Halloween Outdoor Tour 2023 🕸

This is my absolute favorite time of the year. I was never a summer person. Don't like swimming, don't like bathing suits, being hot, bugs, etc.  I enjoy cooler temps, flannel shirts, gardening outside and not sweating profusely.  Decorating for the holidays. All of the things that come along with Fall. Pumpkin Spice coffee, apple picking, Fall leaf peeping, etc. etc.  In July and August I was so bored with summer that I started making gravestones out of foam board and we had a lot left over so we made some pillars too.   Joe cut out the designs for me with his saw and I took on the painting and design on the computer and using a Dremel to etch in the letters. I had a lot of fun seeing how professional they ended up looking. Much better than hand lettering words.   I am still tweaking a few things outside and have yet to add pumpkins but here is how it looks on Oct. 2nd.  🕸

I will say we did not invent the wheel when it came down to the technique. Sure we tweaked a few things here and there but for the most part we followed this guy on Youtube.  I changed the gray paint for example because I couldn't find what he used in the store.  I also added white plastic urn pots to the top of our pillars with glamorous skulls and faux Halloween flowers to the pots. Gives it a classy look!  I found black plastic chain from Lowes and two hooks to create a little gate. 

On either side of the pillars I added Shepard Hooks from the garden center at Lowes with two hanging solar lanterns.   We sprinkled bits of moss everywhere.

We still have the full size wooden coffin and wooden stakes we made from old pallets from last year. Added some faux moss to the front flower pots and of course classic Fall Mums. 

My favorite tombstone is the Bram Stoker one. It's size and shape and are so classic.

These were the only two tombstones that we have left from year's past.  The others suffered splitting over the years so we finally discarded them.

Geneva Oedlia Hilliker Ellroy's grave.  She is the mother of famous crime novelist James Ellroy, murdered while on a date when he was just a little boy.  Weird story -she lived in my Grandparent's rental house and my grandparent's had to identify her body down at the local morgue!  

Cliff Burton's grave.  He was a former member of Metallica, died in a bus accident in Sweden while they were on tour. 

Joey Jordison's grave.  Former member of Slipknot. 

Thomas Midgley Jr. - "had more adverse impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth's history." RIP

Don't google this guy, H.H. Holmes if you don't want to be mortified! He is claimed to be America's first serial killer. 

Sarah Good, you all know her from the Salem Witch trials.

This flower bed was redone this year so it has a smaller footprint than last year, but I was able to still fit the circle of Orange C9 lights just fine. I added some flickering lights to the outside. 

New this year is the Halloween doormat.  I think I have a thing for Spider's.

Our hanging lanterns have LED flame bulbs in them and they add the right amount of spookiness to the porch.

I found some purple and yellow mums at the the nursery and the fountain grass adds a nice fall touch.  New this year too are corn husks added to the pots in the backrow. Still need pumpkins to round out this area.

One of my favorite new touches this year are the curtains that I hung from the porch. Instead of buying muslin fabric or Halloween specific curtains I went to the At Home store and found six sheer gray 95" curtains. I cut up the bottoms and added some tears. My kid had fun splattering red paint to a few of them and some bloody handprints.  We bought small PVP pipe that we cut to fit exactly between each porch pillar and hung them on hooks that we leave up year round for our Christmas lights. When the wind blows they sure do look creepy!

👀 If you notice we have a new garden flag -an Etsy splurge with a cool early 1900's Hill House font. 

Our Dead and Breakfast sign still holding up after all these years.  One of my favorite past decorations.

Obviously I need to do a few touch ups, light straightening out the these lights, but I was so excited to post pics! Our Hydrangeas are drying out nicely and turning brown. Will leave for the creepy factor. 

My terminator Skeleton as I like to call him is chillin' on the porch now, but I move him around a few times a month. Can you spot Chucky in the window?

I left my hanging ferns because they remind me of the Haunted Mansion at Disney. 

Here's the yard, pretty much all lit up at night!  I added lots of solar lights because it really helps at night for the Trick Or Treaters to see the decorations.  I think my neighbor's at this point think we're pretty obnoxious.  😁

In the backyard we have a more peaceful vibe -a metal pumpkin lantern, cute Sanderson Sister Hocus Pocus throw pillows and cozy Pendleton blankets.  But don't wander out into the yard, you might run into a ghost or two!

 Happy October and Happy Halloween....!

xo
Cathleen