2. Cardboard Zombie Barricades for Windows
Give your home the appearance of an abandoned, post-apocalyptic safehouse with realistic cardboard window barricades. Instead of using heavy, expensive wood that could damage your window frames, this DIY alternative uses lightweight cardboard painted to look exactly like weathered, splintered wooden planks. From the street, your house will look like it is boarded up against an impending zombie invasion, setting a thrilling and dramatic tone for the neighborhood trick-or-treaters.
Collect large cardboard boxes and cut them into long strips of varying widths to mimic wooden boards. Use a utility knife to score fake wood grain lines and notches into the surface. Paint them with a base coat of medium brown, then use dry-brushing techniques with black and dark grey paint to add depth, shadows, and age. Fasten the “boards” across your window frames using damage-free mounting tape. For an extra touch of horror, paint fake blood splatters or dark handprints across the boards, and place a silhouette of a zombie reaching out from behind the glass.