The Historic Herndon Halloween House

Welcome to another year of The Historic Herndon Halloween House awesomeness. This year’s theme is “Creepy Clowns.” Why? Because clowns are just scary, whether you’re a little kid or a full-on adult. Both B.O.B. Bob and I agree, so far, when it comes to Halloween, that this is the best year yet. When you have a great theme, it kinda just makes everything easy. So, today, we’re not sharing any recipes, cooking tips, or recipe round-ups. Today, we’re giving you a behind-the-scenes look at our lil’ ol’ Halloween house. P.S. If you’d like to see more Halloween fun, make sure to follow us on our The Historic Herndon Halloween House page or on Instagram, where we show lots of fun holiday posts, including pictures of the scenes below which were taken at night.

Everyone keeps asking us about the current clown movies which are so popular. No, that is not why we chose this theme. Pure coincidence y’all, pure coincidence.

All of the clothes displayed on the clowns in our yard came from a thrift store. For $108, we were able to make quite a colorful display.

The clown collar featured in this picture was just one of many made by one of our talented friends. These collars made such a huge difference in our Halloween display, and the fact that some of them were made during an extreme tooth pain extravaganza makes them even more special.

We’ve actually been planning this theme since we took a trip to the Halloween store last year and came home with four clown masks. Sometimes inspiration just hits.

We are now the proud owners of way too many clown masks. If anyone needs a clown mask, I think we can make a deal. You may be able to own a little piece of The Historic Herndon Halloween House.

This little girl showed up in the middle of summer and lived in our garage for several months. Many of our old action props are dying, so we’re in the process of replacing a few of them.

After displaying this skeleton snake on the ground for a few years, we finally draped it around a skeleton instead. Brilliant. A much better look.

If only we had found this shirt last year for the Biohazard Hazardous Waste theme.

Our old friend Jeeves came out of storage this year to welcome everyone into the circus tent. This circus tent really helps to set the scene underneath our front porch. A stroke of genius for sure, and definitely something that will show up again in the future.

The other major feature this year, is the Carousel in our front yard. The idea for this prop originally came from a late-night online browsing session. After a request online to our friends for a used patio umbrella, we were thrilled to receive a retro umbrella from a family member. I don’t think we could have asked for a better outcome.

We now have two fabric dummy bodies that we can dress up however we want. This was our first time dressing them up for display. A tad mild, however, I predict great things for the future.

The Scottish Skeleton Clan Army and the Creepy Clowns are not friends, no matter what it might look like.

This amazing clown head first made an appearance in B.O.B. Bob’s Easter basket. Some people get candy in their Easter baskets, however, around here, Halloween decorations are more likely to appear.

Some people might not notice the gold detail right away on the carousel. However, if you take a moment you’ll notice the gold-painted design on each carousel seat. A bit of added whimsy.

This dress was purchased with the intent of using it again when we celebrate our next The Nightmare Before Christmas year. A theme we intend to bring back every five years.

Clown masks stink. Seriously. They smell horrendous. And for someone who has an allergy to most plastic, rubber, and silicone products, decorating with them can be a serious pain.

What happens when you buy a wig that you’re allergic to? It ends up being a skeleton clown wig.

A few of our friends gifted us with this creepy clown last Christmas while we were helping them decorate their house. It had been given to them by someone else trying to get rid of it. No one seems to want this clown. Thankfully, he found the perfect home with us.

The half skeleton in the flower pot below is a leftover from last year’s Biohazard Hazardous Waste theme. Last year, we had very few props left over. It was definitely the cheapest and easiest Halloween display we have ever done. Lots of insulation spray foam and green paint. Extremely budget-friendly.

The Historic Haunted Herndon sign is one of our house’s oldest features. Although way back when it didn’t share a yard with over 40 skeletons.

Skeletons are not easy to dress. Trust me on this one. They do not move like humans. After breaking a brand-new skeleton in two places, a friend helped me to dress the remaining clowns. Even with help, it did not go so smoothly. In the process, I was kicked in the face by a skeleton. If only I had thought to video the entire experience in advance.

Underneath all of those clown masks, things are not so pretty. You’ll find lots of plastic bags being used to help them keep their shape, as well as duct tape and hot glue to hold in added eyeballs.

This particular clown did not live up to his potential. There just wasn’t enough time to create the scene with him that was originally intended. Sometimes, life happens, and you just have to deal with what you’ve got.

The grill is always a fan favorite. This year, you’ll notice a few grilled fish added in. Please tell me why it took me so long to think of that idea?

You’ll see clown noses all over the yard. On statues, concrete animals, goblins, and even on pumpkins. Why? It was much cheaper to buy them in bulk. Perhaps we’ll give a few extra ones away on Halloween night.

Can you believe that this mask came free with another one ordered online? It fit perfectly when paired with an old prop that no longer worked. A keeper for sure.

A few friends were really hoping that the Scottish Skeleton Clan Army would be wearing clown noses this year. I just couldn’t do that to them though. I love them too much for that.

A few Halloween rainbow-colored wigs sure do make a huge difference.

One thing you’ll notice with most Halloween masks is that they come with cut-out eyes so that you can actually see out of them. That meant that we had to purchase several eyeballs to fit into the masks to eliminate empty eyehole spaces.

Another B.O.B. Bob Easter basket gift. His Easter basket was seriously creepy this year.

The bikini on this whacky clown was a leftover from our Whispering Tombstone Cove year. We do occasionally reuse certain props.

If you only knew how many times I burned my fingers while using an industrial-strength hot glue gun to glue the pom-poms on these clowns. So many bad words screamed. Seriously. Pom-poms are evil. Hot glue guns are evil.

The clown painting featured here actually used to hang in B.O.B. Bob’s basement growing up. Seriously creepy. Thankfully, we found it in storage a few weeks before decorating.