Nothing more disappointing than buying all that candy (some of it even ‘king-sized’), maybe dressing up a bit — yet too few little monsters come to visit your house. Boo.

Maybe it’s simply not haunted enough.

Sure, there’s the requisite decorations INSIDE the home, but the ghostboys and ghouliegirls are walking the neighborhood OUTSIDE. If only there was an outdoor billboard-type way to say “Come on in! The candy’s fine!”

So that no one is stuck eating too much left-over candy (although there are pros and cons to this), here are 6 creative ways to advertise the outside of your home as a real “destination” for trick-or-treaters.

Petrifying pallets

Using some old wooden pallets, paints in Halloween colors (pumpkin orange, witch green, midnight black and ghost white), and a little imagination, you can create those “billboards” to entice foot-traffic to your front door.

Tips

• A coat of basic white first will make the second coat of base color appear and adhere better; alternatively, use two coats of the color base – make sure they dry
• Choose water-based paints and you can tackle the project right on your front lawn; no drop cloths required
• Sketch the design – a witch, a ghost, a pumpkin, a monster – right on the dried, solid-color pallet with a pencil first; once the design works, use black or white paint and follow the pencil marks
• The petrifying pallets are meant to ‘stand up,’ so find a location (front yard tree, lamppost, mailbox post) where they can get vertical

Ghoulish Garage

Using an open garage door as an open mouth seems a (super) natural way to make a house more haunted. As many know, it’s been ‘eating’ junk for as long as it’s been owned! Painted cardboard will do most of the heavy-lifting for this project; be sure to use a sturdy ladder when affixing the face’s elements.

Tip

• Handing out treats from the garage (instead of the front door) may be an alternate option – more decorating can be done within, and it helps alleviate doorbell and other noisy distractions if there’s a baby or family pet who prefers their Halloween nights a bit more quiet

Witch Wardrobe

Just inside your door (or just outside), use a 3-prong hanger, but instead of for coats – let your visitors know which witches live there. Hang up witch hats and black capes, arrange broomsticks and even pick up some old boots from a Goodwill or Salvation Army. And if any trick-or-treaters ask for the lady of the house…refer to the witch wardrobe and warn them she’d been ‘flying around’ tonight, but just made it back and was resting ‘for a spell.’

Frightening Front Door

Nothing says “come on in” like a ghost, mummy, or bewitched tree. Think about using the front door as a blank slate for simple decoration using paper towels, construction paper, tape, brown butcher paper, tempera paint, even toilet paper. Wicked!

Scaling Skeletons

A sturdy ladder, a spotter, and a brave soul are needed for this one – along with 3-7 ‘life-sized’ skeletons. Position their bones to make them appear they’re interacting with each other – and trying to get in.

Un-Welcome Mat

Creating this vampire’s ‘velcome’ mat is frighteningly simple. Take an old, coir welcome mat and flip it over – now it’s an open canvas for your art paint. Other than “Velcome,” consider: “Home Haunted Home,” “All Are Un-Welcome,” or the favorite “Come on in, the Candy’s Fine!”

Using any of these six ideas or a combination of them will ensure your home is the most popular trick-or-treating stop on the block.

What creative ideas do YOU have to drum up visitors on Halloween? Share (and scare) here. Thanks!