30 Spooktacular DIY Halloween Projects For Your Yard

Here are some amazing Halloween DIY projects to make your yard spooktacular. These range from the simple to the extreme. A little something for everyone to make the most of Halloween. We have them listed from the easy to the most difficult. Get the whole family involved. Kids will love crating radioactive jars and glow in the dark eyes using glow sticks. Use strings of lights to create bubbling cauldrons and ghosts. For the more advanced, build coffins, facades for the house or spooky buildings and sets. Bring ghostly images to life and create Halloween decor that looks like it came right from a store. Make this Halloween one to remember!

Radioactive Glowing Jars

Bill / Via lovethispic.com

These glow in the dark jars are super easy. All you need is a jar, some glitter and a glow stick. Just cut a glow stick, drain the liquid into the jar, add glitter and shake. You instantly have radioactive jars!

Glow In The Dark Eyes

Michelle DuPuis / Via rustandsunshine.com

Here's a simple DIY to add some subtle flair to your Halloween festivities. All you need are toilet paper rolls, duct tape and glow sticks. Cut out some scary eyes on the toilet paper rolls, slide a glowstick in the tube and duct tape the ends so the glowing doesn't shine out the ends. Instantly you have some spying eyes. Place them in windows, or outside in the bushes during Trick Or Treat!

Spiders In A Jar

Trisha / Via momdot.com

Those plastic spiders don't always look that creepy, however put them in a jar with some webbing, a bit of black nail polish and a battery operated tea light, you'll create a much more sinister look. This is a simple and great addition for your porch, or even inside the house. Sneak one of these on the counter to give someone a real surprise!

Evil Fairy Garden

Vanessa Beaty / Via diyncrafts.com

$2! That's it $2 to make your very own Evil Fairy Garden. With Fairy Gardens all the rage, what better time is there to make one that Halloween. These $1 Skeletons and $1 butterfly wings go hand in hand. What better way to bring a skeleton to life than by giving them the wings of a butterfly. Decorate your yard with these little monsters. Hang them from trees and bushes. Give them little homes and furniture. Who knows what mischief these guys can get into!!!!

Walking Dead Barbies

Amanda / Via craftsbyamanda.com

LOVE this one. Who doesn't get a kick out of the manipulation of Barbie. Spray paint them white, yellow out the eyes, give her some sores and mangle her wardrobe. That's it! Create a whole army of these little ghouls. Hammer them to trees, pose them in flower plants and gardens or rig them on the house. Barbie's everywhere to terrify . . . or at least humor, those who cross their path. They are sure to get along with the Evil Skeleton Fairies.

Nasty Crow Wreath

Jenn Erikson / Via rookno17.com

Holiday wreaths aren't for Christmas anymore! Halloween wreaths are becoming more and more popular every year. The possibilities are endless on wreaths. Here is one of our favorites. This simple wreath consists of $1 black birds hot glued to a Styrofoam ring. With this particular door, there is a greater effect due to the fact that the door's window has crackled glass. It gives the appearance that the Birds are pecking through. If your glass window is flat, you can adhere something to the inner circle of the wreath that will give that crackled look in the center of the wreath.

Fake Chains

Holly Gagnon / Via ribbonsandglue.com

Drape your yard, trees or porch with metal chains . . . foam chains that is. This SUPER easy DIY can really add to your Halloween decor. Give the appearance of metal chains with simple pipe insulation foam. If you are a real go getter, spray paint the chains with a high gloss black paint to enhance the look of metal. Add some clanging chain sound effects to bring the chains an added dimension of reality.

Snakes In The Flower Pots

Carol / Via alwaystheholidays.com

This time of year your potted flowers are probably starting to die down. Let them! As the plants begin to wither away, keep them potted and in the garage where the lack of light will allow them to die down. In most cases, the flowers will stiffen and dry out. This will make them perfect Halloween decorations. Enhance the pot with some vibrant, slithering snakes. There are many ways to create the snakes. You can actually use and paint toy snakes. In this photo, bendable craft supplies were used. You can also find bendable coils at hardware stores. Use your imagination. You can also use fall specific pots to create a whimsical look, or even a planter with brightly colored Mums. There are so many variations with this to add curb appeal or to fit with the theme of your decor.

Illuminated Ghosts

Jen Grantham / Via craftymisadventures.com

A tomato cage, a sheet and a string of lights are the main props for this easy to create Halloween yard decoration. Ghosts are such an easy DIY for Halloween and there are so many variations. With this basic concept, you can stand the ghosts on the porch, in the yard or in a window. For those with more ambition, try hanging the ghosts.

Bubbling Cauldron

Helena Handbasket / Via halloweenforum.com

This cauldron makes a great prop indoor or outdoors and is super easy. The "smoke" is simply fiber fill and the light is simply a string of lights. Use different color lights to create different effects. If you have a string of lights that flash, it can make a very vivid display and give the fiber fill the illusion of shifting from the alternating lights.

