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Halloween is coming: 12 wicked ways to make your home creepy
Delight in the devilish, says Sam Wylie-Harris.
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Your support makes all the difference.With a wicked weekend on the cards and an extra hour to be creative – the clocks go back on Halloween this year – dressing your little house of horrors with spine-chilling decos is frightfully fun!
To set the scene as darkness falls and get into the spooky spirit, we’ve rounded up some hauntingly good homewares for at-home costume dramas. Whether it’s pumpkin-carving with the kids or a gruesome grown-up get-together on the cards…
1. Haunted House Outdoor Halloween Lantern, £18.99, Lights4fun
When an eerie dusk starts to fall and first flocks of trick-or-treaters set out with their sweetie buckets, this flickering LED lantern will lead them straight to your door. Designed for outdoor use, grown-ups will appreciate its ghoulish silhouettes too.
2. Halloween Pumpkin Stickers by All Her Glory £6.50 each, Notonthehighstreet.com
With six spooky designs to choose from, these vinyl stickers are boo-tifully easy to pop on pumpkins, and a quick fix if you want to save your Jack-o’-lanterns for pumpkin pie and soup.
3. Halloween Toast Jelly Snakes Small Old Bowl, £18.95; Personalised Wild Mushrooms Small Mug, from £15.95; Wild Mushrooms 3 Mug Teapot, £49.95, Emma Bridgewater.co.uk
All those frightfully good foodie treats will taste that much better in themed tableware, not to mention a wicked cuppa from a fairy-tale toadstool teapot.
4. Spiderweb with Golden Spider (in fireplace), £2.49; Black & White Decorating Kit, £14.99; Cat Skeleton, £22.99, PartyDelights.co.uk
When it comes to firing the imagination, you can’t beat a mysterious mantelpiece to build your web of intrigue. But the good news is, these flying bats, creepy crows and skeletons can be placed around an entertainment centre to equal effect if you’re minus a mantel.
5. Pumpkin Cookware Medium Casserole Dish, £24, Next.co.uk
A cornerstone for Halloween celebrations is a hot pot pie, steaming chilli, or monster of a macaroni cheese to ward off those winter chills… Think of the screams of delight when this pumpkin casserole dish lands on the table.
6. Poundland Halloween items: from £1 each for Light up Skulls and Glitter Light Up Candles, to £5 each for Sitting Skeletons and Led Lanterns, Poundland.co.uk
A one-stop shop for petrifyingly good deals, Poundland have you backed when it comes to spine-chilling set pieces and creepy-crawlies.
7. Set of 4 Halloween Felt Placemats, £8, Next.co.uk
Playful pranks such as laying the table with themed placemats and ghostly tealights will keep the whole family entertained. A Halloween table runner and cobwebs will encourage the skulduggery and fun antics well into the witching hour.
8. Magic Potion Halloween Wine Goblets by Dibor, £24.95, Notonthehighstreet.com
Friend or foe, your party guests will love a bloodcurdling glass of red wine served from a gothic goblet. This set of four features two ‘Wicked Purple’ and ‘Gothic Amethyst’ designs, and they’re an ideal size for creepy cocktails too.
9. DecorCandleUK Skull Snake Décor Candle, from £15.99; Skull Sculpture Candle, £10.99, Etsy.com
Even Count Dracula would covet these artisan gothic candles, hand-poured and made using all natural ingredients. Available in unscented or sandalwood vanilla, presented in a gift box and a natural bedfellow with Halloween coffin props.
10. Halloween Coffin And Zombie Hand Donut Stand, £13 Urbanoutfitters.com
Crying out for sweet treats such as doughnuts (Krispy Kreme have a special Krispy Skremes Halloween dozen in the offing), this zombie arm stand is mounted on a coffin-shaped doughnut wall… A real scream.
11. Skeleton Jewellery Stand, £33.99, Wayfair.co.uk
So you’ve got the decos nailed, but how about accessorising your costume drama? More than a bag of bones, these frightening fingers can be adjusted to flaunt prized jewels such as a vampire’s wife cocktail ring or charm bracelet. Darkly decadent.
12. Halloween Fairy Lights by Lights4fun, £16.99, Notonthehighstreet.com
Cute as candy, we love these sweetly-spooky shapes set against an autumnal garland strewn with rich foliage. With four Halloween characters illuminated by a warm white LED light, it’s fearsomely fun with 1.65m of cable to play with.
Looking for more Halloween inspiration? Check out our tried and tested best kids’ halloween costume round-up.