Set the scene for Halloween with pimped up pumpkins and haunting homeware, says Sam Wylie-Harris.
With ‘Halloween at home’ falling on a Saturday, and our own personal sanctuaries setting the stage for the spookiest night of the year – will a full moon in the offing – the idea of creating a little house of horrors has never been so bewitching.
Want to set the scene for Halloween? Here’s how to spin a web of intrigue and get to grips with ghoulish goodies…
1. Pack of Five Halloween Confetti Balloons, £6.95, Graham & Green
Stringing beastly balloons together with black ribbon is a wicked way to dress up the entrance hall for trick-or-treaters, especially when they’re filled with confetti disguised as creepy-crawlies, bats and bugs.
2. Wallsource 70614579 Wallpaper Mural, from £29 per square metre, Wallsource.com
Move over Zoom backgrounds… if you really want to capture the chilling mood of Halloween virtual parties, a wallpaper mural is where it’s at. Made-to-measure and printed on demand to your dimensions, this wonder wall of jack-o’-lanterns in a spine-chilling graveyard is a real scream!
3. Sainsbury’s Home Halloween Collection: Skull Paper Plates, £1 for Pack of 8; Skeleton Arm Shot Holder, £5; Skull Beer Stein, £2; Black Ombre Plastic Wine Glass, £2; Skeleton Platter, £2 (other items from a selection or part of room set), larger Sainsbury’s stores
Devilishly good dining ideas, such as dressing the table with a little skulduggery, keeps adults entertained, as well as the kids. Themed treats, nibbles, skull-shaped snacks and hot dogs topped with gory ketchup will look so much better on a spooky black plate (not to mention wicked wines and shots served in black stemware).
4. Staub 24cm Pumpkin Cast Iron Cocotte Cinnamon, £259 (other items from a selection or part of room set), Zwilling
Not just a one-night wonder, pumpkins are a firm favourite on autumnal menus, all season long. For rustic-style table settings and those devilishly delicious pumpkin soups, curries and stews, nothing beats an eye-catching pumpkin cocotte (with black matte enamelled interior) taking centre stage. Suitable for hobs as well as the oven, it’s also ideal for rustling up a sauce for your pumpkin gnocchi.
5. Emma Bridgewater Halloween Themed Cobwebs and Midnight Spiders 1/2 Pint Mugs, £19.95 each, Emma Bridgewater
When you want to cup your hands around a warming hot chocolate or mulled pear and cranberry punch, only a generously sized mug – that can cope with a topping of frothy cream and cinnamon – will do. These creepy cups are ideal for Halloween hunkering on the sofa.
6. Gold Mercury LED Glass Pumpkin, £29.99 (other items from a selection or part of room set), Lights4Fun
When it comes to glamourous, ghostly ‘shelfies’ and tablescaping, a pumpkin with pizzazz makes a super stylish addition. This one’s made from extra fine glass and will proffer a shimmery, moonlit glow.
7. TruGlow Pumpkin LED Autumn Candle Trio, £19.99, Lights4Fun
Alternatively, this flickering trio made from real wax can be styled with berries, greenery and moss, or placed in the window to project shadows and illuminate your spine-chilling decos.
8. Nordic Ware Haunted Skull Cake Pan, £40.80, and Skull Cakelet Pan, £40 (other items part of room set), Harts of Stur
Don’t trust your cake-carving skills to whip up a beastly bake? Then these skull-shaped cake pans will do the job. Conjure up a red velvet skull and after it’s cooled, serve the cream cheese icing on the side, with gooey, chocolate eyeballs.
9. George Home Multi Halloween Dogs Reversible Duvet Set, from £10, Direct.asda.com
Come witching hour, when things start to go bump in the night, your Halloween costume party doesn’t have to end. Treat the bed to some spooky dressing up too.
10. Johnson & White London 2 Wick Candle, from £53, Johnson & White Aromas
For some grown-up black magic, you can up your squash game by spray-painting baby pumpkins black then hand lettering them in gold. Styled with a decadent candle, scented with bergamot, juniper, heady jasmine and hint of earthy patchouli, chances are you’ll be enchanted.
11. The Halloween Window Stencil Pack (42cm x 42cm), £9.99 (was £20), Snow Windows
It may be a little unnerving for onlookers, but when darkness falls, this wicked window display will certainly set the scene. To create this haunting, misty scene, position the stencil on the window, spray over with a can of Snow Spray (£3), peel off and wait for the squeals.