Indoor and outdoor Halloween decoration ideas for home, school, and the office.

When you first think of Halloween decoration ideas, hackneyed images flash through your mind. Plastic pumpkins and cutout ghosts aren’t enough this year. This time, you’re looking for fun Halloween decoration ideas that set the spookiest possible scene.

Social media posting has upped the ante, too, where clever ideas spread like wildfire in Instagram posts and on TikTok. Truly original Halloween decorations get payout in viral likes.

This year, your Halloween decoration ideas go past those plastic pumpkins. Classic props like cobwebs and skeletons are still handy, but Halloween decoration ideas done right turn ordinary spaces into immersive experiences.

Some of the easiest Halloween decoration ideas can be done in Adobe Express. For fun projects like posters and banners to accompany ominous hanging lanterns and ghoulish monster props, keep reading to see just how spectacular your Halloween decorations can be.

Outdoor Halloween decoration ideas for the garden, windows, and yard.

Turn to creepy Halloween yard decoration ideas to set the mood for everyone who passes by, neighbors and trick-or-treaters alike. Outdoor Halloween decorations set the mood in eye-catching spectacles with eerie lighting, festive Jack-o-lanterns, and Halloween window decoration ideas that cast silhouettes across the yard.

For fun Halloween fence decoration ideas, yard ideas, and window ideas, imagine how these clever and creative touches can turn your outdoors into an extraordinary scene.

Witch’s feet sticking out of planters.

Creepy Halloween decoration ideas often have a backstory. For example, with witch’s feet sticking out of planters, passers-by will wonder what happened to the bygone enchantress, and none of the answers will be pleasant.

Luminaria with ghostly block prints.

Block-printed luminaria are paper sacks with patterns on them, each made by dipping block stamps into paint or ink then pressing into the bags. Make luminaria with Jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, and cat eye designs. The yellow of the candles inside illuminates the negative space in the prints, making this trio quite thrilling.

Heirloom pumpkin display.

Find heirloom pumpkins in all kinds of shapes, colors, and sizes. Add more color with paint dripped over the top of the pumpkins, brushing some of the paint flat for an ombre effect.

Scary black bird cutouts.

Ravens are part of Halloween lore, and vultures, too. Make paper cutouts of all the scary birds you can and use them in your Halloween window decoration ideas. Each shows a scene with a black bird overlooking it. Your home will backlight the cutouts, making them extra creepy from the sidewalk.

Set up a scarecrow in your yard.

You don’t need crops to plant a scarecrow in your yard. Make the creepiest scarecrow you can using a Jack-o-lantern for a head with the most twisted possible face.

Add googly eyes to your plants.

For easy outdoor Halloween decoration ideas, look no further than big googly eyes. Glue one each to the tops of wooden skewers then stuff the skewers into your potted plants.

Plant tombstone decorations.

Set up tombstones around your yard to create a creepy cemetery theme. These are especially eerie to walk through if you set them along the path to your front door.

Paint zombie flamingos.

Paint several lawn flamingos with black rings around their eyes, tiny pupils, and blood oozing from their beaks.

Hang cheesecloth ghosts.

Cover Styrofoam balls in pieces of cheesecloth with plenty of overhang so they flutter in the wind. For an extra creepy look, buy the Styrofoam mannequin heads sold at whig shops and the shape of each spirit’s face will be visible through the cloth.

Stick glowing eyes in the bushes.

Paint ghoulish eyes on construction paper with glow-in-the-dark paint, then cut them out and stick them in the bushes around your yard. Come nightfall, the eyes will thrill all passers-by.

Zombie hands coming out of the ground.

Fill gloves with newspaper, then plant them around your yard to look like zombie hands crawling out of the ground.

Spooky string lights along the fence.

You need Halloween fence decoration ideas, too. Hang string lights with spooky skulls (plastic store bought or homemade paper ones) along your garden fence for a somber lighting effect.

Halloween door decoration ideas the whole neighborhood will notice.

An entryway can be invitingly eerie with the right Halloween door decoration ideas. Haunting cobwebs and dramatic lighting set a playful yet spine-chilling tone that enhances the thrill of the season.

From cute Halloween door decoration ideas to usher eager trick-or-treaters into the sinister scenes offering a glimpse of the Halloween party within, these door decoration ideas hit all the right notes.

Snake wreath.

Make a wreath with dark and tangled vines, then entwine toy snakes among them. Hang this on the front door and someone will have to come close before the snakes become clear, making for a jolting reveal.

Hanging paper bats.

