Halloween Decorations Key Terms

Learn key industry terms to get proper Halloween decorations for your place of business

By Denise Ryan

Whether you’re looking for Halloween decorations as a festive touch for your business headquarters or looking for holiday merchandise to sell at your retail store, knowing common terminology for the adornments can help you get the items you need. Familiarizing yourself with terms like “standee,” “animatronics” and “glow tape” will help you discuss your vision or inventory needs with vendors and manufacturers. Asking for the right wall hangings, special effects machines and other decorations will ensure you don’t end up having a truly scary Halloween emergency on your hands.

Standee

A Halloween standee makes a quick and imposing adornment for indoor or outdoor parties. The standee may feature a design like a haunted house, graveyard or a crypt. The pre-printed cardboard cut outs require some assembly.
Try: See a standee featuring a Halloween haunted house on the website of Shindigz.

Insta-theme

An insta-theme package lends a completely decorated look to walls. Featuring peel-and-stick appliqués that decorators can layer for dimensional affects, the decorations are easily removable once the holiday or party is over.
Try: See the results of a completely layered Halloween insta-theme package and discover the individual elements that can also come separately through Party Cheap.

Low-laying fog machine

Create a menacing and mysterious Halloween atmosphere with a low-laying fog machine that won't obscure vision in the room. Many units feature remote controls that allow the user to control the effects throughout the event.
Try: See the effects of low-laying fog machines and learn more about their related supplies and accessories through Got Fog.

Animatronics

Choose life-like animatronics to add a more realistic and scary touch to any Halloween event. The high-end decorations range in design from moving rats to animated mirrors to full-size zombies and ghouls.
Try: See a selection of frightening animatronics and learn more about their movements and power sources through Fright Catalog.

Glow tape

Glow tape, a product that appears to illuminate in the dark or under a black light, can create interesting effects like neon spider webs. Also consider using the tape as a safety precaution to guide visitors through a haunted house, for example.
Try: Discover photos and additional functions for glow tape through Halloween Express.

Webcaster gun

Design realistic looking spider webs with a Webcaster gun that uses an air compressor to spin realistic decorations. Choose between regular or glow-in-the-dark Web Sticks to create the airy webs.
Try: Get additional details on the Webcaster gun, along with operational details and a materials guide, through Darkside Displays.