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Halloween provides the ideal opportunity to unleash your imaginative flair, converting your abode into a spectacular, spine-tingling showcase embodying the spirit of the season. The appropriate DIY Halloween props can take your decoration from plain to exceptional, regardless of whether you’re arranging a haunted house, planning a festive bash, or merely aiming to captivate trick-or-treaters.


Not only does making your own props add a personal touch, but it also permits you to tailor each item to suit your preferred theme and space.
Creating DIY Halloween props, from chilling graveyard displays to creepy entrances, can establish the atmosphere for a night filled with both frights and enjoyment that is truly unforgettable.
The excitement in making these items stems from the journey – collecting supplies, playing around with different designs, and witnessing your concepts take shape.
Furthermore, making your own Halloween props isn’t simply about decoration—it’s about narrating a tale, constructing an ambiance that will imprint a profound memory on anyone bold enough to venture into your spooky realm.
Halloween Props
19. Easy Packing Tape Ghost from Crazy Green Thumbs
This item demonstrates how to create a ghost figure using clear packing tape wrapped around a dress form and a Styrofoam head. It offers a practical approach to building a lightweight, hollow ghost sculpture that can be customized with a dress shape and illuminated with a black light for a spooky effect.
The process involves assembling a stable form from craft store materials and carefully layering plastic wrap and packing tape to build the ghost’s body. The result is a durable, translucent decoration that can be displayed outdoors or indoors for Halloween or themed events.
18. Chicken Wire Ghost from DIY Network

17. Life Size Mummy from Crafty Mommy and Me
This project demonstrates how to create a life-sized mummy figure using everyday materials like trash bags, duct tape, and plastic bags. It involves wrapping a person’s body in layers, adding structural supports and weights for stability, and then covering the form with tea-stained bandages and cheesecloth to achieve an authentic mummy look.
The process includes shaping the head by taping over a real head or using a wig head, then assembling and painting the figure for a weathered effect.
The finished mummy stands as a detailed Halloween decoration that can be customized and displayed with a matching sarcophagus for added impact.
16. Creepy Ghosts (source unknown)
This project demonstrates how to create a life-size Halloween ghost using chicken wire and cheesecloth for a lightweight, airy effect. It includes shaping a wire frame for the torso and arms, attaching a faux skull, and draping cheesecloth to form a spooky, translucent figure that moves with the breeze.
The ghost is designed to be durable enough for outdoor display, avoiding common issues with starch-based methods that lose shape in moisture. Hanging the ghost with fishing line allows for adjustable positioning, while glow-in-the-dark spray paint adds an eerie finish to enhance its haunting presence.
15. DIY Chicken Wire Cheesecloth Ghost from DIY Show Off
This project demonstrates how to create a life-size Halloween ghost using a chicken wire frame covered with cheesecloth. It combines simple materials like wire, spray adhesive, and a faux skull to build a lightweight, airy decoration that moves with the breeze.
The ghost’s structure is reinforced with wire to maintain its shape, making it suitable for outdoor display without collapsing. The translucent cheesecloth draped over the frame gives the figure a spooky, ethereal appearance perfect for Halloween décor.
14. Levitating Ghost from HGTV

