How to Decorate a Hell Scene

Use props, such as red pitchforks, to create your hell scene.

Decorate a scene straight out of hell for a Halloween party or simply because you like the dark side. Everyone has their own idea of what hell looks like, so use your imagination to create the hell you envision when you close your eyes or create a hell scene commonly depicted in movies, books, magazines and other media sources. Dark colors and scary images will add to the scene you want to create.

Things You'll Need

• Paint
• Cardboard or plywood
• Props
• Lighting

Instructions

1. Paint the room a dark color, such as charcoal gray, if you want the hell scene to be permanent. Otherwise, paint large pieces of plywood or cardboard and hang them around the room. Sheets or torn garbage bags will also work. Using a dark gray instead of black allows you to create shadowy figures, though you could use black as the main colors and create shadowy figures with dark gray.

2. Make large, angry orange and red flames using cardboard or poster board if you're going for a fiery version of hell. Consider limiting the flame design to one wall if the hell scene is meant to be permanent decor such as in a bedroom. Alternatively, use red and orange silk fabrics cut into flame shapes with a fan blowing them to look like real dancing flames.

3. Create a devil, demons and other dark figures. Use the deepest black you can find unless your background is black. Red is another color commonly associated with devils and demons. Cut the shapes out of large poster board or use Halloween three-dimensional figures.

4. Add props to the room that you think you'd encounter in hell. For example, include a devil's pitchfork, horns, plastic severed or shrunken heads, bubbling cauldrons, spiderwebs and bats. Hang chains or nooses from the ceiling.

5. Set the mood with low lighting, such as by replacing the lightbulbs with black or red bulbs. Strobe lights and a fog machine can be included for a party.

Tips & Warnings

• Alternative versions of hell include a painful and torturous place, somewhat like a dungeon, or a cold and lonely place that's mostly all gray with crumbling stones, bricks, statues and gargoyles.

References

• Divine Dinner Party: Halloween Party Ideas