Something Wicked This Way Comes: DIY Halloween Witches for Your Front Yard
Updated: 3 days ago
Five witches, one bubbling cauldron and a little Halloween
magic.
I'VE ALWAYS HAD A THING FOR WITCHES. The good, the bad and the downright ugly.
My favourite character in The Wizard of Oz? The Wicked Witch of the West, naturally.
As a child, I loved the deliciously creepy tale of Hansel and Gretel, with its sinister
old witch living deep in the woods in a house made of candy. And as an adult, I've
become fascinated by the Salem witch trials, a much darker chapter in history that
reveals just how powerful, and dangerous, our fear of witches once was.
The pointed hats, the long black dresses, the mysterious rituals, the bubbling
cauldrons. Witches are magical, otherworldly, haunting and just the right amount of
terrifying.
So naturally, every Halloween, I dress up as one.
And a few years ago, I decided I needed some company. Enter my coven of five
witches, gathered around a bubbling cauldron on our front lawn, holding hands as
though they're about to cast a spell on the neighbourhood.
The best part? They're homemade. They look rather elaborate, but they're
surprisingly simple to put together with a little lumber, some garbage bags,
inexpensive tablecloths and plenty of black tulle.
A T A G L A N C E
Height: Nearly 6 feet to the tip of the hat
Time: About 3 hours for five witches, with two people
Cost: Approximately $250 the first year. After that, only garbage bags and table clothes need replacing.
Plan ahead: Spray-paint the heads the day before
What You'll Need
The following supplies are for five witches. You can easily adjust the number to suit
your garden.
THE SKELETON
✦ Five 4-foot-long wooden 2×2 stakes
✦ Five additional pieces of 2×2 wood, approximately 8 inches long, for the
shoulders
✦ Five pieces of perforated angle iron (the kind with pre-punched holes),
approximately 3 feet long each
✦ Two bolts per witch, with nuts and washers, to attach the stake to the angle iron
✦ One bolt per witch, with a nut and washer, to attach the shoulder piece
✦ One large screw per witch, to hold the head
✦ Drill, with a bit to match your bolts
✦ Small sledgehammer or mallet
We purchased the wood and angle iron at Home Depot.
THE HEADS AND HATS
✦ Five Styrofoam mannequin heads
✦ Green spray paint suitable for foam
✦ Five black witch hats
✦ Long dressmaker's pins
✦ Drill, with a bit the same size as the head screw
I originally found my mannequin heads at Dollarama. If you can't find them there,
these mannequin heads from Amazon are a similar option. Each head needs a hole
underneath so it can sit on the screw at the top of the wooden stake. If yours doesn't
have one, drill a hole the same size as the screw.
For that classic witchy complexion, I used green spray paint. Here's a green spray
paint option, although you'll want to check that it's suitable for Styrofoam before
using it.
My original witch hats are no longer available, but these black witch hats are an
alternative. Measure your mannequin heads before ordering so the hats actually fit. I
secure the hats with long dressmaker's pins.
THE BODIES AND DRESSES
✦ Large black garbage bags
✦ Fallen leaves, crumpled newspaper or discarded wrapping paper
✦ Black duct tape
✦ 15 black disposable plastic tablecloths, 54 × 108 inches — three per
witch
✦ Approximately 15 metres of black tulle — 3 metres per witch
✦ Black stretch lace, for the waists
✦ Sparkly black elasticized sequin fabric, for the necks
✦ Black bat-patterned tulle, for veils
I purchased my black disposable tablecloths from Amazon. They come in packs of
eight, so you'll need two packs. The tulle, lace, sparkly fabric and bat-patterned tulle
all came from Fabricland.
THE CAULDRON AND FINISHING TOUCHES
✦ One large black bucket or cauldron
✦ Several pieces of firewood
✦ Green decorative lights
✦ Orange decorative lights
✦ An optional witch's broom
We repurposed a large black plastic bucket left over from planting a tree. For the
bubbling brew and glowing fire, I used battery-operated green lights and orange
lights, so there are no extension cords to run across the lawn. Check the product
descriptions to confirm their colours and outdoor suitability before purchasing.
