Spooky Season Starts Now

Some people wait until October to start decorating for Halloween.

Those people have more patience than I do.

The first hint of fall is enough for me to start thinking about candlelight, black lace, pumpkins, creepy little things hiding on shelves, and all the ways an ordinary room can become just a little darker.

And no—you don't need a garage full of plastic skeletons or a Halloween-store budget to do it.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be sharing some of my favorite DIY decorations, spooky recipes, inexpensive finds and slightly questionable ideas for making the most of the season.

We'll start easy.

Seven ways to let spooky season into your house before October ever gets here.

— Syn

1. Start With What You Already Own

Before you buy another plastic skeleton—and yes, I'm aware that's asking a lot—look around your house.

Black picture frames, old glass bottles, candleholders, dark books, baskets, dried flowers and even ordinary jars can become Halloween decorations when you group them together differently.

One of my favorite tricks is ridiculously simple: take something you already own and make it slightly strange.

Wrap a little black lace or inexpensive webbing around a pumpkin. Put an old key inside a glass jar. Fill a vase with bare branches instead of flowers. Move a few dark-colored books onto a shelf with candles and one weird object you found at a thrift store.

Don't decorate every inch of the room.

Give the eye one little place to wonder what happened there.

That's usually creepier anyway.

2. Put Something Strange Under Glass

There's something about putting an ordinary object under glass that immediately makes it look like it probably shouldn't be touched.

Grab an old mason jar, thrift-store vase, apothecary-style bottle or any interesting glass container you already have.

Now fill it with something unexpected.

Dried leaves. Twisted branches. Old keys. Black feathers. A tiny plastic skeleton. Scraps of aged-looking paper. Even dead flowers that you were probably supposed to throw away three days ago.

Add a little twine around the top if you want, then place it somewhere people don't expect to find it—a bathroom shelf, kitchen counter or beside a stack of books.

Don't label it.

That's important.

If somebody asks what's inside, just look at the jar for a second and say:

“You probably don't want to know.”

Decorating complete.

3. Turn Off the Big Light

If you want your house to feel different for spooky season, start with the easiest decorating trick of all.

Turn off the big light.

Seriously.

Table lamps, battery candles, string lights and a few small pools of warm light can completely change a room.

Put a little light behind a plant or underneath a shelf. Let one corner stay darker than usual.

Move a lamp somewhere it doesn't normally belong.

And if you're using candles around fabric, dried leaves or decorations, use flameless LED candles instead. We're trying to make the house look haunted—not actually burn it down.

You don't need darkness everywhere. The trick is creating shadows and little pockets of light that make familiar things look slightly unfamiliar.

Suddenly that ordinary plant in the corner looks suspicious.

Good. Leave it that way.

4. Make the House Smell Like Something Happened

A room can look perfect and still not feel like spooky season.

That's where scent comes in.

Cinnamon, clove, orange peel, vanilla, apple and a little nutmeg can make an ordinary house feel like October surprisingly fast.

You can use a fall candle, wax warmer or room spray—or keep it ridiculously simple with a stovetop simmer pot.

Add orange slices, a couple of cinnamon sticks and a few whole cloves to a small pot of water and let it simmer gently on low. Keep an eye on the water level and never leave it unattended.

Within a few minutes, your house starts smelling like fall showed up early.

And because this is Florida, where August sometimes feels approximately three feet from the surface of the sun, we're allowed to fake autumn indoors.

The weather will catch up eventually.

Probably.

5. Go Thrifting for Things That Look Slightly Cursed

Halloween decorations don't have to come from the Halloween aisle.

In fact, some of the best ones probably shouldn't.

Check thrift stores for old mirrors, brass candleholders, strange picture frames, vintage glassware, wooden boxes, unusual figurines and paintings that make you wonder who originally owned them.

Don't look for something labeled “Halloween.”

Look for something that makes you stop and think:

“Why is this $3.99…and why do I feel like it knows my name?”

That's the one.

An old frame can hold a creepy printed portrait. A brass candlestick looks completely different with a black flameless candle. A strange little figurine suddenly becomes interesting when it's sitting alone on a bookshelf.

The best part is that your decorations won't look exactly like everybody else's.

And if the antique mirror whispers your name later that night…

Keep the receipt.

6. Make Dessert Look Suspicious

You don't need an elaborate Halloween recipe to make something look like it belongs at a spooky-season party.

Start with something ridiculously easy: brownies.

Bake your favorite brownies—homemade or from a box. I won't tell anyone.

Once they're cool, cut them into squares and add a little chocolate frosting. Crush a few chocolate sandwich cookies into fine crumbs and sprinkle them over the top to look like dirt.

Then stick a small cookie into each brownie like a crooked little gravestone.

If you want to get ambitious, pipe RIP onto the cookies with icing. If it looks imperfect, even better. Cemeteries aren't known for their precision decorating.

Add a couple of candy pumpkins or gummy worms if you're feeling dramatic.

That's it.

Tiny edible graveyards.

Easy enough for a Tuesday night and strange enough that nobody will accuse you of making ordinary brownies.

Unless you eat three before anybody sees them.

In that case, there were never any brownies.

We understand each other.

7. Start a Spooky Tradition

The best part of spooky season isn't really the decorations.

It's having an excuse to make ordinary nights feel a little less ordinary.

Pick one thing that becomes your thing every fall.

Maybe Friday night becomes horror-movie night. Make popcorn, turn off the lights and finally watch that movie you've been saying you'll watch for three years.

Take an evening drive looking for the best Halloween decorations in town. Build a spooky-season playlist. Visit a local haunted attraction. Wander through an antique store. Try a ridiculous Halloween recipe. Or get a few friends together and tell the strangest true stories you know,

It doesn't have to cost much—or anything.

Just make it something you'll miss when November arrives.

Because eventually the pumpkins disappear, the decorations go back into boxes and everyone starts pretending it's perfectly reasonable to play Christmas music before Thanksgiving.

Until then, this is our season.

And maybe this year, make Bone & Palm part of your spooky-season tradition too.

We'll be here with strange places to explore, local legends to uncover, creepy things to make, ridiculous things to eat, and plenty of reasons to keep the lights on a little later than usual.

Come back often. Bring your friends. And if something weird happens along the way…

you know where to find us.

Make it weird.

— Syn