The spookiest time of year is almost here. Have you decorated your house yet? Halloween inspires many to decorate their yards and their homes, especially their windows, for the onslaught of trick-or-treaters knocking on the door at the end of the month. But besides adding a festive and fun look to your home for the fall season, some Halloween decorations, if installed properly, also have the added benefit of helping to insulate your home.Here are a few fun and frightening home Halloween decorations intended to help keep the cool, brisk air out and your heating costs a bit lower this fall.

Spooky Window Treatments

Trade your typical curtains or drapes in for an eerie alternative. Choose some fabric to craft a hauntingly good attempt at a haunted house's window dressings or cut and craft some scary personalities on your handmade drapes. Create a different Halloween character for each window: Dracula, a witch, a mummy, a scarecrow, or whomever you'd like. You can also put together a basic spider web design or go straight for the Halloween window wraps if you want something that's all ready to pop into your window.

Creepy Bay Window Decorations

If you have a bay window or window seat in your home, definitely use it to your advantage when it comes time to decorate for any holiday, but especially for Halloween. You can make creative foam board tombstones that fit nicely in your window while blocking out any drafts that manage to sneak through. Place the cottony cobweb Halloween decorations at the foot of the tombstone for extra insulation (bonus if you can find creepy cobwebs that glow in the dark!).You can also create a complete Halloween scene in your bay window if you like. If you have stuffed Halloween characters or animated electronic ones, they may be a good focal point while you drape tulle or other flowy fabric along the edge of the windows. You can also use sparkly garland in Halloween colors, placing just at the edges where the windows meet the frame to help keep the cold air out.

Scary Snake Draft Stopper

Cool air often sneaks in through older doors as well. You can mitigate this issue while adding another element of Halloween décor to your home. Look for a Halloween themed "draft dodger" or make your own. You can create a creepy Halloween snake or other character with a little bit of fabric and some popcorn kernels, dried beans, or peas. As long as you have a few basic sewing skills, you can whip up a few of these in no time, keeping your warm air in and the cool air out.