A Swarm of Zombies Trapped In Your Home

Tallahassee Garden Club / Via wisteria.tallahasseegardenclub.com

Give the illusion that you have outsmarted the zombie attack and left them locked up in your house. Simply cut out images of hands on black paper and glue them to a sheet of wax paper that is sized to your window. Add some dimension to their appearance by adding light backlighting, a strobe light or even a fan to give some movement. Add all three effects to give a truly chilling visual. Take it even further with some sound effects playing or The Walking Dead theme music.

Floating Candles

Tanya Poli / Via livemaster.ru

This is awesome. Floating candles. The best part, no flames and they aren't even candles. In this simple DIY, paint an empty paper towel or cut down wrapping paper rolls the color of a canle - in this DIY, white. next, hot glue an end and let the hot glue drip down . . . like wax. Let it dry, dip it in paint and you have the look of melted wax. Next, pop a cheap battery operated light in one end, then hang. It's just like Harry Potter. But this is a great DIY to use for other Holidays. At Christmas, make green and red candles for wreaths or other displays. The actual site this DIY comes from is loaded with TONS of Harry Potter inspired ideas.

Baby In A Jar

Old Man Burke / Via halloweenforum.com

Looking to show off your specimen collection? There might not be anything quite as unnerving as a baby in a jar. Pick up some plastic dolls from a rummage sale or Goodwill, heat them up a little and shove them in a jar. Add water and some food coloring and you instantly have a preserved child!

Garage Door Victim

Johnnie Mullins / Via trendhunter.com

This is a simple DIY that is more on the gruesome side. All you need are some clothes, some sort of stuffing for the clothes and some washable red paint. Simply stuff the clothes and position the body and splatter some red paint to make it appear the victim tried to escape. This can be taken to multiple levels. Position the body under a car, at the base of a house or around any equipment.

Creepy Bowl

Witcheswalk / Via halloweenforum.com

For as complex as this bowl looks, it's not! This DIY was created with inexpensive props that were glued together, layered in paper mache, painted and accented with moss. This is another example of a DIY that can be taken in so many directions. The possibilities are limitless with this. Using the steps outlined, you can make pillars, statues, bowls, candle holders and whatever you can imagine. The accenting can also go from the basic to the extreme. Highlight features with lighting, dry ice, strobe lights or fog machines.

Skeletons In The Yard

Katie / Justin / Via helpfulhomemade.com

This is an amazing Halloween DIY with unlimited possibilities. Step by step directions for bringing the dead to life. In this DIY, learn how to position skeletons. The fundamentals of this DIY can be used to pose your skeletons in any position desired. Make a comical display, such as this, or create a menacing scene by posing skeletons with various props and in various positions.

Pumpkin Head Scarecrow

Jeanette & Leigh / Via craftyincrosby.com

This is a fantastic DIY for making a Pumpkin King for your yard. The tutorial calls for a decorative pumpkin from a craft store that you can carve. Once carved, adhere cotton balls to the pumpkin, spray paint it black, then brush paint orange, red and browns to create a lifelike appearance. Insert a flickering battery operated LED light for a creepy flicker in the face. You can then use the pumpkin atop a scarecrow body, as decorations on the porch in place of real pumpkins, or as a Pumpkin Ghost in the image above. The tutorial gives tips and instructions to create this ghostly shawl out of sheer curtains.

Floating Head Hanging Ghosts

Ashley Phipps / Via simplydesigning.porch.com

This is a fairly simple and inexpensive DIY. All you need are some foam heads, cheese cloth and some items to hang them. This is very easy and takes no time at all. You can also add variations to your ghost heads based on your creativity. Other design options are featured in the blog by Simply Designing as well.

Little Ghosts

Via pinterest.com

Here's a simple Homemade Halloween Ghost. All you need is a Soda bottle, Styrofoam ball, wire. Drape cheese cloth over top and spray with starch until hard. Blow dry until dry, remove cheese cloth and glue on two felt eyes. This is the perfect size for a window or the porch.

Evil Minions In Your Yard

Kim Six / Lara / Via thekimsixfix.com

Here's a DIY for adding some whimsical fun to your yard. In the event that you have decorative grass, you can transform that grass into Evil Minions. Spray the minions with purple spray paint or hair coloring (that's probably less expensive) and add some minion faces made on foam board. Just be sure to cover anything you don't want purple with plastic! Also, make sure you use coloring that is environmentally friendly. If you don't have ornamental grass, try using dried cornstalks!

