Halloween decorations are among the most fun and inventive. Go wild converting your ordinarily friendly house into a spooky domicile fit for ghosts and goblins.

Use everyday items or buy inexpensive supplies from local hardware and variety stores. It doesn't take much to create an eerie effect.

Pumpkins on the Porch
Carve numerous jack-o-lanterns and cluster them with whole pumpkins near your front door, on the porch, or entrance bench. Set them on leaves from the backyard or on top of a hay bale.

For safety, illuminate the pumpkins with electric lights or small flashlights instead of candles.

String strands of orange and white lights on the porch or over the top of the door to welcome the little ones. These are sold in party and hardware stores.

Spider Webs and Grave Stones
To make spider webs, cut gauze bandaging into jagged strips and crisscross them on porch railings or hang them from the eaves.

Party shops sell spider web material, too, which is easy to pull apart and drape over bushes and low tree limbs, from doorways and ceiling corners. Add a few black plastic spiders and you're done!

Cut leftover plywood or polystyrene sheets from the local hardware store into several oval- and square-topped planks about three feet tall. Spray paint them pale gray.

Write epitaphs on each tombstone with indelible black market: RIP; Here Lies Dr. Frankenstein…use your imagination!

Lean the lightweight "stones" against trees, the porch or a fence. Dig a shallow trench along the front walk and insert them directly in the yard.

Creepy Tunes and Floating Ghosts
Set up a portable cassette player on the front porch and broadcast creepy music. You can also direct speakers out groundfloor windows if the night is warm enough.

Inexpensive tapes of Halloween music are sold in party shops, music stores, and variety outlets. The music is fit for Count Dracula!

Fashion ghosts from old sheets torn into various sizes. Drape them over balled newspaper or socks, tie the head with string, and then let the sheet hang down. Suspend these fluttering Caspers from trees or porch ceilings.

Most importantly, have fun by getting into the spirit of the holiday. And be sure to buy lots of candy for the trick or treaters. Your haunted house is sure to attract them in droves!