And of course, no respectable coven should be without a witch's broom.
S T E P O N E
Build the Skeleton
Before you start, plan your circle. We space our witches approximately 3 to 4 feet
apart, which gives them room to stand in a circle with their arms hanging naturally
between neighbours. Leave enough space in the middle for the cauldron.
Ours begins with a simple T-shaped wooden frame. Take one of your 4-foot 2×2
stakes and bolt an 8-inch piece of wood horizontally across the top. This creates the
shoulders, while the longer vertical piece forms the body.
Next comes the clever part. Rather than hammering the wooden stake directly into
the ground, we use a 3-foot piece of perforated angle iron as an anchor.
Drive the angle iron approximately 1½ feet into the ground with a sledgehammer or
mallet, leaving the rest above ground.
We drilled a couple of holes through the lower portion of the wooden stake, lined
them up with the pre-punched holes in the angle iron and bolted the two together.
Tighten the bolts well. The whole structure should feel secure before you start
dressing your witch.
Finally, insert a large screw into the top of the wooden stake, leaving enough exposed
to hold the Styrofoam head. This screw also holds the tablecloths in place when you
dress your witch.
Repeat for all five witches.
S T E P T W O
Give Your Witch a Body
Now it's time to put a little meat on those bones. Figuratively speaking, of course.
Fill a large black garbage bag loosely with fallen leaves, crumpled newspaper or
discarded wrapping paper. We normally use leaves from the garden, but one
particularly mild autumn there weren't enough on the ground, so we used old
wrapping paper. It worked perfectly.
Position the stuffed bag around the upper part of the frame to create the chest and
shoulders.
Use black duct tape to secure everything to the frame. You can also tie knots in the
bag to help hold it in place. Don't worry if your witch looks a little lumpy. She's not
ready for her close-up just yet.
S T E P T H R E E
Dress Your Witch
Each witch wears three black plastic tablecloths, layered to look like a long, flowing
dress. The first tablecloth is draped over the shoulders, falling down the front and back of
the frame. Push it down over the screw at the top of the stake so the screw pierces
the plastic and holds it in place.
The second is layered over the top in the same way to add fullness, leaving plenty of
extra material hanging at the sides.
The third is wrapped around the lower portion of the frame and tied at the waist to
create a long skirt.
Keep everything loose rather than pulling the plastic tight. You want lots of excess
material around the shoulders, because that will become the arms.
At this point, your witch should be starting to resemble a mysterious figure in a long
black dress.
S T E P F O U R
Create the Arms and Join Hands
This is one of my favourite details because it turns five individual decorations into an
actual coven.
Twist the excess tablecloth material hanging from the shoulders into long, narrow
arms. Tie a knot just below the shoulder and another around the elbow for some
definition. The placement doesn't need to be precise.
Once all five witches have arms, extend them toward one another and tie the ends
together to create joined hands.
Keep the arms relaxed and slightly lowered rather than stretching them straight out.
With 3 to 4 feet between witches, they should meet comfortably. Don't worry if the
knots are visible. We'll hide them with tulle. And besides, these are witches, not
synchronized swimmers.
“These are witches, not synchronized swimmers.”
S T E P F I V E
Add the Heads
The heads should be painted the day before. Spray each one green outdoors,
following the manufacturer's instructions, and leave them somewhere they can dry
completely. Make sure the paint is compatible with Styrofoam. Some aerosol paints
contain solvents that can damage foam, so test a small area first.
Place each dry head onto the exposed screw at the top of its wooden stake.
S T E P S I X
Add the Tulle, Lace, and a Little Drama
If the tablecloths give the witches their shape, the tulle gives them their magic.
I use approximately 3 metres of black tulle per witch, divided into three sections. The
first metre is draped over the shoulders, falling down the front and back. The second
is draped the opposite way, from side to side, to build volume through the body. The
third is wrapped around the skirt, with some deliberately left trailing along the
ground.
Don't pull the tulle tight or aim for symmetry. The witches look much better a little
uneven and dishevelled.
