Many people think of getting up lights and decorations for the winter holidays, but sometimes the fall holidays can get skipped over when it comes to lighting. Instead of just putting out pumpkins on the porch, why not do something really fun and extraordinary with Halloween outdoor lighting? The biggest rule for Halloween decorations and lighting is to be creative and have fun with it!
Adding creative lighting to show off your Halloween display is extremely important for several reasons:
- If your home is too dark, kids (or their parents) might be too scared to approach.
- Having plenty of light will help protect your home from those wanting to play a trick instead of get a treat.
- The right balance of light and shadows can make all the difference between an average holiday decor display and a really amazing work of art.
Once you’ve decided to put up a Halloween lighting display, there are so many options to choose from. Get ideas by browsing photos online. Don’t forget to get the kids involved, because they may have the best ideas of all. Once you get a good idea, choosing the right lights can make a huge difference. Depending on your available time and budget, you may want to check with professional lighting decorators in your area. They will likely have put up hundreds, even thousands of displays and know a lot of the ins and outs of making yours extra special. Here are a few suggestions for great ways to use Halloween lights:
Spooky Spot Lights
The effective use of spotlights can be a great way to brighten up even the darkest and scariest display. Choose the items that are your favorites and make sure there’s a spotlight shining on them, or have a spotlight focused on a subtle side character that wouldn’t get much attention otherwise. One idea is to highlight a black cat getting ready to pounce off the top of the roof onto unsuspecting trick or treaters. Spotlights can help you tell the story of your display and direct viewer’s eyes to the areas you want them to see the most.
Batty Black Lights
Using black lights to illuminate your Halloween display can be an excellent way to transform your decorations into a truly haunting experience. This can create an especially scary effect when combined with a fog machine or dry ice floating across the scenery. For something really quick and easy that will have a big impact, simply swap your regular porch lights with black light bulbs just for the special Halloween season. For an added touch, use glow paint on gravestones, pumpkins, and other Halloween decorations, turning a drab yard into a truly enlightening and frightening experience.
Scary Strobe Lights
With their ability to disorient the senses, strobe lights can be a great way to add that final touch to your Halloween outdoor lighting display. Flash strobe lights into rising and billowing fog or steam for an extra special effect to delight the senses of unwary trick or treaters. These lights are favorites among many people and can make your home a coveted stop for many annual visitors. Do keep in mind that strobe lights shouldn’t be aimed into the eyes of pedestrians, but towards decorations and the home itself.
Jolly Jack-O-Lanterns
Some of the most memorable displays from your childhood likely had dozens of lighted pumpkins carved with fun and creepy designs, lining a path to your neighbor’s front door. If you don’t have the time to carve dozens of pumpkins or don’t want to deal with the mess, you can improvise. Try using plastic pumpkins, jack-o-lantern cut luminaria, or Halloween string lights. This creates a fun and easy display that is fast to setup and quick to take down.
Be Creative and Have Fun
No matter how elaborate you want to get, or how simple you want to keep things, you can create great Halloween lighting ideas for your annual decorations. Just start brainstorming and have fun with it. Remember when you were a kid and Halloween had that mysterious, surreal feeling about October 31st? If you were anything like the typical American kid, you couldn’t wait to dress up in your costume and go door to door getting as much candy as your heart could desire. And your best memories are likely wound up in that one home that always had a really fun and interactive Halloween display. These are great memories to conjure up when you’re thinking about what fun stuff you can do with your home and yard during the Halloween season.
