If you want one decoration that instantly makes a room feel haunted, it's the spider web. A bag of cotton webbing stretched across a bookshelf or doorway transforms an ordinary corner into something properly spooky — in about five minutes, for very little money.
Where to stretch them
Corners are your friend: stretch webbing across ceiling corners, over bookshelves, around picture frames and along mantels. Outdoors, drape it over porch railings and bushes. Our cotton spider web decoration (£4.16) gives you plenty of material to cover several spots. It's currently 10% off until 1 November.
The stretching technique
The secret is to pull the cotton apart thin — most people use far too much. Tease out a small handful, anchor the edges on two points, and pull gently until it turns wispy. Vary the density: thin and delicate in some spots, thicker clumps in others. A few plastic spiders tucked into the webbing finish the effect.
Indoor versus outdoor
Indoors, webs last the whole season. Outdoors, secure them well against wind and keep them clear of walkways and door handles where people will walk through them. Pair your webs with warm candlelight for the full haunted-house feel — our cosy Halloween night guide has lighting ideas. Find more in the Halloween collection.