10 Halloween Door Decorating Ideas That'll Bewitch Anyone Who Passes By

Flock of Crows

Blackbirds set an unwelcoming scene when they alight around a doorway flanked with stalks of dried corn. There are two kinds of crows pictured here: Some are cut from tar paper, a weatherproof material used in roofing, and others are artificial, store-bought ones. Both perch on vines and pumpkins with the help of metal wire.

Dripping Door Number

Some houses ooze charm; come October, yours drips in blood. This macabre touch is actually just colored hot glue. Squirt the red glue right onto the edges of your digits, blowing on it to accelerate cooling and help control the drops. This scare tactic also works on mailboxes and letter slots. After the holiday, simply peel off the evidence, leaving no trace of evil behind.

Black Magic Wreath

This eery wreath comes together quickly.  To make it, lay out a dried grapevine wreath on a flat work surface. Snip your choice of faux flowers from their stems. Arrange them onto the wreath and hot glue them into place. Spray the entire wreath with black paint and let it dry completely before displaying.

Enter at Your Own Risk

To cement your reputation as the scariest house in the neighborhood, assemble our patented "nobody's home" fake-out. To begin, chalk the details of a door on black kraft paper and tape it to your real door's interior frame. Cut a hole in the middle that's just big enough to fit your arm (covered in mummy tape or a werewolf paw), and place candy below. It'll look like a mere prop—until it playfully reaches out to grab the hand of anyone sneaking an extra treat.

Bat Colony

Bats are an easy and elevated way to give your home's entrance a spooky touch this Halloween. In this display by Jenna Sue of Jenna Sue Design Co., she affixed faux bats (which you can purchase online or at a craft store) to her front door to complement her home's stone turret entrance.

Owl Guards

Searching for a stylish but slightly spooky way to greet guests this season? A pair of these "night watcher" owls cut from our template and traced onto black card stock or poster board will be a real hoot with trick-or-treaters on October 31.

Dried Wreath

Looking for a wreath that captures the spirit of the Halloween season? This wreath, made of natural air-dried maple leaves, hydrangea, wispy wheat, and ornamental branches of Chinese lantern, adds autumnal charm to your front door.

Witchy Welcome

A doorway lined with a witch's disassembled broomstick will evoke intrigue this Halloween. To recreate the look, cut raffia into 7-inch lengths and gather into small bundles; wrap one end of each bundle with masking tape to secure in a broom shape. For the garland base, cut three pieces of 1/2-inch-thick sisal rope: two pieces should be just longer than the door's sides and one just longer than its top. Then, wire a "broom" to the end of one of the long ropes with 24-gauge brass wire on a spool, and without cutting the wire, continue adding and overlapping brooms until you reach the end; repeat with other long rope.

Wriggling Snake Wreath

Get Halloween off to a screaming start with this wriggling snake wreath. Paint a grapevine wreath midnight black then affix toy snakes to it with floral wire.

Black Corn Garland

Decorate your door with the reminders of the harvest season. Soak ears of corn and their husks in water for about two minutes, then wrap the attached husks around the stem of each ear. Wrap a paper towel around the husks on each ear; secure with tape. Working in a well-ventilated area, spray-paint the corn with your choice of black paint before letting it dry completely and removing the paper towels.

Next, wrap one end of wire roll around the stem of one ear of corn. Using sections of husk from that ear and two other ears, braid husks around wire to all three ears. Add three additional pieces of husk to continue the braid; continue adding husks and braiding until the braid is a couple of inches longer than an ear of corn. Finally, add three more ears of corn by braiding sections of the husk from each ear around the wire. Continue the braid with additional husks, then repeat with one last round of three ears of corn. Wrap the end of the final braid into a loop and secure it with wire.