12 Ways To Decorate With Fake Spider Webs And Creepy Cloth

Fake cobwebs are one of the easiest ways to add spookiness to your Halloween haunted house or party decor. Find some cool ways to decorate with fake spider webs and creepy cloth that will make your Halloween decorations look awesome and learn how to hang them so they look good.

12 ways to decorate with fake spider webs

Spider webs are one of the easiest ways to add Halloween spookiness to your house or party.

Everyone knows what it’s like to unknowingly walk through a spider web and have that creepy crawly feeling afterward.

And just seeing spider webs is usually enough to remind people of that. Perfect for some creepy Halloween decor!

I use 2 ways to create the look of cobwebs. The first is stretchy spider web, and the second is creepy cloth.

So I’ll be showing you how I use each of them for my Halloween decor, as well as how to hang them so they look good.

Here are my favorite ways to decorate with fake spider webs and creepy cloth.

1 | Pull stretchy spider web across the room

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Chandelier with fake spider webs pulled around it
Pull stretchy spider web across the room

Stretchy spider web is the stuff that comes wadded up in small plastic bags which you can get pretty inexpensively everywhere around Halloween. (You can buy it from Amazon HERE*, if they don’t have it in your local stores).

Don’t let that small package fool you. It will stretch a long way.

How to make fake cobwebs look good

skull disco ball hung from a ceiling covered with stretchy spider web
Stretchy spider webs need to be stretched really thin to look good

I like to use it where you would normally see cobwebs in an abandoned house…close to the ceiling, around cabinets, bookshelves and light fixtures.

However, to make it look right, you need to stretch it all the way out and tease the strands apart to prevent them from clumping.

And when I say stretch and tease, I mean stretch until it won’t stretch any more and then make sure to pull any clumped strands apart. You should never need more than one bag of stretchy spider web to decorate a room.

How to hang spider webs

Pull it from one side of the room to the other, catching it on anything that will hold it for a more natural effect. The corners of light fixtures, book cases, curtain rods and kitchen cabinets work well.

Velcro dots

If you don’t have convenient places to hook the stretchy spider web on to, try using velcro dots*.

You can stick them where you want them, stretch the spider web to it, and then put the other half of the velcro dot on top…it’s amazing how well they hold!

2 | Make your mirrors look creepy

Mirror with a few stretchy spider webs pulled across it
Make your mirrors look creepy

I just love the look of spider webs on mirrors. There’s something about seeing a reflection that’s broken up by the web that looks so spooky.

You only need a tiny piece of stretchy spider web to do this.

Mirror covered with fake cobwebs

I hook one end around one corner of the mirror, and pull it down or across to the opposite corner.

Then stretch it out to hook over the other two corners and let it go where it wants. Tease apart any clumps and you’re done.

You’ll end up with different looks on every mirror.

3 | Decorate your chandelier

stretchy spider web around a chandelier decorated for Halloween with Spanish moss and skulls

Using stretchy spider web around the chandelier in my dining room is another of my favorite ways to decorate for Halloween.

Sometimes I’ll use it all by itself. A few strands pulled down from the ceiling look pretty effective.

Other times I’ll add things to the chandelier (like skulls and Spanish moss). Then I’ll usually do a thicker cobweb look so that it doesn’t get overshadowed by the other decorations.

Find out more about decorating your chandelier for Halloween.

4 | Make the spider web glow in the dark

Glow In The Dark Spider Web around a wall sconce
Make the spider web glow in the dark

For an extra twist, use some glow-in-the-dark spider web* with a black light*.

The glowing spider web looks really cool when it’s all lit up.

Stretchy spider web around a light fixture with a black light above it

Here’s how I set that up. That’s a black light hung on the wall above the spider web.

You’ll also notice that I didn’t use a lot of the spider web. It hardly looks like anything with the lights on. But it totally works with the black light on it.

Find more ways to create glow-in-the-dark Halloween decorations.

5 | What about fake spider webs outside?

To be honest, I don’t use stretchy spider web outside very much.

Sometimes I’ll stretch it across the front of some tombstones in my Halloween graveyard (sorry I couldn’t find any good pictures of that).

But it always seems to get tangled up in the bushes and it’s hard to get it stretched out enough to look right. (If you’ve managed to do this successfully, I’d love to hear how you do it!)

For that reason, I almost always use creepy cloth instead. You can see how it looks below.

6 | Hang creepy cloth from the ceiling

Creepy cloth hung from the ceiling in front of a wall covered with a scene setter and a ghost
Hang creepy cloth from the ceiling

Creepy cloth* is my absolute favorite way to add spider webs to my Halloween haunted house!

