Creating a Haunted Lake House

It’s mid-October, and the spooky season is upon us. It’s time to pick out costumes, start planning Halloween parties, and buy endless bags of candy corn. This holiday is particularly fitting for those of us who live on the lake. When it comes to evoking a haunted, intriguing autumn feel, there’s no better environment than a fog-covered lake and a house full of Halloween decorations. Whether you’re gathering around your outdoor fire pit to tell ghost stories or turning your back porch into a pumpkin patch, the abundant trees and remote location will create the perfect spooky atmosphere. To amplify this perfect lakeside Halloween setting, we have some tips on how to turn your lake house into a fun haunted adventure.

Spooky Wreaths

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SpoOkY Bones 💀🎃🕷

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By hanging a spooky wreath, you’ll show your guests that you’re committing to the Halloween theme before they even step into your home. Like the photo above, you can invoke the Friday the 13th theme, a scary movie that takes place on the lake. Or you can create your own DIY craft. For example, you could make a black wreath with sticks jutting out in every direction, and even place a fake crow in the mix to add a spooky touch to your door. Before entering your haunted lake house, your guests will have a small taste of what to expect.

Bowls of Treats

Plastic pumpkins filled with Halloween candy
Photo courtesy of Good Housekeeping.

There’s no better way to embrace the Halloween season than with candy. During this time of year, there’s always an abundance of tasty treats at your local stores. If you prefer to make your own snacks, there are plenty of easy and fun recipes for Halloween snacks. Pick your favorite spooky treats and add them to your scary decor scheme. Whether you use small decorative bowls, pumpkins, or cauldrons to hold your tasty treats, your guests will be thankful that there are a few treats among all the tricks that your haunted lake house might play. 

Witch’s Cauldron

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One sure-fire way to ensure that spookiness is in the air at your lake house is by investing in a smoky witch’s cauldron. To set up this decoration, buy a large plastic black cauldron, suspend it with three long sticks, and add water and dry ice. Especially if it’s already an overcast day, the mysterious fog from your cauldron will create a genuinely ghostly setting for telling scary stories by the fire on your patio. If you use the same setup on the lakeside of your home, you might even impress your neighbors across the slough. 

Graveyard Tombstones

Decorative funny Halloween graveyard tombstones
Photo courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens.

A classic Halloween yard decoration that never gets old is a makeshift graveyard. You can use cardboard and spray paint to create ghostly tombstones and arrange them in your front yard or near your dock, and put them on display with spotlights. With this decoration, you can aim for laughs like in the photo above, or you can make them a little more sinister. Whichever you choose, the Fall lakeside atmosphere is sure to provide the perfect eerie backdrop for a graveyard at your haunted lake house. 

Funny Skeleton fishing on lake Halloween humor
Photo courtesy of Home is Where the Boat is.

We hope that these spooky ideas inspire you to start decorating your own lake house for Halloween. Between the chill in the air, the fog drifting over the lake, and all your creative decorations, you’ll have the perfect haunted house in no time. If you’re looking for more holiday tips and decor inspiration, make sure to check out our articles here.

Turn Your Lake Home Into a Haunted House With Halloween Decorations

The temperature is dropping, the leaves are changing and the smell of Fall is in the air. With Fall, comes one of the most exciting times of the year: Halloween!

Trick or treating, scary costumes and apple-bobbing aren’t the only things to look forward to.

Decorate for Halloween

Halloween decorations are just as fun!

haunted lake house

If you’re looking for some advice on spooking up your lake house a bit, look no further, we have some great ideas for you!

Of course, there are the classic Halloween decorations like cobwebs and fake spiders.

Adding these too your house and dock (which may already have cobwebs on it) is a surefire way to spook up an area.

Always use jack-o-lanterns, as these are super fun to make and are great decorations. Place them on your front or back porch and dock for all to see and fear!

Scarecrows are also a frightful sight, especially this time of the year! Stick a scarecrow in your yard, and it will be sure to turn some heads!

Other Spooky Ideas

Some other spooky ideas include:

Bone Door Knocker – What better way to spook your neighborhood ghouls and goblins by having a super scary door knocker? For this decorative setup, you’ll need some fake bones and a door to place them on. Knock Knock! Trick or treat!?

Witch’s Cauldron – A great idea is having a witch’s cauldron in your front yard! Buy a large plastic black cauldron, set up three long sticks to suspend it from, add water and dry ice and you’ve got yourself one spooky decoration!

Or, if you would like to impress the neighbors across the pond, use this same setup on the lakeside of your home, and add a couple of spotlights to highlight your setup!

Gothic Wreath – Make a black wreath with sticks jutting out every which way, and place a fake crow in the mix to add a spooky atmosphere to your door.

Spooky Face in the Mirror – Remove most of the paint from a mirror and stick an old portrait photo behind it. Paint the mirror frame black, and you have yourself one spooky mirror!

Graveyard Tombstones – Use cardboard and spray paint to create ghostly tombstones and stick them in your front yard, or near your dock, and put them on display with spotlights!

Window Silhouettes – Use cardboard and a sharpie to outline the shape of a ghoulish character from one of your favorite horror movies! Cut it out, stand the silhouette in your window and let the shrieks begin!

Zombie Hands in Ground – This one is a classic and surely freaks everybody out. Buy a few fake severed hands, and bury them halfway so that they stick out of the ground. These can be purchased at any Halloween store.

They can also be placed on your dock, as if the zombies are coming out of the water. Nothing is scarier on the lake than water ghouls!

But, your main focus on Halloween should always be to just have fun with it!