Cut several bat shapes out of black construction paper and hang them around your front door. Dangle some overhead by string, too, to give off the vibe of a creepy bat cave.

Cute pumpkin pathway.

Cute Halloween door decoration ideas are great for a younger crowd, and preschool-aged kids are especially fond of pumpkin lights that illuminate the path to your front door.

Gruesome numbers.

This easy door decoration is thrilling for anyone who comes close enough to see it. Make fake blood with hot glue and red food dye, then drip it down your house number so it dries into gory, gruesome digits. The bonus is that this is easy to pull off after the spooky season is done.

The headless mannequin.

Acquire a mannequin and decapitate it, dress it in dark clothes, and sit it next to your front door. You can also make your own headless mannequin by taking the dark clothes you plan to use and filling them with newspaper.

Hanging chains.

Hang suspended chains from your front door to make a dungeon look. You can get a variety of heavy chains at the hardware store.

Seasonal black corn clusters.

Black corn clusters can be hung on and around your door as a decoration that works for Halloween and the whole autumn season. Pull back the husks of the corn cobs, spray paint each cob black, let them dry, then braid the husks together to create clusters.

Stacked Jack-o-lanterns.

Carve or paint several Jack-o-lanterns, then stack them by size (biggest on the bottom, smallest on the top) to make a pumpkin tower right next to your front door.

Eyeball wreath.

Paint creepy, vein-filled eyes on ping-pong balls and glue them between the branches of an autumnal wreath.

Stairs alight.

Spray paint empty aluminum cans black, then poke holes in them in the form of messages, like “boo.” Set several up the stairs to your front stoop, then illuminate them at night with candles dropped inside.

Mummified door.

Use white streamers or cheesecloth to wrap your front door like a mummy. Leave a strip of door uncovered toward the top and stick two big, glowing eyes in the slit.

Front porch skeletons.

Sit skeletons in different seated positions right next to the front door as though they were waiting for each visitor.

Indoor Halloween decoration ideas for haunted homes.

Transforming your indoors is even more gripping than outdoors, because indoor Halloween decoration ideas shape your day-to-day. As you float through your routine, every room can offer spooky charm. Elements like candle-lit pumpkins and shadows cast by cobwebbed chandeliers create a haunting atmosphere for you and every guest you have this season.

Indoor Halloween decoration ideas are especially handy when planning a Halloween party. With the right environment, you’ll spark true magic and delight.

Hanging lace ghosts.

Cover tennis balls in thick white lace with enough overhang to make them look like ghosts. Paint on creepy faces, then hang these from the ceilings of several rooms in your home.

Spider-filled wall.

Cut out oversized spiders from black construction paper and stick them together along a wall. Give them an extra creepy-crawly effect by lining them up as though they were scurrying toward wherever people sit.

Haystack buffet table.

A makeshift buffet table can be convenient and seasonal whenever you need extra space. Set a hay bale out with some stringed lights wrapped around it and spiderwebs stretched across the top. Now, you have an added surface to serve on, plus some major seasonal charm.

Pirate’s booty treasure chest.

Fill a pirate’s treasure chest with party favors and goodies and leave it in a place where guests congregate. Gold-wrapped sweets like Rolos and chocolate coins make this booty look extra alluring.

Monster head table.

Take any small, inexpensive wooden table from a thrift store and carve a head-sized hole in the middle. Cast someone as a monster, then have that person sit under the table and stick his or her head through the hole. Throw a long tablecloth over that hangs to the floor (cutting a hole for the monster’s head). The monster sits still when trick-or-treaters walk in, then, suddenly, it speaks.

Crystal ball candlesticks.

Take heavy-duty candelabras and paint them black. Fix clear glass Christmas bulbs on top to look like crystal balls. For an even creeper effect, cover them in transparency film that depicts eerie scenes.

Full hearths.

Fill your hearth with pumpkins, plain or painted, for a festive and colorful vibe.

Spider web bar cart.

Set up your bar cart for a Halloween party with lots of cobwebs, skulls, and plastic spiders.

Zombie throw pillows.

Turn old throw pillows into zombies using thick thread to stitch big cuts and wounds, plus lots of black paint for sunken eyes.

Food-focused indoor Halloween décor.

There are plenty of Halloween food ideas that can double as Halloween table decoration ideas, too. Every detail can make a difference, from a coffin-shaped charcuterie board to cupcakes covered in crumbly cookie that looks like fresh dirt.

Pumpkin vase centerpiece.

Other Halloween table decoration ideas include centerpieces like pumpkin vases. Use white porcelain vases you find at a thrift store and fill them with bouquets of plastic Jack-o-lanterns instead of flowers.

