DIY Halloween Yard Decorations Put Some Scare into Your Haunt

If you've always envied the neighbors who went all out for Halloween, why not join them this year? You don't have to spend a fortune to turn your yard in a horror movie set or a creepy graveyard. Make your own fright-inducing decorations with scrap materials and cheap supplies.

Here are some DIY ideas to put some scare into your haunt:

* Crime scene tape on doors, windows, gates, or strung across the yard will give your house a forbidden feel.

* Tattered curtains blowing in the wind will add an abandoned air to your abode. Cut jagged tears into old sheers and rub them into some sand to dirty them up a bit before hanging them on the outside of your windows.

* Construct ghoulish gravestones using scrap plywood (if you're handy with a saw) or stiff cardboard. For chilling epitaphs, use the dark side of your imagination or consult a website like howl2000. Buy a skeleton head to make a graveyard sentry for under $5 online or spring for a whole skeleton.

* Spread a bag or two of fresh topsoil unevenly on a grave-size plot. Use whatever convenient materials you have on hand to construct the grave's unearthed occupant much as you would construct a scarecrow. A life-size doll head is ideal but lacking that you can ad lib with a ball, wig and mask. Use make-up and dirt to give your corpse a decaying look. Alternative to a full corpse including the head or hands reaching out of the grave or bones scattered on the freshly overturned grave dirt.

* There are no better yard monsters for Halloween than those that give the illusion of being statues - until an unwary trick-or-treater approaches and gets the scare of his life as the monster reaches for him, gurgling, howling, or grunting. And there's no better place to find * free * monsters ready for dress up than your own family room.

* A witch's circle demarcated with tealights will give trick-or-treaters a chill as they contemplate the mysterious happenings afoot. Feed their imagination by leaving the witch's discarded hat and broom alongside magic items such as jars of dessicated potions, a pentagram, ouija board or voodoo doll. A cauldron dispersing powerful scents will add to the occult atmosphere.

* Drip ectoplasm slime from doorways and gravestones.

* Eerie lighting and sound effects will complete your nightmare yardscape. If you're willing to spend $50-60, a texture projector creates an ominous visual effect. Floodlights, black lights, strobe lights, and jack-o-lanterns are other popular lighting options.