Want Your Halloween Decor To Feel Like A Scary Movie? It’s All About The Lighting
My youngest child is obsessed with decorating our house for Halloween, to the point where we now have several boxes in the basement that contain life-sized plastic skeletons and scary clowns. And while I love making our house look festive around the holidays — from our every-expanding lawn graveyard in October to cozy accents and twinkly touches for a winter wonderland — each year I’m reminded that the homes with the most impressive displays are all about the lighting. You know what I’m talking about: they’re the ones your kids excitedly point to, eyes glazed over with awe-struck longing, and sigh, “Why can’t we do that?”
Well, now you can — and you don’t have to be a professional lighting tech (or even close!) to do it yourself. Govee teamed up with horror icon Sarah Michelle Gellar as part of its “Turn Up The Spooky. Slay Halloween” campaign, helping you to transform your home into a delightfully haunted house using colorful lighting and atmosphere — they even co-created a short film, Turn Up the Spooky, on the subject. The crux of Gellar’s advice? Don’t feel like you have to go overboard in order to have the most festive house on the block.
“Instead of covering every inch of the exterior in light, choose one architectural or landscape feature to be the focus, such as the roofline, a tree or the front facade,” Gellar advises. “Leaving some areas darker will make the lit areas feel more dramatic.”
That same focus on contrast and shadow comes to life in Last Light, an original short horror film made with Ryan Connolly, founder of the DIY filmmaking channel Film Riot. Featuring narration by Doug Jones, the acclaimed actor known for bringing some of Hollywood’s most unforgettable creatures to life, the film uses Govee outdoor lights to turn an ordinary home into a perfectly eerie movie set.
“Cinematic spookiness isn't about throwing up as many lights as possible,” Connolly shares. “With smart lighting, you don't need a film crew budget to give your home a high-end, haunted movie aesthetic.”
And here’s the best part: Film Riot doesn’t just show you the finished movie magic. In a companion how-to video, Connolly takes viewers behind the scenes of Last Light, breaking down the practical lighting tricks and creative techniques used to build its haunting atmosphere. From playing with color and contrast to using shadows for dramatic effect, the video offers inspiration for bringing a little Hollywood-style Halloween magic to your own front yard — no professional crew required.
Get The Look
Inspired to give your own home the Hollywood horror treatment? Both Gellar’s and Connolly’s techniques are surprisingly simple to recreate at home. Set the mood along your roofline with the brand’s Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism, add pops of color with the Outdoor Clear Bulb String Lights, and cast a dramatic wash across exterior walls with the Outdoor UpDown Wall Light.
For peak spooky, try placing a white sheet over the inside of a window and shining red light toward it from within, accenting the mood with glowing contrast lights under your roofline. Or pick a main lighting color scheme for the entire house, like jack-o-lantern orange, and use an accent color near the entryway, to make the whole display feel that much more dramatic.
Another pro tip: Don’t forget the shadows! Choose one decoration or part of the house to spotlight, then let the surrounding area stay dark. A single well-lit skeleton can somehow feel scarier than a whole yard of brightly lit ones. Don’t ask why — I don’t make the rules.
Govee’s smart outdoor lights can be adjusted with just a few taps through the Govee Home app, offering a huge library of preset scenes and colors, making it easy to experiment with effects until you find a look that works for your home’s unique style.
And the fun doesn’t have to end when Halloween is over. From festive holiday celebrations and backyard parties, to everyday outdoor ambiance, the same smart lighting setup can be customized for virtually any occasion — making it a stylish addition to your home all year round.