Cobwebbed chandelier.

Drape the chandeliers with stretchy cobwebs to achieve that spooky and abandoned haunted house look.

Office Halloween decoration ideas for cubicles and beyond.

Office Halloween decoration ideas bring a playful energy to the workplace and offer a chance to have fun making something as a team. Easy and cheap Halloween decoration ideas make decorating both relaxed and affordable (without showing up as a scary line-item at the end of the year).

Pick your favorite Halloween decoration ideas and think of how each could become something special for staff and clients alike.

Painted leaf ghosts.

DIY Halloween decoration ideas for the office can be as simple as collecting large, dry leaves, painting them white, then painting fun ghost faces on them. Hang them around the office for everyone’s viewing pleasure.

Witch’s broom parking.

Lean several broomsticks against a wall (the more witchy, the better), and hang a sign above them that says, “Witches Parking.”

Oversized spiders.

Cut out enormous paper spiders or make 3D spiders by filling old black socks with newspaper, then bunching the segments with black hair ties and attaching pipe cleaner legs. Take your spiders and hang them up the length of an office wall.

The skeleton at the table.

If there’s a chair in the lobby that usually goes unoccupied, sit a skeleton there and leave him out for the whole spooky season. Employees can crowdsource his outfit by each bringing something to adorn him with, whether a newsboy cap or an old pipe.

Burlap mummy jars.

Wrap old jars in strips of burlap for a mummified look, leaving only a slit for the eyes. Glue googly eyes in the slit and illuminate the jars by dropping candles inside.

Potion bottles.

Cheap Halloween decoration ideas are a mainstay of office décor. This one simply requires filling empty bottles with colored water, then gluing on labels with names like “Snake Venom” or “Frog Slime.” Remember, you can make all kinds of labels in Adobe Express — no experience required.

Full moon paper lanterns.

Round, white paper lanterns can be made to look like the moon with a little glue smeared around them. Left to dry, the added texture better matches the moon’s shadows and craters.

Painted pumpkin ideas.

If you want your Jack-o-lanterns to last longer instead of rotting after a few days, look at some pumpkin painting ideas instead. It makes less mess and the pumpkins don’t wilt. You can paint faux pumpkins, too.

Printable paper lanterns.

Make paper lanterns with fun patterns of your own design. Open Adobe Express to make patterns with Halloween-inspired colors, collages, or drawings, then print them and fold into rectangular lanterns. Light each from the inside with battery operated candles, then set them out all over the office.

Easy eyeball planters.

Easy Halloween decoration ideas can be as effortless as sticking plastic eyeballs into all the planters you have in the office.

Dangling witch hats.

Suspend multiple witch hats from the ceiling of the office for a festive look.

Bubbling pumpkin cauldron.

Hollow out an extra-large pumpkin and fill it with Christmas tree ornaments of Halloween-esque colors (like purple, orange, and red). Glue the ornaments together so that they stay in place so you can add more and more to give the cauldron an overflowing effect.

Scary Halloween decoration ideas for frightful fun.

Looking for scary Halloween decoration ideas? To keep it spooky, you have to capture the most thrilling elements of Hallow’s Eve. From Halloween skeleton decoration ideas to ghosts and ghouls, every party guest or trick-or-treater will enjoy these sinister touches.

Scary Halloween decorations use eerie lighting and ominous props to bring magic and mystery to life. Pick the perfect combination of these ideas and embrace the season.

Floating candles.

Tie fishing line around battery-operated candles and “float” them from the ceiling for a haunted vibe.

Shadowy silhouettes.

Cut out creepy silhouettes from cardboard painted black, then stand them up in front of lights or in the windows to cast log, spooky shadows.

Bloody handprints in the windows.

Put bloody handprints on the windows with red washable paint for a sinister look (without the headache of tough clean-up later).

Glowing potion jars.

Drop glow sticks in jars filled with colored water, then add labels like “Dragon’s Blood” for a magical vibe.

Lantern-lit pathway.

Set old lanterns (if they’re rusty, even better) along the pathway to your front door and light them all on Hallow’s Eve.

Skeleton skulls.

You can repurpose toy skulls in endless ways. Set one on the dining room table as a centerpiece and hang another on one of the coat hooks in the entryway. Stuff their eyes with faux moss and dirt and you’ll really give people the creeps.

DIY spider egg sacs.

Make DIY spider egg sacs by filling white tights with cotton and plastic spiders, then hanging them in corners with more spiders glued to the outside.

