Last October, my kids informed me — on October 28th — that our house was “the boring one” on the block. Every neighbor had skeletons, cobwebs, orange lights. We had a pumpkin. One pumpkin.

I had three days. No budget for the expensive stuff at the party store. Here is what I made — and what actually looked good.

Ghosts From Old Sheets (Free)

This is the classic for a reason. Stuff an old white sheet with plastic grocery bags for the head, tie a string around the neck, and hang it from a tree branch or porch beam. Draw on eyes with a black marker. Done in five minutes.

I made four of these. Two went in the front yard trees, two on the porch. At dusk with the porch light behind them, they looked genuinely spooky. Total cost: zero dollars.

Milk Jug Skulls

Wash out a gallon milk jug, draw a skull face on the front with a black permanent marker, and cut a hole in the back. Put a battery-operated tea light inside. At night, the plastic diffuses the light into a soft, flickering glow that looks eerie.

Line three or four of these along your walkway. They weigh nothing, so stake them down or fill the bottom with a little sand so they do not blow away.

Spider Webs From Trash Bags

Cut a black trash bag into a large circle, then cut spiraling lines from the edge toward the center, leaving about an inch between cuts. When you unfold it, you have a stretchy web. Hang these on bushes or railings with a plastic spider — the dollar store sells bags of twenty for a dollar.

Creepy Window Silhouettes

Tape black construction paper to the inside of your front windows and cut out silhouettes — a witch, a cat, a bat. When lights are on inside, the shapes are visible from the street. This takes fifteen minutes with scissors and looks way more impressive than it should.