Looking for Halloween party lighting ideas that will make your indoor decorations even spookier after dark? These easy lighting effects add creepy colors, flickering lights and an eerie glow that will help set the mood.
When it comes to decorating for Halloween, I think the lighting is just as important as the decorations themselves.
The right lights can make everything look a little creepier, add some drama to the room, and really bring your Halloween decor to life once it gets dark.
The good news is you don’t need anything complicated to get the effect.
These Halloween party lighting ideas use simple tricks like colored lights, flickering bulbs and black lights to give your indoor spaces a spooky glow that’s perfect for the occasion.
1 | Use Uplights
Uplighting is my favorite way to add spookiness and drama to any Halloween scene.
Making it happen is exactly what it sounds like. Point a spot light (like this one*) upwards so that it illuminates something you want to feature in your party decor.
It makes spider webs (aka white creepy cloth*) on tables more visible.
Makes ghosts look like they’re glowing (at my haunted mansion party).
Adds color to props (at my Maleficent party).
For this, I use these battery operated LED lights* that you can change the color of using a remote control.
They’re fairly inexpensive and you can re-use them for other events and parties in the future.
And makes crystal columns and large props (like these poppies*) really stand out (at my Wicked Halloween party).
2 | Backlight scene setters
Halloween scene setters are a great way to make any room in your house look totally different.
But in order for them to make the most impact, you have to be able to see them.
I like to use backlighting for this. Just put a couple of flood lights* behind it and the scene setter instantly makes a statement.
The easiest way to backlight scene setters is to hang them in front of a large window (like the one above from my Phantom of the Opera party) or a closet with the door open all the way (like the one below from my Addams Family party).
Then put the floodlights behind the scene setter pointing in.
Which causes the whole scene to light up.
I have also hung a scene setter on the front of a bookshelf and put the lights on the shelf (like this one from my haunted mansion party).
I know it seems a little weird to put a bookshelf backdrop* in front of a bookshelf. But it looks a lot more old-time-y than my real bookshelves do.
3 | Add Fake Flames
Fake flames are another one of my favorite Halloween party lighting effects. (I know…I have a lot of favorites!)
You can get fake flames in both this table top version*.
And this hanging version*.
Simply plug them in and they are ready to add some fire-y atmosphere to your Halloween party, without any of the fire hazard risk of real ones!
Combine the faux flames with a cement wall scene setter* to create a Halloween dungeon feel or recreate the Harry Potter great hall.
4 | Hang meteor lights
I think some of the best lighting is made for outside. But that doesn’t mean you can’t use it indoors.
Which is what I did with some meteor lights for my Wicked party.
They come in all different colors, and the moving lights really look magical in a dark room.
5 | Replace Chandelier Bulbs With Flicker Bulbs
Using flicker bulbs* in your light fixtures is a really easy way to decorate your chandelier for Halloween.
It will immediately look like an old-time candle-lit chandelier.
They also give out just about as much light as the old-school non-electric ones did 🙂
So you won’t be able to use them to read by, but they certainly add ambiance to your Halloween haunted house!
The orange light in this lamp is also created by a flicker bulb.
The light reflects off the crystals and makes everything glow orange. Which looks really cool!
6 | Replace Regular Light Bulbs With Colored Ones
Speaking of light bulbs, swapping out the white bulbs in your lamps and light fixtures for colored ones immediately adds Halloween atmosphere.
I like to use red light bulbs all over the house to create the atmosphere I want for my haunted house parties.
But green or blue also works.
Especially if you are going for a chilly, graveyard look.
The colored bulbs do not usually provide as much light as regular white bulbs. So you’ll have to gauge how many you need for people to still be able to see what they are doing.
For more flexibility (and a little more money), I like to get these bulbs* with a remote control that allow you to change the color.
Because you can turn them to whatever color you want, they’re easy to re-use for any occasion when you need special lighting.
7 | Hang Floating Candles
The Harry Potter series had a great idea for Halloween lighting. Floating candles are spooky and look awesome!
Just wrap black thread around flameless taper candles and hang them from the ceiling. Voila, you’ve created Halloween atmosphere.
Of course, you could go all out and re-create the whole Harry Potter great hall, which has all kinds of great Halloween lighting.
See all of our Harry Potter Halloween party ideas.
8 | Add String Lights
String lights are not just for Christmas anymore!
Add some Halloween-colored string lights to your decor and you have instant Halloween decorations.
This piece of faux coral is always on the shelf in my living room.
By adding a few mini skulls and some orange string lights, it gets transformed into part of my haunted house decor.
Recently, I have been buying these LED string lights* that allow you to change the colors with a remote.
They’re a little more expensive, but you can re-use them for Christmas, too. Which means fewer things to store.
You can also use string lights that come in Halloween shapes.
The bird cages above look spooky and cast spooky shadows on the wall.
And for my batman party, I found some that made bats appear on the floor beneath them.
9 | Put fairy lights in vases
For a super easy way to light a Halloween centerpiece, put some purple fairy lights in small vases and fill them with flowers.
Then wind some wide Halloween-themed ribbon in and around them.
The light from the vases will light up the ribbon and make the whole scene glow.
10 | Hang a Skull Disco Ball
You can buy these skull disco balls* around Halloween for not very much money.
They’re just as much fun as a real disco ball, with a bit of a Halloween twist!
I hang mine from the ceiling fan (turned off, of course).
But you could also put it up with a hook in the ceiling. Command hooks will work if you don’t want to make a hole (and you don’t have popcorn up there).
Then shine a spotlight on it so that the light reflects off the mirrors.
I also have the spotlight installed on the ceiling, but you could put it on top of a bookshelf or armoire if it’s close enough.
11 | Light Lots Of Candles
Candles are another one of my essential indoor Halloween lighting effects. It’s hard to created a haunted house atmosphere without them.
While I love the look of real candles, with all of the creepy cloth and other flammable materials hanging around, I usually end up using flame-less candles* for my Halloween displays.
Fortunately, they have become much more realistic looking in the last few years.
All of the candles in this vignette that I did for my Phantom of the Opera party are flame-less and they still look pretty good.
For more ideas, read our post on Halloween candle ideas.
12 | Make Everything Glow In The Dark
Adding black lights to your Halloween decor is a fun indoor lighting effect that everyone seems to love. (I think because it makes their costumes glow, too).
It definitely made the waiting room guests at my Beetlejuice party stand out.
You can make all kinds of things glow in the dark under black lights, and even write on the walls (don’t worry, it washes right off!)
Find out more about creating glow in the dark Halloween decor (including the easy way to do that writing).
13 | Use Props With Lights
Lots of Halloween props have really cool lighting effects, like my haunted mirror (this one* is similar).
It looks like a normal mirror on the wall, until someone walks by. Then it comes to life with a spooky design that lights up the whole space.
I also like to use animated figures with eyes that light up and haunted spell books*.
And candle scones on the walls.
14 | Make a “boiling cauldron”
Or make my favorite “boiling cauldron” using an LED mist maker*.
Put an LED mister in a witches cauldron (like this one*) and cover with water.
The mister will provide light and “fog” to add even more spookiness to your Halloween decor.
It isn’t really fog, just evaporated water that looks like fog so they are safe to use anywhere. However, the water will condense on surfaces around the mister so just make sure they are waterproof.
The mister will only produce fog if it is covered by less than an inch of water, so you will need to sit it on top of something in the cauldron to bring the top of the mister closer to the top of the water.
Have comments or questions about our Halloween party lighting ideas? Tell us in the section below.