Drippy blood candles.

Light some candles and let them pool their hot wax. Drop some red food dye into the wax pool, and as they continue to melt and drip, you’ll see red wax run down the sides. Blow the candles out in time to have ultra-drippy (and bloody-looking) candles to use on Halloween.

Halloween skeleton decoration ideas.

Stand a life-size skeleton up in a closet and leave the door open a crack. Attach the skeleton’s bony fingers to the edge of the door and peek its head and eyes through, as though it wants to come out.

Creepy dolls.

Take old dolls (or some you find at the thrift store) and paint their faces with cracks and sunken eyes, then set them in eerie poses around the house.

Magical message mirror.

Write menacing messages on a mirror in glow-in-the-dark paint, like, “I see you.”

Blood-dripped curtains.

Drip red fabric paint over old curtains for a bloody effect, then hang them from the living room windows.

Halloween bag decoration ideas for the ultimate Trick-or-Treat.

Add another thrill to this Beggar’s Night with Halloween bag decoration ideas. Kids get their candy bags personalized, and families or classrooms get a fun activity to do together.

For truly cool Halloween decoration ideas that not only celebrate spooky season but set you up for it, peruse this list and see what jumps out at you.

Sticker explosion.

Especially fun for younger kids, decorating a Halloween bag can be as easy as covering it with spooky stickers.

Mummy-wrapped bag.

Wrap a trick-or-treat bag in strips of gauze, leaving a slit where the eyes go. Glue googly eyes into the slit, and this mummified Halloween bag is ready to go.

The trapped witch.

Dismember a witch doll and attach its legs to the mouth of a treat bag, upside down as though the witch were stuffed feet-up inside.

Glow-in-the-dark bag.

Paint a spooky design with ghosts, bats, or Jack-o-lanterns onto a bag in glow-in-the-dark paint.

Spider web drawings.

Start with a black bag and use white paint or markers to draw intricate spider webs.

Scary reflective tape.

Make a scary design out of reflective tape so that the bag flashes when it catches headlights on Beggar’s Night.

Monster mouth bag

Glue great big monster teeth around the opening of the bag and then draw a monster face below.

Pumpkin face stencils.

Pick up Halloween-inspired stencils, like pumpkin Jack-o-lantern faces, and use them to completely cover a Halloween bag.

Creepy fringe tassels.

Black fringe tassels can be creepy, too. Hang several from the bottom of a Halloween bag for a spooky, old-world touch.

Metallic doodles.

Doodle all over your Halloween bag with metallic-finish markers. These are especially useful to draw night sky motifs like full moons and stars.

Painted sugar skulls.

Sugar skulls are intricately painted and gifted to children in Mexico for Día de los Muertos, and you can use the look on Halloween bags, too, by first drawing a white skull then decorating it.

Paired with a costume.

Halloween bag decoration ideas can play off a costume, too. If you’re a witch, for example, you could make your bag look like a cauldron.

How to do even more Halloween decoration ideas yourself.

The more of these decoration ideas you do yourself, the more you can customize them to hit the perfect Halloween notes.

Lots of ideas can be done or started in Adobe Express, too. For example:

• Test tube invitations (made on Adobe Express then printed and folded into test tubes).
• Oversized banners with creepy Halloween messages.
• Halloween party announcements on paper that looks burnt.
• Custom cards as “ghostly greeting” to friends and family.
• Halloween letters, like a vampire’s welcome to a seasonal escape room.
• Posters and flyers for all those ghastly Halloween gatherings.
• Photo collages or 3D ones with layers of plastic spiders and cheesecloth glued to images of Halloweens past.
• Halloween calendars with a countdown to the big day.
• Instagram stories and social media posts to feature all your decorations.

Exercise: Find inspiration in unexpected places.

Halloween decoration ideas aside, you can honestly find creepy inspiration everywhere. The thinnest thread of imagination can pull you in, transforming seeming daily things into ominous Halloween ideas.

Here’s how to find Halloween inspiration from your everyday surroundings:

It’s easy to turn the mundane into macabre. Try your hand and have fun thinking of even more Halloween decoration ideas this year.

Adobe Express can help.

Adobe Express has templates and customization tools to put your favorite Halloween decoration ideas to work. If you want to use these Halloween decoration ideas in cards, letters, posters, banners, collages, flyers, invitations, or other creative projects, Adobe Express makes it as simple as picking a template and personalizing it, or making your own idea with easy-to-use tools. Whatever message you want to transmit, Adobe Express brings it to life, no experience required.

Design with your idea