Halloween Lighting

When it comes to the holidays, there is no denying Halloween has its own unique vibe full of chills and thrills. Much like the Christmas season with its dazzling displays, Halloween plays on elements of lighting to create the spooky appeal. Here are a few tips to remember when hanging your Halloween lighting this year!

1. Switch to black lights

One of the easiest ways to add some Halloween lighting is to switch out regular bulbs for black light bulbs. These bulbs offer a playful appeal by turning any area into a glow environment by highlighting certain colors to create a glow in the dark vibe. Most fixtures and lamps can easily be switched to black light from the living room for a Halloween party to the front porch to add some extra spooks for the trick or treaters.

2. Light by room for a spooky effect

When it comes to creating a spooky effect, it’s important to keep in mind the way the house will look through the windows from the exterior. A fun way to add some extra spook to the mix is to light the interior in a way that gives off a spooktacular effect with colored bulbs such as adding purple or green in the upstairs rooms and red lamps in the lower level rooms for a Halloween night display that is sure to make your house the spookiest on the street.

3. Play with shadows

When it comes to Halloween lighting, sometimes less is more. While Christmas lights should be bright and the more the merrier, Halloween themes can use the absence of light to great effect to create a shadowy and spooky vibe. When using Halloween lights, you can easily create something special by stringing up your favorite orange lights by the front door and leaving the porch light turned off to create a dim and darkly lit magic perfect for this holiday. Another way to use shadows to the benefit of your decorations is to consider adding a few well-placed spotlights with colored lenses which can illuminate the free-standing displays of your front yard display while also casting a few shadows for added effect.

4. Keep extensions cords out of the way for safety

While the matter of achieving the right balance of spooks and scares is key to this holiday, safety should never be sacrificed to achieve the end result. When working with holiday lighting, especially in an outdoor setting where you need to cover more ground and outlets are limited, extension cords are inevitable. Make sure care and consideration are taken to keep the extension cords off of walkways, sidewalks, or driveways to avoid any trip and fall accidents. When running cords, you can also tape them down to make sure they stay in place which can prevent issues.

5. Check for indoor/outdoor ratings

It is important when building your Halloween lighting plan to check the ratings of the lights before decorating. There are certain strings of lights which are rated for indoor use and will not be able to stand up in the outdoors. While most outdoor rated holiday lights are safe to use indoors as well, you should still check even if you are only decorating the interior of your home for Halloween.