Haunting your House for Halloween: Decor and Details
OCTOBER 13, 2014 / Z.
Lots of people find joy in decorating their house for Halloween, but those with a Gothic bent are especially bound to to relish it. These people will take particular care in crafting a beautiful yet bone-chilling atmosphere for their guests… For them, it isn’t so much “decorating” as it is “haunting” the house.
Here are some of the easiest and most effective ways to perfect an eerie atmosphere:
Cluster Candles. Clustered candles create a haunting and visually interesting focal point. At once reminiscent of somber Gothic cathedrals and spiritualist seances, try turning the lights out and illuminating the room by candlelight alone, as shown in the image below. If you are throwing a dinner party, this kind of lighting will hide any distracting, non-themed parts of the room and will keep guests’ focus on each other as they dine. For an even more magical effect (and double the light), place candles on a mirror or reflective platter.
Paint it Black. Everyday items take on a commanding and ominous tone when given a coat of matte black spray paint. Consider painting pumpkins, cheap vases, figurines, candleholders, branches, and wine bottles.
Mirror, Mirror. Mirrors have always been a bit uncanny, so use this to your advantage for Halloween! Place fabric or a veiling over the mirrors in the house– this was actually a Victorian mourning tradition to prevent the soul of the deceased from getting “trapped” in the looking glass. Covering all the mirrors in your house will definitely ramp up the creepy factor. You can also make your own haunted mirror (which is I guess what happens if you didn’t cover the mirror?)
Eerie Vignettes. For the top of a mantle or table, consider grouping eerie objects together to form a “vignette”. Wilted or dried flowers in a vase beside antique glass bottles work well (below). For the most effective haunting vignette, stack old leather-bound books on a table and top them off with a skull.
Phantom Photos. Round up some picture frames you already have, or buy some at a dollar store and paint them a matte black. Print out creepy Victorian-era photos (look up spirit photography) and place them in the frames, then put them around the house where people are bound to see them. Your guests will gradually realize your home is filled with ghostly portraits.
Utilize your windows. Cut-out silhouettes always add a element of fun to your haunted house for Halloween, but consider going subtle for a more spooky effect. You can also forgo silhouettes altogether and create a foreboding atmosphere by covering your windows in red tissue paper (your house looks like this, doesn’t it?)
Use LED lights as glowing eyes. Nocturnal creatures have tapetum lucidum, a reflective layer on the back of their retina helps them see clear in the dark. If you happen to unwittingly shine a light on an animal’s face, it can create an unnerving effect– two glowing dots stare back at you, disembodied in the dark. You can recreate this effect in your yard or house with a few methods by placing LED lights in film containers. A similar effect can be achieved by placing a glowstick inside a toilet-paper roll with two holes cut out. People passing do a double take as they try to figure out what kind of creature is staring at them– a cat, an owl, or something more sinister?