorial.

SHOP OIL PAINT MARKER

You can easily turn a square boxwood wreath into an adorable ghost wreath to welcome your guests.

Get the Ghost Wreath tutorial.

SHOP BOXWOOD WREATH

To make this bat wreath, gather old book pages, a pencil, black card stock, black ribbon, and a wreath form. Wrap ribbon around entire form and secure ends with hot glue. Cut 3-inch round circles by hand or use a handheld circle punch. Then, wrap each paper circle around the pencil's eraser end, dot the bottom with hot glue, and press into wreath form. Repeat until the front of the wreath is covered. Finally, cut out bats, varying in size, from card stock, and hot-glue onto the wreath.

SHOP BLACK CARD STOCK

Suspend a moss-covered wreath form from a fake skeleton hand and suspend from your front door with a black ribbon for an elegantly understated spooky decoration.

SHOP SKELETON HAND

There's nothing corny about a wreath made out of candy cane, and this sweet treat of a wreath is so easy to make.

Get the Candy Corn Wreath tutorial.

SHOP STYROFOAM WREATH

For more witch-inspired fun, place the silhouette of a witch cut from card stock in the center of a black paper wreath.

Get the tutorial at Country Living.

SHOP BLACK STREAMERS

No one will be able to resist knocking on your door when you have this pretty glittering witch decoration, which can be hung just about anywhere.

Get the tutorial at Good Housekeeping.

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