At a Glance: Haunted House Planter
- Three pots, one tall house. Stack a large, medium and small terracotta pot into a spooky little tower.
- Tiny doors make it. Craft-store doors and windows turn plain clay into a haunted street.
- Faux flowers, zero watering. Nothing to keep alive, and no wet soil to lift your paint.
To make a haunted house planter, paint three terracotta pots orange, purple and black. Add a scalloped black trim to each rim. Glue on mini doors and windows, then bats, spiders and webs. Tuck in faux greenery and stack the pots largest to smallest. Jump to the supplies or skip to stacking.
This haunted house planter looks like a big project. It takes just paint, glue and a little stacking. Each pot becomes its own floor of the house, and the warm yellow windows do the spooky part for you.
Buying one big set of acrylics saves you a pile of single bottles. You need orange, purple, black, white and gray, and a big set that comes with brushes covers all of it, with plenty left over for pumpkins.
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What do you need to make a haunted house planter?
Makes one three-tier planter
- 3 terracotta pots. A small, medium and large. Sizes like 6, 8 and 10 inches work well (a planning estimate, not a rule).
- Acrylic paint. Orange, purple and black, plus white and gray for webs and stone.
- Paint brushes. A wide flat brush and a small detail brush work well (our pick).
- Mini doors and windows. Find them in the fairy garden aisle at the craft store. Arched ones look the most haunted.
- Halloween accents. Little bats, spiders and webs. A tiny skull or wreath is a fun extra.
- Hot glue gun. A low-temp gun is plenty for tiny pieces and kinder to fingers (our addition).
- Faux greenery or flowers. Trailing greens for the gaps and orange mums for the top.
- Potting soil or sand. To fill the pots so they stack firmly (our addition).
Quick tip: Stack your three pots in the store before you buy them (our tip). The smaller pot should sit inside the bigger one with a few inches of the bigger rim showing.
How do you make a haunted house planter?
Five easy steps. Most of the time is just waiting for paint to dry.
1. Paint the pots
Paint the large pot black, the medium pot purple and the small pot orange. Clay soaks up the first coat, so it’ll look patchy. Let it dry, then add a second coat.
2. Add the scalloped trim
Paint a black band around the rim of each pot. Then paint a row of little half circles along the bottom edge of the band.
Now each rim looks like a frilly roofline. A light pencil sketch first keeps the scallops even (our tip).
3. Glue on the doors and windows
Put one arched door on the front of each pot, low and centered. Add a window on each side. Hold each piece on for a few seconds while the glue sets.
If your windows have clear panes, paint the panes warm yellow so the house looks lit from inside (our addition).
A mini glue gun puts down a small, neat dot, which is just right for tiny doors and bats. This one comes with its own glue sticks.
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4. Decorate
Glue on bats, spiders and little webs. You can also paint webs with white paint and a detail brush.
Give each floor its own touch, like a tiny wreath on the top door or a skull on the middle one.
5. Add greenery and stack
Set the black pot where it’ll stay, since the finished stack gets heavy. Fill it most of the way with soil or sand and press it down firm (our addition). Tuck trailing greenery around the rim.
Set the purple pot on top so it sits straight. Fill it the same way and tuck greenery around its rim too.
Fill the orange pot with faux mums and set it on top. Your haunted house is done.
Live on a rainy porch? Brush on a clear outdoor sealer once the paint and trim are dry (our addition). A covered porch or entryway doesn’t need it.
What two things should you get right?
Test the stack before you paint. If the middle pot sinks too deep, its door ends up hidden behind the rim below. Fill the lower pot higher until the door shows.
Let the paint dry before you glue. Glue on damp paint peels right off. Wait until it’s dry to the touch, then press each piece and hold it.
What does a haunted house planter cost?
These are planning estimates. Prices change by store and season.
- Under $15: Pots and paint you already have, plus dollar-store doors, bats and greenery.
- About $35: New pots, a paint set, a pack of fairy doors and windows, and faux mums.
- $60 and up: Bigger pots, detailed resin doors, and lots of flowers spilling from every tier.
Where should you put it?
A front step, a porch corner or a spot by the door is perfect. Set it on flat ground so the stack stays steady.
Please don’t put a real candle in or near it, because faux flowers catch fire fast. For a glow, set battery lanterns or tea lights around it.
Want that warm glow without the worry? Battery tea lights flicker like the real thing and stay cool next to faux flowers. They give a soft glow rather than a bright flame, so tuck a few around the base where the windows can catch it.
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Kids can paint the pots and the webs. Let a grown-up handle the glue gun.
Here’s how you know you nailed it. Step back to the sidewalk at dusk. If the windows pop and it looks like a tiny haunted street, you did it.
Want more Halloween projects? Our painted terracotta pots for kids are a great warm-up, and the skeleton spa day candle uses the same no-flame trick.
Ready to make your own?
Three pots, a few tiny doors and some fall flowers are all it takes. Paint it, stack it and set it by the door. Your haunted house planter will greet every trick-or-treater.
Show us your haunted house
We’d love to see your spooky little tower. Post a photo and tag us on Facebook, pin this one to your Halloween board on Pinterest, and come say hi on Instagram for more easy fall crafts.
A few helpful answers
Haunted house planter FAQs
Pot sizes, stacking, glue and real flowers.
Any small, medium and large set that nests with a few inches of each rim showing. Sizes like 6, 8 and 10 inches work well. Stack them in the store before you buy.
Fill each lower pot most of the way with soil or sand and press it down firm. Build it where it will stay, on flat ground, since the full stack is heavy.
Yes. Use real potting soil and pick hardy fall plants like mums. Water gently, and seal the pots inside and out before you plant so wet soil doesn’t lift the paint (our addition).
Look in the fairy garden aisle at the craft store or the dollar store. Arched doors with stone frames give the most haunted look.
It holds well on a covered porch if the paint is fully dry before you glue. For a spot that gets rain, brush clear outdoor sealer over the finished pots.
Real mums or faux flowers in a haunted house planter?
Real mums smell like fall and look alive. Faux flowers never wilt and never need water. Some people say a planter with fake flowers isn’t really a planter.
Vote, then tell us which side you’re on and why.
