For some, decorating for Halloween is a once-a-year haunt; for others, it’s a lifestyle. Here at Spirit Halloween, we’re firm believers in the notion that it’s not when you decorate but how you do it that matters. Still on the hunt for your unique Halloween aesthetic? No sweat! There’s a whole, wicked-cool world of Halloween looks to choose from, and it’s just a matter of finding the one you like most. To get those creative juices flowing, we’ve conjured up a list of thirteen of our favorite aesthetics. But be warned – we take our craft seriously!
A Touch of Eerie Elegance
You have refined taste, so why not opt for a Halloween décor style that matches? Think tapered candles, rich damask fabrics, and spider webs that gleam like fine silver.
1. Conjure Up a Witches’ Coven
So, you want to give your space the magic touch? This is the look for you. Witchy aesthetics are a natural choice for Halloween lovers looking to enchant their guests with their decorating expertise all season long – and the beauty of it is that there are so many different ways to tailor it to your specific style! Witchcore is so much more than pointy hats and cauldrons; there are cosmic witches, sea witches, crystal witches, green witches, and so many more practices that you can respectfully pay homage to with your decorating. Common themes among most types of witchy décor include pentagrams, dried herbs, potions and bottles, spell books, lunar motifs, and natural imagery like insects, owls, snakes, mushrooms, and ravens. You want your display to have a lived-in feel, like your home is a cozy sorceress’s workshop with ingredients, tools, and specimens strewn about.
2. Victorian Gothic: Creating a Manor of Nightmares
Admit it – the Victorians were as morbid as it gets. Post-mortem photography? A death culture with elaborate, drawn-out mourning practices? A sharp rise in gruesome killings and bodysnatching? It’s no wonder that so much of our modern understanding of the Gothic comes from the nineteenth century. To achieve the full Victorian look with your gothic décor, opt for intricate lace banners and tablecloths, ornate candelabras, and wall art fashioned after antique portraits. Keep in mind that the Victorian era directly coincided with the Industrial Revolution. Everyday life was loud, bustling, and crowded – and to put it plainly, Victorians were obsessed with the mass production and consumption of stuff. That being said, the authentic Victorian household is far from minimalist. Aim for a cluttered kind of look; display clusters of web-laden potion bottles and decanters, throw some dusty books into the mix, and BAM! You’re partying like it’s October 31st, 1870.
3. Turn Up the Heat with Southern Gothic
A subset of the Victorian Gothic aesthetic, Southern Gothic focuses on horror themes and aesthetics relating to the American South. While it may not be as well-known as its more general Victorian counterpart, you may have seen parts of it in movies and books, or even in real life; if you’ve ever seen the rotting husk of a decaying plantation house, ghostly figures on an old country road, or mysterious entities lurking in a swamp or bayou, then you have sampled a taste of Southern Gothic. If you’re looking to ace this aesthetic, you’ll want to look for similar décor as you would for Victorian Gothic, but with a distinct regional flair. Carve a spine-chilling jack-o-lantern and pair it with a blood-stained pitchfork for a creepy-country vibe. Or, splurge on spiritual décor for a Halloween vibe that looks straight out of Louisiana – but do so respectfully. When in doubt, you can always draw inspiration from popular licenses that embrace elements of Southern Gothic, such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Disney’s The Haunted Mansion.
Ghosts of Halloween Past and Future
How about a blast to the past? Or some good, futuristic frights? Whether you decide to decorate like it’s 1950 or 3050, these vibes are nothing short of timeless.
4. Midcentury Macabre
If you like to celebrate Halloween the old-fashioned way, this is the look for you. Imagine trays of sweet candy apples, autumn leaves twirling in the wind, grinning jack-o-lanterns, pointed black witch hats, and cheerful black and orange plastic decorations: a 1950s-style Halloween is the ultimate treat. Effortlessly rock some 50s whimsy by displaying one of our vintage door knockers and repurposing your favorite vintage Halloween masks as wall décor! You want your space’s atmosphere to be warm, inviting, and full of charm – but with just the slightest touch of spookiness. Make it your own by blending it with cozy harvest aesthetics, or lean further into the realm of retro-style horror by incorporating classic monsters like werewolves and vampires into your decorating repertoire.
5. Classic Horror: Inspiration from the Silver Screen
The best scares are the classic ones. This aesthetic draws inspiration from early horror cinema of the twentieth century, as well as horror icons in classic literature. Think of characters like Frankenstein and Dracula, both in their original literary depictions and on-screen debuts in the 1930s and 1940s. Give your space a vintage feel by decking it out in iconography inspired by Universal Monsters, or go for more of a retro-slasher vibe by drawing inspiration from films like Friday the 13th and Halloween. The result should go easier on the gore than a typical horror-inspired display, but maintain a good balance of fun and frights. Put up some cobwebs, sport a jack-o-lantern or two, and create an aesthetic that reminds everyone of why the classics are the best. Or, take your horror decorating game to the next level, grab some chains and body parts, and transform your space into Frankenstein’s laboratory!
6. Space-Age Screams
Whether you’re opting for a retro-futuristic vibe or want to go full Y3K with your decorating, choosing a science fiction-themed Halloween aesthetic is a great way to set your décor apart from the rest. Switch out your standard orange and black decorations for shades of chrome – when trying to master the sci-fi vibe, metallics are your best friend! Transform your space into an Area 51 specimen lab with funky jars and alien skeletons, or take inspiration from your favorite movies and shows with officially licensed merch and décor from licenses like Mars Attacks!. You can even take inspiration from sci-fi horror classics like John Carpenter’s The Thing and set the stage for a gory science-inspired scene of your own, mixing body parts and fake blood in with, say, the wreckage of a space expedition gone awry. Your options are as limitless as the stars above!