I love leaving a long train of tulle behind them. When the wind catches it, the fabric
moves beautifully and the witches look almost ghostly.
I used black bat-patterned tulle to create veils over their faces, I secured this in place with the hats.
My advice? Don't make them identical. Give one a longer veil, another a fuller
skirt, another more lace or sparkle. After all, every witch deserves her own
personality.
S T E P S EVEN
Add the Hats
Add the hats and secure them with long dressmaker's pins pushed carefully through
the hats into the foam. Tilt them slightly or pull the brims low over the faces. I prefer
my witches mysterious rather than cute, and nothing says mysterious quite like a
green face peering out from beneath a crooked black hat.
S T E P EIGHT
Create the Bubbling Cauldron
Every coven needs a cauldron. Ours is simply the large black plastic bucket that once
held a tree we planted in the garden.
We placed it in the centre of the witches and arranged several pieces of firewood
beneath and around it to look like a small campfire.
Inside the bucket, we placed green lights to create the eerie glow of a bubbling brew.
Beneath the wood, orange lights imitate the glow of flames. There's no need for real
flames or smoke, just a little clever lighting and a healthy imagination.
A safety note: Stick with LED lights, and never use real flames near plastic,
fabric or wood.
For the final touch, I added a witch's broom nearby. Because what's a witch without
her broom?
S T E P NINE
Bring Your Coven Together
Once all five witches are dressed, stand back and look at the entire display from the
street
Are the witches spaced evenly in a circle? Are their hands connected? Could one use
a little more tulle around her shoulders, or another need her hat tilted? I like to make
sure the skirts have plenty of movement and that the witches face slightly inward
toward their cauldron.
Then I wait for darkness. That's when the magic really happens.
“Then I wait for darkness. That’s when the magic really happens.”
The orange glow beneath the firewood, the eerie green light inside the cauldron, the
pointed hats silhouetted against the garden and the black tulle fluttering in the
autumn breeze. Five witches, holding hands, gathered around their brew.
It's wonderfully creepy. Exactly what I was hoping for.
✦ ✦ ✦
But Will They Survive the Weather?
Halloween weather in Canada is unpredictable. One day it's a sunny autumn
afternoon, the next it's wind, rain or even snow.
Our witches have held up remarkably well through all three. The angle-iron anchors
keep them standing, and the plastic tablecloths and synthetic tulle handle damp
weather surprisingly well. I just check the frames after a particularly windy day and
make sure nothing has come loose or tangled.
✦ ✦ ✦
What Happens After Halloween?
As much as I love my witches, I don't want five of them, fully dressed, taking up
residence in the garage for the next eleven months. Thankfully, they're easy to take
apart.
I keep the witch hats, tulle, lace and sparkly fabric, which all fit into one large
storage bin. The wooden frames and angle iron are saved too, once they're clean and
dry. The garbage bags and tablecloths generally don't survive the dismantling, so
those are replaced each season.
✦ ✦ ✦
A Few Things I've Learned Along the Way:
Don't skimp on the tulle. It's what creates that haunting movement when the wind
blows.
Paint the heads ahead of time. Spraying them the day before means they're dry
and ready when you are.
Use sturdy anchors. The angle iron makes an enormous difference in keeping the
witches standing securely.
Think about the lighting. The witches look wonderful during the day, but the
glowing cauldron transforms the display after dark.
And most importantly, don't worry about perfection. A slightly crooked hat or a
ragged hemline only adds to the charm.
✦ ✦ ✦
Maybe it's those childhood memories of wicked witches and enchanted forests.
Maybe it's the crisp autumn air, the rustling leaves or the way familiar streets
become just a little mysterious after dark. Or perhaps I simply never outgrew my
fascination with things that go bump in the night.
Whatever the reason, my five witches have become one of my favourite Halloween
traditions. Every year, when I see them gathered around their glowing cauldron,
black dresses fluttering in the wind, I can't help but smile.
After all, every witch needs a coven. And apparently, mine lives on the front lawn.
Happy haunting!
Shopping note: Some of the products linked in this article are alternatives to the exact items I originally purchased. Always check sizes, quantities and product specifications before ordering.
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