Patio Pumpkins

The Stonybrook House / Via thestonybrookhouse.com

This Halloween Hack is brilliant. Halloween decor like this can cost quite a bit if you buy it already made. But with this DIY, make expensive looking pumpkin arrangements with garbage bags and news paper. Create your pumpkin sizes with the garbage bags, paper mache them and paint them. You have instant pumpkins. The only true expense of this project is the paint needed for the pumpkins. Accent the arrangement with garland leaves and you'll be amazed at what you can do.

Ghostly Creations

Monster Tutorials / Via monstertutorials.com

This DIY shows you how to make ghostly figures. These figures are created with packing tape and clear garbage bags. The tape is wrapped around a figure multiple times to create a shell. When cut away from the original figure, the hollowed out tape creates a clear figure. The addition of clear garbage bags then gives the illusion of flowing clothing. When placed in the dark, with the right lighting, or hung up high, this project will get a lot of doubles takes, and a lot of praise. To try it on a smaller scale, use a baby doll as a model.

Ghostly Wanderers

Via wackyarchives.com

Create ghostly images with some chicken wire. Shape the wire into different forms to give the illusion that a lost soul is wandering about. Add your own variations by creating an image that can be hung, or add lighting to make it stand out at night.

Rotting Head

Gary Benson / Via bascombemania.blogspot.com

This is a great DIY that can be done with any type of doll head, or in this case cosmetology heads. Start with your basic, pleasant looking head. Slice in half and insert a skull. This DIY gets very complex as the creator goes to great lengths in ensuring the head and skull are seamlessly conjoined. However with a project of this nature, the basic idea is simple. You are able to take liberties with how far you go with the project and how detailed you make it. You might even find other ways to achieve the effect using the same basic principals.

DIY Headstones For Halloween

Lowe's / Via lowes.com

Headstones are one of the easiest ways to give your yard an eerie look. You can buy Styrofoam headstones, however they are often small, flimsy and can easily blow away or tear apart. Lowe's has an amazing step by step to help you make realistic looking tombstones for the yard. With some foam cut out and attached with wooden dowels, these headstones can be made to look anyway you would like. They can be given dimension and height. If you are less creative, they have a PDF diagram available. What's really cool is that their directions go on further than just cutting the tombstone out and assembling it. Instructions include information on implementing lettering and how to paint the stones to give them an aged look. Once you have them created, place them in the yard and decorate the area with some props to authenticate a cemetery. Use anything from dirt or leave piles to spiderwebs, garden tools, fog machines or eerie lighting.

DIY Grim Reaper. Step by step directions to make your own Grim Reaper.

jimmyzdc "The Great Pumpkin" / Via halloweenforum.com

This is an amazing DIY to give a spooky accent to your house. This one will take some effort, but the effort will definitely pay off. Once created, you can really enhance the Grim reaper with some extra lighting.

Creepy Coffin

ScareFX / Via scarefx.com

If you are handy enough, you can make a coffin for just $25! This step by step DIY guide outlines every step of the process and even gives you the specific measurements. For a project of this magnitude you will likely want to use a table saw. The results are awesome and the things you can do with a coffin!!! There are countless ways to display the coffin from cute to creepy. Give it some extra features from animation to lighting if you have the know how.

Bring Your House To Life

Elena / Via craftibilities.com

Give your house a spooky personality. Add eyes, teeth or whatever to your home to give it a sinister feel. In this DIY, wood was cut and painted to create teeth and eyes that look down on guests. This DIY can also be simplified. If you don't want to use wood, substitute it with foam board or heavy cardboard depending on how long you will have the decorations out. You can also use your creativity. Make decor that matches any theme you might have. Perhaps a witches hat, a scarecrow hat, monsters or so much more. The possibilities are limitless.

Extreme Halloween Decorating

Keith Corcoran / Via makezine.com

This one is for the all out Halloween Fanatic. As you can see this one takes more than some mesh fabric and glow sticks. The creepy clown facade shown here is a process for those who are willing to go all out. The facade is actually made from plywood. The images were created on transparency paper, then shown onto the plywood where they were traced, cut and painted to create a larger than life display. In the tutorial, there are tons of details added for Trick or Treat. See how they created a ticket booth, a cotton candy cart and a horrifying clown with an operating Jack In The Box. This is definitely a project involving a great deal of skill, time, patience and love for Halloween.

Build A Spooky Building

SKAustin / Via halloweenforum.com

Here's another amazing DIY for those super enthusiastic Halloween fans. This is a project that took days, several people and a lot of carpentry. The structure itself is foam adhered to plywood. The foam allows for incredible detailing. Not one aspect of this creation is overlooked. The foam "bricks" are painted in a manner to give dimension. The exterior is decorated with monuments, skeletons, fencing and so much more. While this project is quite overwhelming, there are several great elements that can be applied on a smaller scale. For example, the use of foam sheets can be applied to making a creepy door for your house, creating new windows or even a facade for your home. While this multidimensional creation is amazing, it's clearly not something for the simple crafter.