When it’s dark, it makes the room look like there are all kinds of cob webs.

How to hang creepy cloth

Creepy cloth hung from hooks in the ceiling

I hang creepy cloth unevenly from the ceilings, windows, tops of book cases and kitchen cabinets…pretty much any where that has a corner which the cloth can get caught on.

Where there’s nothing for it to hang from (like the middle of the ceiling), I put up small coffee cup hooks. I have popcorn ceilings so you really can’t see the holes.

But if you don’t want to damage your ceiling, you could also use small command hooks. (They are a little more expensive).

Creepy cloth hanging down from the ceiling in front of an opera house scene setter

I like to leave some ends hanging down so people have to walk through it to get where they are going.

It looks more natural that way. And it kind of feels like real spider web, too.

7 | Cover EVERYTHING With Creepy Cloth

A mirror and chandelier draped with creepy cloth and Halloween lighting
Drape creepy cloth over everything

But why stop with just the ceiling?

I like to use it everywhere. Over mirrors, on the furniture, as tablecloths…you get the picture.

It looks like really thick cobwebs covering everything.

Skeletons sitting on a sofa covered in white creepy cloth in front of a window with black creepy cloth and a fireplace mantel with black lace
Layers of spider webs looks like it has been built up over time

Creepy cloth* comes in different colors so you can get whichever one you prefer. (Although I usually stick to the white, grey and black ones for a more realistic look.)

You can mix different shades for a layered look that looks like it has built up over time.

8 | Use creepy cloth outside

Black creepy cloth draped over a fence outside beside some bales of hay
Hang creepy cloth on fences, arbors and trees outside

You can decorate with fake spider webs outside, too.

I hang creepy cloth on the fence, from the trees, on the arbor over my walk way, and from the overhang on the front porch, so everyone has to walk through it to get to the front door.

White creepy cloth hung on an arbor with string lights

While I use a mix of colors inside, I use mostly white outside. That’s because it reflects the light and looks awesome at night.

See more outdoor Halloween decorating ideas HERE.

9 | Use lighting to show off your spider web

Two skeletons sitting around a small glass table with a skull, a candle and some white creepy cloth that is lit from below
Uplighting under white creepy cloth makes the spider web glow

Speaking of lighting, you can use it indoors, too.

Drape creepy cloth* (or cheesecloth with holes cut in it) over a glass table and put an uplight under it to create a spooky glowing effect.

Get the step-by-step tutorial for Halloween uplighting HERE.

Black creepy cloth hung in front of a light fixture with a red light bulb
Hang black creepy cloth in front of a light to make it stand out more

Black creepy cloth shows up better when you have a light fixture behind it.

I like to change out the bulbs with different colors so it’s not too bright.

10 | Black lace is a more elegant alternative

Black spider web lace over red table cloth on a table with Halloween candles
Black lace is a more elegant spider web solution

If you want the look of spider webs with a little more elegance, black lace tablecloths* are just the thing.

Especially if you buy lace that has a spider web pattern on it.

I like to put it over top of a plain red, orange or purple table cloth so that the lace shows up better.

It also looks great on the fireplace mantel and draped over lamp shades.

11 | Add Fake Spiders

How can you have spider webs and not include a few fake spiders*?

The ones that come in the package with the stretchy spider web work well and you’d be surprised how realistic they look!

I usually order some more of them because you can put them everywhere. In the spider web, on tables, on the floor, in the bathroom…anywhere that needs a little something creepy.

I’ve actually had guests try to step on them thinking they were the real thing.

(Just be careful where you put them if you have pets or small children who may try to eat them).

Add a big spider* on a wall where it’s a little out of the way. Then it’ll be a big surprise when your guests finally notice it!

12 | Hang a dropping spider

Motion activated dropping spider
Dropping Spider* from Amazon

This dropping spider prop* really freaks people out! So only use it if you want to give everyone a scare.

They are usually sound and/or motion activated, so it will need enough light to detect the motion (or be quiet enough to hear the sounds).

I usually hang it where people are going to be walking but aren’t necessarily expecting a Halloween prop to be, like in the bathroom or above the refrigerator.

Make sure that the spider won’t hit people on the head when it falls since you don’t want any injuries.

And that it has a clear path to fall and reel back up. Otherwise, the spider will get caught in the spider web and stop working (Ask me how I know…)

Hopefully, you have found some fake spider web inspiration for your Halloween decor! Now I need to get back to putting up mine.

Other Halloween ideas you might like

Have comments or questions on our ways to decorate with fake spider webs? Tell us in the section below.


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how to decorate with fake spider webs and creepy cloth

This post was originally published on October 8, 2021 but was updated with new content on November 1, 2023.


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