How to Make Dancing Ghosts

Set up the dancing ghosts around a tree or light post.

Ghostly decorations can turn your regular suburban home into a creepy haunted house on Halloween. Besides jack-o-lanterns, consider adding a circle of dancing ghosts to your front yard. The dancing ghosts aren't scary enough to frighten young children, but spooky enough to transform a regular yard into something otherworldly. The materials to make the dancing ghosts are inexpensive, and construction takes just a few minutes.

Things You'll Need

• 5 wood dowels, 1-inch diameter and 3 feet tall
• 10 plastic shopping bags
• Old newspaper
• Duct tape
• Twine
• 5 white sheets
• Black marker

Instructions

1. Drive one dowel into the ground, so at least 2 1/2 feet is still exposed.

2. Arrange the other dowels in a circle, approximately 3 feet apart.

3. Double-bag a large wad of newspapers, at least 8 inches across. Turn the bag upside down over a dowel. Twist the ends of the bag tightly around the dowel, creating a round, stuffed shape. Use tape to secure the stuffed head to the dowel. Repeat with all remaining dowels.

4. Drape a sheet over each ghost. Secure the sheets with a length of twine, tied just under the ghost head. Draw a ghostly face on each ghost, facing the center of the circle.

5. Tie the corners of the sheets between ghosts together to look as if they are holding hands and dancing in a circle. Place a few jack-o-lanterns in the center of the ghost circle.

Tips & Warnings

• To highlight the ghost circle on Halloween night, consider setting up a spotlight or colored landscape light nearby.

References

• Halloween Prop Master: Dancing Ghost Ring