Halloween may not exactly be a real holiday, but it sure does give everyone a great excuse to get creative with decorations! While most people focus on dressing up their front doors and porches for the little kids that plan to come trick-or-treating, there’s no reason why you can’t extend that to include the inside of your home as well. Whether you’re planning on having a big Halloween party or just a quiet evening at home watching scary movies — the fireplace mantel is one of the best areas to use as your Halloween-themed canvas. Here are some excellent ideas that show you how to do it.

Keeping It Simple

Some people really go all out when it comes to Halloween, but it’s not required. You can still create a great look on your mantel without going crazy. This combination of pumpkins, black mice, and bat banner that was featured on Spirit Halloween provides just the right amount of spookiness!

Likewise, you don’t necessarily have to stick with orange and black. Here’s a nice subtle mantel from Crap I’ve Made highlighted by some green shutters that go really well with the Halloween nicknacks.

You can get a surprisingly fantastic look just with a banner and some candlesticks. Check out the “Spooky” banners available from ButterflyAbove on Etsy.

A Clumsy Witch’s Legs

For more of a cute or funny look and less of a scary one, you can try hanging a pair of witch legs from the upper opening of your chimney. Here are a couple of great examples from Fox Hollow Cottage and Catch My Party!

Black & White Elegance

Taking a bit of a different approach from the traditional orange decor, there are so many other ways you can create an eerie yet elegant look with simple black and white — especially if your fireplace is already black or white! Here’s a nice subtle design idea from Blooming Homestead.

The Decorated House has another fireplace example that has more of a traditional Halloween masquerade feel to it.

Check out this creative idea from Just A Girl Blog — a black and white family or class photo of a group of witches. Perfect for Halloween!

If you still want to add some pumpkins, but would rather do without all the orange, grab some mini pumpkins in white. A mantel from Starshine Chic has them placed around creepy black tree pieces, lanterns, and other items.

Working Around a TV Screen

Do you have your TV placed above your fireplace mantel? No problem — you can still work around it with your Halloween decor. A mantel from DCWV Diary shows what you can do with just two candlesticks, a couple pumpkins, and a banner.

Position your taller Halloween decorations (like big candlesticks) on each side of the mantel, with shorter and smaller ones toward the middle to avoid blocking the TV screen. Here’s a wonderful example from Polka Dot Chair.

If you want, you can extend some of your decor above the TV screen on the wall behind it if there’s room. This mad scientist-themed fireplace mantel from All Things Thrifty has a rope tied as a noose.

Fun with Themes

Speaking of that very creative mad scientist theme, you can really let your imagination run wild with all sorts of fun Halloween themes for your mantel! Here’s a slightly simpler one from Anika Mari that’s all about skulls and skeletons.

Your theme could also be a more specific look, as opposed to the the types of decorations you choose. Here’s one with kind of a vintage/shabby chic look from The Project Girl that could even alternatively serve as a nice design for Thanksgiving (minus the Halloween banner).

Pumpkins Instead of Logs

Want a cool and easy trick to extend the Halloween decor on your mantel to include more space? Try swapping the logs out of your fireplace for pumpkins! Easy and great to look at. Here are a couple examples from the Pottery Barn blog and Grand In Road.

Big & Small Details

Your Halloween decorations will look great on the fireplace mantel, but you can really take them beyond if you want a bigger impact. Check out this room from Pottery Barn (recreated on a budget by Living Well, Spending Less) that brings the Halloween decor up to the wall space, lamps, and even the space above with those hanging black crows!

Alternatively, there’s no harm in keeping it small and contained to your mantel. You can do a lot with a good mix of little Halloween nicknacks, and maybe a nice banner that isn’t too overpowering — like this cute example from A Pretty Life in the Suburbs.