4 Ideas To Deck Out Your Car For The Next Halloween Trunk-Or-Treat

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For some people, Halloween is no different from any other day, but for others, it is game time. If you're in the second camp, it's time to get your act together for trunk-or-treat. The concept is simple: instead of trudging door to door, kids go car to car in a parking lot, collecting candy from open trunks.

Trunk-or-treating works in areas where houses are far apart and gives the whole community an excuse to show up in one place and mingle. It also means your car could become the main attraction, so you need to plan ahead. Nobody remembers the crossover with a bowl of fun-size candy sitting in the cargo area. If you'd rather be the star of the parking lot, we've got a few ideas that won't cost a fortune or eat your whole weekend.

One thing before we get to them, though. No matter what you decide to do, check that your "spookyfications" are legal in your state and town. A great costume car should end the night with a trophy, not a ticket. And since the night brings out its share of pranksters, it's worth knowing how to protect your car from Halloween shenanigans too. Now, let's get spooky.

Are you the sort of person who looks at a car's front end and sees a face? Some of us are, and that is why we dedicated an entire article to cars with the goofiest faces. Some cars sell the look better than others. For example, the Jeep Wrangler, Mini Cooper, and Volkswagen Beetle already look like characters before you touch them. 

Here's a good way to approach trunk-or-treat: picture the car's headlights as the eyes and the grille (or the lack of one on many EVs) as the mouth, and take it from there. This can easily mean a jack-o'-lantern, a ghost with a white sheet over the front of the car, or the IRS man, depending on what scares you the most. The ghost is the easiest of the three: drape a white sheet over the nose, cut eyeholes where the headlights sit, and clip or tape it down so it doesn't flap loose.

Remember, these ideas are for parked cars only, so anything covering your headlights, windows, or license plate needs to come off before you drive anywhere. And you can let your imagination go wild, but be sure to use safe and proven products so you don't cause any damage to your car.

This is the trunk-or-treat classic, and it's a classic for a good reason. The cargo area is already a built-in stage, so all you need is a theme. A graveyard is the easy pick: cut tombstones out of foam board, paint them gray, and prop them up with a plastic skeleton arm reaching out from under the cargo cover. 

If you want to see the whole thing come together, this cardboard graveyard built in the back of an SUV by Crafty Chica is also a good place to start. If graveyards feel played out, a witch's lair or a mad scientist's lab works just as well. Think bubbling "potions" in jars and a few props that look like they belong in a haunted garage. 

You can also turn the trunk into a gas station, though, with prices at the pump what they are, that's arguably the scariest option on this list. The best part is the handout, so turn the candy into the gimmick. A cardboard coffin that slides out treats or a "feed the monster" bin with a big cartoon mouth will have kids lining up. 

SUVs and hatchbacks have the edge here, since the raised hatch doubles as a roof for your scene, but a sedan trunk can pull it off too. Keep the lighting battery-powered, skip open flames, and make sure the hatch is fully open and stable before anyone reaches in. Don't hang too much weight on it, either, since the extra load can pull the hatch shut. That matters even more on a chilly night, since falling temperatures weaken the gas struts that hold the hatch up.

Cars play an important role in our culture, and nowhere is that more obvious than in the movies. You can start by drawing inspiration from some of the horror-movie cars that haunt our nightmares. Alternatively, you can go for one of the classics: Ecto-1 from "Ghostbusters," the Mystery Machine, the "Jurassic Park" Jeep, the Batmobile, Bumblebee, or KITT from "Knight Rider."

The good news is that you don't need the real thing. Any white wagon with a roof rack full of gear and a ghost logo on the door can pass for Ecto-1, and a cardboard proton pack in the trunk will help sell it. Park an inflatable Slimer next to it, and you're all set. 

A van with a teal paint job and orange accents is a Mystery Machine waiting to happen, and a yellow car with black racing stripes is Bumblebee. A black coupe with cardboard fins is a Batmobile, and a black sports car with a red scanner light taped up front turns into KITT. Only switch that light on while parked, though, since flashing red lights on a car could get you in trouble in plenty of states. If the lot allows it and nobody minds, playing your movie's soundtrack does as much for the vibe as any prop.

If trunk-or-treat sounds like a good excuse to show everyone what you drive, you can do that and still join the fun by letting the badge do the work. Instead of giving your ride a face, lean into its name. A Ford F-150 Raptor can become an actual raptor with a few cardboard claws and a swishing tail. A Dodge Viper gets paper fangs and a snake tail made from a pool noodle, and a Shelby Cobra or Plymouth Barracuda gets scales cut from painted cardboard. 

A Pontiac Trans Am often has a giant bird on the hood – easily one of the coolest graphics ever — so a few cardboard feathers and a wing or two finish the job. If your car's name already sounds like a costume, you're way ahead of the game. A Dodge Demon needs little more than a pair of horns, and the folks at Rolls-Royce surely named the Ghost for Halloween duties. This way you can have your cake and eat it too.