7 Indoor Halloween Lighting Ideas for a Spooky Vibe

For any celebration, lighting is key to scene-setting decor, especially on the spookiest holiday: Halloween. From accent lighting that accentuates your creepy decor ideas to glow-in-the-dark accessories, there are great indoor Halloween lighting ideas for every witch and wizard. Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about Halloween decorations to illuminate the darkness – and the things that go bump in the night.

What color lights are used for Halloween?

The traditional colors for Halloween lighting are orange and red, with touches of green and purple. If you opt for orange or purple, you can play with a more light-hearted Halloween display fit for the whole family. On the other hand, red light is a great way to amp up your Halloween party’s scare factor. But you can really try any color as long as it fits your Halloween theme. It’s your party, and you can “creep it real” however you want.

How do you illuminate Halloween decorations?

Below, you’ll learn how to illuminate your Halloween decorations for a ghoul’s night in filled with potion-making, snacks, and lots of boos.

• Use string lights for accent colors. String lights are more than just Christmas lights – you can use them for spooky Halloween decor, too. With the right positioning and placement, they can be great for adding a pop of color to your decorations. Plus, you can sprinkle them throughout your home, transforming everyday corners and spaces into creepy passageways and dimly-lit dungeons.
• Hang neon signs. You can hang neon signs with text and fun shapes to take your haunted house to the next level. Try displaying the outline of a flashing bright white ghost or a skeleton to elevate your Halloween experience, taking decor beyond the category of “basic witch.” You’ll get scene-shaping mood lighting and spooky decor in one fell swoop.
• Make ghosts glow. For a DIY Halloween decoration, you can fashion a garland of glowing ghosts. To execute this design, you’ll need some ping pong balls, string lights, fake cobwebs, and a permanent marker. To put it all together, cut a hole in each ping pong ball (large enough to fit securely over one bulb). After that, draw little faces on the ping pong balls and glue fake cobwebs to them. This Halloween decorating idea can add an enticing charm to your spooky castle.
• Create silhouettes. You can backlight props and decorations to illuminate your spooky scene with a ghostly effect. By placing ample light behind your set pieces, you can cast their shadows on the wall in the background for an unsettling silhouette.
  This trick is perfect for larger items such as statues or cardboard cutouts. You can also try this trick outside to create a magical illusion of witches gathering in your front yard. Trick-or-treaters are sure to remember the house with the group of witches brewing a potion out front.
• Uplight some dead branches. You can illuminate real or fake barren branches with string lights. Plus, you can often find branches with lights already attached to them, though it’s also a pretty easy DIY project. You can bundle the branches together in your empty fireplace to create a flameless red glow resembling the ember ash of a recently snuffed-out fire.

7 indoor Halloween lighting ideas

Now that you know how to illuminate your Halloween decorations inside, here are some additional Halloween lighting ideas you can try out this spooky season.

1. Swap out regular light bulbs for colored lights

For a simple yet effective Halloween lighting trick, you can swap out regular light bulbs for colored lights. You can also try LED light bulbs with colors you can change depending on the mood. This means you can cast an orange glow in your reading nook or a green spell over your living room. Plus, with color-changing LED bulbs, you can seamlessly shift colors between seasons well after Halloween, all year round.

2. Trigger your lights with motion

To create a haunting effect that moves with you, try motion-sensing lighting. It’s a great way to keep your lights off when you’re not in the room and guide someone (or something) wandering the halls at night.

For example, you can line a hallway with BlissEmber night lights that go above and beyond the standard plug-in option. You’ll get all kinds of Halloween hues plus a soft, glowing white option that evokes friendly ghosts. It’s a simple way to provide safe and spooky pathway lighting for all creatures of the night.

BlissEmber Smart Multicolor Night Light

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3. Add glow-in-the-dark elements

For a subtle glow that brings your space to life at night, incorporate glow-in-the-dark decorations into your Halloween design. You can find pieces that look astonishing during the day and then glow faintly at night. Plus, with black light paint, you can paint scary words like “Beware” on a sign above an entryway so it glows at night. A few glow-in-the-dark elements can transform a space in ways big and small to create a symphony of spooky color.

4. Highlight your spookiest decor

You can honor Halloween throughout October with decorations and lighting that tantalize during the day and illuminate your space at night. For this indoor Halloween lighting idea, you can use string lights or LED strip lights at the base of a Halloween display. This way, you can enhance your enchanting creations. You can also dabble with red lighting for a haunting nighttime effect on some of your more macabre treasures. As the red lights stream across your life-like skulls in the doorway, you just might feel a chill down your spine.

5. Create spooky Halloween window lights

To captivate everyone who’s celebrating Halloween with you, create a spooky Halloween window light display with string lights and faux candles. It’s a good idea to opt for fake candles since they’ll never burn out, and they achieve the same mystical effect as flickering flames. As rain dots the window panes and thunder erupts under the pale full moon, your ghost stories might just come to life.

6. Put up a skull disco ball or a galaxy projector

You can’t go wrong with a skull disco ball for a Halloween party. It’s a twist on the party classic that you can shine until the witching hour. But you can also try something extra special with the best disco lights to take your party to the next level.

Galaxy projectors like the Sky Lite Evolve can project an entire galaxy onto your Halloween haunt. You can shine it in red and purple for a Halloween-themed occasion. And before or after Halloween, you can use the spherical design to immerse your surroundings in intergalactic bliss.

Sky Lite Evolve: Smart Galaxy Projector

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The latest evolution in smart galaxy lighting.

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7. Opt for accessories with lights

A great Halloween lighting tip is to find decor pieces that come with lights. This way, you can transition from day to night in a pinch. Plus, you can opt for lights with a variety of colors to enliven all your spookiest moments of celebration.

With the BlissRadia, you can choose from colors across the rainbow. This way, you can illuminate your lair with greens, oranges, reds, and purples during Halloween, then, months later, go bright pink for Valentine’s Day. You can also set up an ultra-smooth transition between colors for an ever-changing light show. And you can control it all right from your phone or with voice control. In just moments, you can add new dimensions to your spooky palace or your tranquil abode.

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Bewitch the night with BlissLights

When decorating for Halloween with fantastical lighting ideas, let your imagination run wild. You can explore red and orange light displays full of jack-o'-lanterns or drape glowing cobwebs across your entryway. And with BlissLights, you can take the scares and magic to the next level. Browse the BlissLights collection now to find boo-tiful lighting for your Halloween celebrations.