Wall of eerie family portraits. A wall adorned with unsettling family portraits can be very effective and help take that “creepy” factor up a notch. The internet offers a wide variety of free images that you can choose from, download, and print. Or, if you’d rather have a more polished look, Amazon has some cool options.

Lots of candles. There’s no denying that a room full of lit candles, flickering and crackling, gives off a spooky vibe. Buuuut, this can also be somewhat of a fire hazard, especially if you have small children or pets. Luckily, LED candles are available in a wide range of colors and styles. I recommend choosing the ones that come with a timer feature, so you don’t have to turn them on and off every damn day or worry about battery life if you leave them on 24/7. And lemme tell ya, all of your candles springing to life at the exact same time each day adds to the haunted ambiance!

White sheets drape over furniture. This is one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to add a spooky vibe to your home. Just pop into your local thrift store, where they’re often available. Just be sure to give the sheets a thorough washing before draping them over your furniture because – well – eew. Now, you could opt for purchasing new white sheets and “aging” them yourself by giving them a nice tea bath, but that choice is entirely up to you.

Anything that blinks or has that jump scare appeal. I’m going to let your imaginations run wild with this one. It can be as simple or elaborate as you like — motion-sensor mirrors, figures, etc. But let me tell you, a small furry tarantula can really scare the shitake mushrooms out of someone! Story time: My big Bombay kitty, Wednesday, loves to play with the little plastic black spiders. She drags them all over the house, and coming across one unexpectedly definitely makes me jump!

Clocks of all sorts (especially the loud tickers). Trust me on this one. A few years ago, we hosted an “Alice in Wonderland” themed Halloween party and went a little nuts with purchasing clocks and teapots. Again, you can likely find these items at your local thrift stores. There’s nothing quite like the eerie sound of ticking clocks filling a room (or two). There are also some pretty cool DIY projects available for making your own grandfather clock. (Spoiler alert: I’ll be sharing a couple of those DIYs in a future blog.)