Bold, Bright, & Bloody
Hardcore Halloween lovers know that true decorating isn’t for the faint of heart. Bring on the blood, guts, and in-your-face fear: you’re ready for some thrills.
7. Gore Galore
Right up there with Victorian Gothic as a Halloween décor classic, gory displays are all the rage once October rolls around. Think of bloody, dismembered limbs hanging by rusted chains; doors and windows blocked off with bright yellow caution tape; a terrifying animatronic lurking within the thick smoke of a fog machine, contorting its mangled, rotting body and luring passersby to their doom. Creating a horror-inspired aesthetic is a pretty straightforward business – the true challenge is designing one that really amps up the fear factor. Our pro tip? Make sure it’s all cohesive. Consider an aesthetic within an aesthetic: what kind of gore do you want? A nuclear wasteland? A mad scientist’s lab? A bloody crime scene? Once you have your specific vibe pinned down, the rest falls into place.
8. A Circus of Scares
What can we say? We’re suckers for a scary circus (or, should we say, a Carnevil?). There’s something about the eerie jingle of distorted circus music, the muddled chorus of laughter and screams, and the chilling juxtaposition of a smiling clown holding a bloodied knife that gives us goosebumps like no other. Opt for bright colors and stripes in your decorating. You want to create a fun and vibrant atmosphere – and then transform it into the fun fair of your nightmares by adding a (dis)tasteful splash of gore to the mix. And, of course, no Halloween circus display is complete without a clown animatronic or two! Choose from our collection of original characters, or explore our collection of clown-inspired licenses like Terrifier!
9. Cutthroat Camp
Before you say anything – no, we’re not talking about camping (though we suppose that you could, in theory, create a campground-inspired horror scene a la Friday the 13th). Here, the term “camp” is used to describe an aesthetic similar to maximalism in terms of its excess and exaggeration, but takes the idea even further with its emphasis on subversive humor and ironic gaudiness. Think of it this way: if your Halloween display looks like something out of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), you’ve got the campy vibe down and mastered. Deck your space out in bright colors, glitter, and photos of your favorite pop culture icons (bonus points if they’re camp horror figures like the stars of Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (1988)) – the tackier, the better. In the wild and wonderful world of camp, over-the-top is the name of the game.
Soft and Sweet Spooks
There’s no shame in having a sweet tooth when it comes to your décor tastes. The scary stuff isn’t for everyone – and if we’re being honest, we’re softies at heart, too.
10. Halloween Harvest (or, Pumpkin Chic)
If you’re looking for a vibe that you can display as early as September and keep up throughout the fall season, pumpkins are the way to go. Who would’ve thought that a simple trip to the farmer’s market could transform your home’s look? Imagine porches illuminated by jack-o-lanterns, colorful gourds heaped up on tables and mantles, all of the autumn harvest’s bounty on display in hues of rust, gold, and orange. Add some warm white and orange string lights and a few pumpkin-inspired décor pieces to the mix for a look that gives you that fuzzy, homey feel. Throw in some candles and a few cobwebs to give your space a subtle country-gothic charm. Or, better yet, alternate between both as the season goes on. The beauty of a pumpkin-chic décor theme is its versatility!
11. A Taste of Bubblegum Horror
When it comes to this aesthetic, think pink! Bubblegum horror, also known as pink horror, takes classic ghouls, gore, and gothic iconography and gives them a pastel twist. While some people refer to it as a “feminized” subgenre of horror, we want to make one thing clear: this aesthetic is for everyone! If you want the whole horror aesthetic without all the harsh blood and guts, bubblegum horror is sure to satisfy your decorating sweet tooth. Switch out your orange pumpkins and blood-stained hockey masks for gourds and knick-knacks in shades of pastel pink, baby blue, and warm white. Or, if you want a space that’s as cute as it is deadly, feel free to throw a bloody tchotchke or two into the mix.
12. Cozy & Creepy-Cute
Whether you want to go easy on the creepy and all-in on the cute or are looking to achieve a look that warms your heart just as much as it chills your spine, you can’t go wrong with these three c’s. Fill your space with cuddly Halloween-themed plush toys, and when choosing your décor pieces, consider wide-eyed ghosties, fuzzy black cats, and chubby orange pumpkins with beaming grins. Ramp up the cuddliness factor once the sun goes down by displaying lanterns with a warm glow and snuggling up with a fleece blanket and pillows while watching your favorite movies. Your home will be the place to be for a cozy autumn evening!
13. Eerie Eclecticism
This one is more of an honorable mention – with this aesthetic, mixing and matching is the name of the game. An eclectic aesthetic combines a little bit of everything, which makes it perfect for anyone who is indecisive about how they want to decorate their space. Why choose between Victorian Gothic and sci-fi when you can have the best of both? Why choose between scary and sweet when you can combine them to create something new? At the end of the day, Halloween decorating is about displaying your best spooky self. It’s your space – go wild with it!
Did you get chills, too? Or was that just us? We can’t help it – Halloween decorations are kind of our thing. We hope that this guide was able to give you a clearer picture of how you want your space to look this Halloween season. And if it has, what’re you waiting for? It’s never too soon to start decorating. For more Halloween inspiration, spooky pop culture content, and updates on all things Spirit, be sure to keep haunting the Spirit Halloween Blog!