13. The Ring Prop from Lothar’s Lair
This item features a detailed stone well replica inspired by the 2002 horror film “The Ring,” complete with an animated figure of the character Samara rising from below.
The well is constructed from a plastic garbage pail covered with foam stones, painted and textured to resemble aged stone.
The figure of Samara includes sculpted hands made from foam and wire, coated with latex and painted to mimic waterlogged skin. Her head and upper body are crafted using foam, chicken wire, and a wig, mounted on a motorized system that allows slow, lifelike movement triggered by a motion detector.
12. Samara from The Ring from Pinterest
This Halloween decoration creates a chilling scene inspired by the horror film “The Ring.” It features a white foam head topped with a witch wig, dressed in a child’s white dress, and positioned with detached arms for an eerie effect.
The setup includes an old television and a traffic cone held by a wooden stick, adding to the unsettling atmosphere. The combination of these elements crafts a spooky and memorable display perfect for Halloween.
11. Lawn Ghosts from Pink Pixie Forest
This item features a creative way to make spooky lawn ghosts using simple materials like plastic drop cloths, paper, rebar, and outdoor lights. The ghosts are constructed by forming heads from stuffed paper covered with plastic, then shaping and taping the bodies before decorating with lights for a glowing effect.
The design allows the ghosts to be arranged in a circle or wavy line, with linked arms made from strips of plastic to create a connected display.
These decorations can be adapted for different seasons by adding wings and halos to transform them into angels for Christmas.
10. Creepy Ghosts from Grim Hollow Haunt
This item features eerie ghost costumes made from dyed drop cloths layered over black fabric to create a floating, faceless effect. The hoods are supported by black baseball caps, and see-through black material obscures the faces, enhancing the haunting appearance.
The design mimics props seen at amusement parks and can be recreated with simple materials like fabric dye and old robes. These costumes offer a straightforward way to achieve a chilling look suitable for Halloween or spooky events.
9. Ghost in Window

8. Easy DIY Ghost from Pinterest
This item demonstrates how to create a spooky Halloween decoration using an old doll head or mask combined with a tomato cage. By dressing the structure in a creepy nightgown, it transforms into an eerie ghostly figure perfect for haunted displays.
Adding a light underneath the gown enhances the ghost’s glow, making it more striking at night. This simple setup offers a creative way to repurpose common household items into unique and chilling Halloween props.
7. Giant Spider (source unknown)
This item demonstrates how to create a decorative spiderweb using yarn and scissors. The process begins with forming a simple frame and gradually weaving the yarn in a spiral pattern to build the web structure.
Additional support strands can be added to strengthen the web as you continue weaving. The final result is a handmade spiderweb perfect for Halloween decoration or themed crafts.
6. Giant Spider Web from Instructables
This item demonstrates how to create a spiderweb decoration using simple materials like yarn and scissors. It guides through building a basic frame and weaving yarn in a spiral pattern to form the web structure.
The process includes adding support strands for stability and continuing the weaving until the web is complete. The finished spiderweb can be used as a Halloween decoration or a creative craft project.
5. Person Caught in Spiderweb from Instructables
This life-size spider victim decoration creates a striking Halloween display by using common household materials like plastic bags, trash bags, and cobwebs. The figure is built by shaping and stuffing plastic bags into a human-like form, then wrapping it with sheer fabric or cobwebs to give a realistic, cocooned appearance.
Once assembled, the figure is suspended from a porch or outdoor area using hooks and rope to keep it secure in the wind. Adding layers of spiderwebs and small props like skulls enhances the eerie effect, making it look like a captured victim wrapped tightly in a spider’s web.
4. Giant Tentacle Monster from Instructables
A giant tentacle monster sculpture is created using a combination of plywood, steel studs, and flexible HVAC ducting to form large, curved tentacles that appear to crawl out of a sewer cover.
The structure stands about six feet tall and spans roughly thirty feet, making it a striking outdoor decoration that can be customized to fit various themes or spaces.
The base is built to fit over an existing sewer cover, with a sturdy armature providing support for the tentacles made from ducting secured to the frame.
The final effect is enhanced by painting the tentacles and fabricating a realistic-looking manhole cover from foam, creating a dramatic and immersive visual display.
3. 7-Foot Monster Plant from Eden Maker’s
Create a spooky Halloween decoration by transforming everyday materials like tree branches, flower pots, and artificial pumpkins into a man-eating monster plant. The project uses spray foam insulation to secure the branch in the pot and features a carved pumpkin head painted green with added leaves and moss for a whimsical, eerie effect.
This craft allows for customization with additional spooky elements such as skeletons, spiders, or skulls to enhance the display. It is a quick and fun activity that can be done indoors or outdoors, making it perfect for family participation and Halloween decorating.
2. Person Under Garage Door (source unknown)

1. Body Bag (source unknown)
