Make Your Halloween Amazing With a Mad Scientist’s Laboratory

by Cassondra

5 Materials

$50

3 Hours

Easy

Every year for Halloween, I decorate my mantel with a new theme. One thing that I must not have- cheesy store bought fake looking decorations. I would much rather take my time to create a realistic look that no one else will have. The best part: it is easy and so much fun! Are you ready to one up the rest of the world with your amazing decor? Than read on!

This year for Halloween, I went with the “Frankenstein” theme. I wanted my mantel to tell the story of being inside a dark and dreary scientist’s lab. I love going for the “real look,” so I started my search in the thrift stores. You never know what you will find there, at a great deal! I was mostly looking for industrial pieces, beakers and anything that had an eerie feel.

While admittedly beakers were hard to find, I ended up just using neatly shaped glass bottles and fish tubing. My husband also had a bunch of beer making supplies, so I stole some thermometers and cool looking coil things to complete the look I’m sorry I don’t know what any of those things are called, that why I am not a beer maker). I found some nice beakers here but never actually used it. I also found a cool looking old black industrial clock, an oil can, a gold picture frame and a case that “normal” people would display flowers in.

Some other things, I found were an abacus, which I hung on the fireplace, some dials that I ripped out of an old barometer and a shadow box, in which I put one syringe as an emergency antidote.

Some Halloween-y decorations that I added to my background wall were some fake chains, a fish net and an old fruit bowl that I attached a spooky zombie mask to. The candles I got last year (also at a thrift store.)

While most everything came second hand to me, I did make one awesome purchase to complete the look- My very own pull switch for the lights! I also bought a lab coat to hang on the wall. While I was planning on buying a “Danger High Voltage” sign, I never did find one. (Also Edison bulbs and industrial lighting would look pretty cool.)

Once I had everything placed on the mantel, I added a black light behind the beakers and filled the beakers up with tonic water. When you do this and turn on the lights, they glow! It was an awesome look for our front room. The kids had many “spooky dance parties” to celebrate!

To finish up the look, I added spider webs, just because those go with everything. I also covered up my usually colorful furniture and giant painting with sheets so that the drab look was coherent throughout the room.

Overall, I guarantee that no one else will have this look in their living rooms. It is super easy and really a lot of fun to imagine your own scenes and then try to create them with whatever you can find. The lobster was actually a place holder until I could find a brain to place in there, but it just never happened. Luckily the lobster glowed in the black light so it worked out just fine!

Check out my last years “Witch House” post along with This post on Halloween color themes.