How To DIY A Spooky Light-Up Archway For Halloween Using Pool Noodles

Halloween is the perfect time to put your crafting and DIY skills to fun use by creating one-of-a-kind decor sure to haunt the neighborhood. While handmade gravestones in the grass and groupings of carved jack-o-lanterns trailing up your front steps might give your yard a spooky Halloween makeover at ground level, take this year's eerie decor to new heights by adding a customizable light-up DIY Halloween archway to your front walk for the most terrifying first impression. Helda Eltemawi Salem (@thesalemsquad) shared on Instagram how she used pool noodles and internal support pieces from the dollar or hardware store to create a spooky arch on which she could drape twinkle lights and creepy black gauze for the ultimate petrifying passageway for trick-or-treaters.

To prepare for this spooky DIY, you'll need to purchase four pool noodles. If possible, buy black noodles or foam pipe insulation wraps, which are usually black by default, so you don't have to paint them. If you can't find black, grab any color, give them a coat of black spray paint and let them dry prior to starting. Alternatively, you could find and use orange or purple pool noodles, leaving them as-is for a pop of festive color. You'll also need two broom handles or 48-inch dowels (with a diameter of about ¾ to 1 inch, depending on the noodle size), black zip ties, ¾-inch diameter flexible PVC pipe (at least 8 feet long but usually available in 10 foot segments), black gauze, and outdoor twinkle lights. Once you have all of your supplies, it's time to start creating this fabulously spooky light-up Halloween DIY arch decoration with chilling results.

Once you have your pool noodles prepped, begin by inserting your broom handles, like this Dollar Tree option from Instagram, or dowels into two of the noodles to create the straight, rigid side supports of the arch. Use black (or clear for colorful noodles) zip ties to anchor these to the newel posts or balusters of your railing to keep them upright. You could also purchase two string light poles, like these from Amazon, with pronged feet to secure into the grass on either side of the walkway if you don't have a railing, slide the pool noodles over a few sections of the pole once it's in the ground.

Pierce a pair of holes across from each other about an inch down from the top of each side support noodle. Do the same about an inch from both ends of the loose noodles, as these will act as connection points for zip-tying the noodles together. For shorter zip ties, insert one into the two holes in the side support noodle and another into a loose noodle, then attach them together into a loop before tightening to link them. For longer zip ties, you can string one through all four holes and then tighten. This step will allow you to have a rigid support noodle on each side with a flexible noodle attached on top. Before linking the two flexible noodles into a semi-circle, cut the flexible PVC pipe to size and slide each end into the upper noodles for extra support and a nicely rounded shape. Finally, secure the top two noodles together at the center with zip ties through the holes to finish the arch portion of the project.

Next comes the fun part! It's time to decorate, transforming your basic pool noodle arch into a spooky and festive Halloween tunnel. The Instagrammer added outdoor LED twinkle string lights draped generously along the top of the arch, so the decor would glow at night. You'll need to use an outdoor-rated battery or solar-powered strand if your arch isn't located near an outlet. Salem then used black gauze material, specifically the Dollar Tree creepy cloth, to drape over the noodles and give a scary veiled effect to the arch. Tattered and ripped material will add a sinister, abandoned vibe if you are purchasing and roughing up some black gauze fabric by the yard rather than the premade, creepy cloth.

While that concludes the archway project itself, you can complement your DIY with other festive decor like fake spider webs, full-size skeletons "holding up" each side of the arch, ominous branches, or dead vines to add texture, or any number of other spooky decorations that fit your aesthetic and scare tactics. To go all out, you could also make a second arch and drape gauze between them to create a Halloween tunnel that trick-or-treaters have to pass through for the ultimate terrifying setup.

No matter which decorations you showcase to make your Halloween arch memorable, use inexpensive pool noodles and some basic support supplies from the dollar or hardware store to create the arched structure that holds your lights, gauze, and dreadful decor in place for some serious wow factor.