How To Build Your Own Halloween Graveyard

I built my tombstones using two materials: plywood and styrofoam.

Styrofoam is good because you can buy it in larger thicknesses (2" or more) at your local crafts store and it's already textured so it looks more like a grave stone from the start. Sheets of styrofoam insulation from a building supply store can also be used. Styrofoam can be tricky to do the lettering on, is more fragile and thicker pieces get expensive.

Plywood is easy to work with, durable and you may already have scrap pieces buried in your garage. A standard 4'x8' sheet will be enough for about 6-10 tombstones depending on their size and shape.

There are other materials you can use (stone, resins, etc) but I don't have any experience using those so I'll focus on plywood and styrofoam.

Tombstones come in many shapes and sizes. You can look at the sample pics below to get some ideas. I recommend starting with a basic and simple design such as the one pictured here. It's simply a rectangle with the top corners rounded off.

Next, select the epitaph or saying you want on the stone. You can get ideas for this from websites, sayings you've seen elsewhere, Disney World or your own morbid creativity.

1. Determine the size of your tombstone. 18"w x 24-30"h is a good size for a basic stone. Make sure there is enough room to write the epitaph.

2. Trace out the design of the tombstone on your plywood or styrofoam. A French curve or cans of various sizes are good tools to help with drawing curves.

3. Cut out the stone. A jig saw works well for plywood. You can try a keyhole (drywall) saw or large utility knife for styrofoam.

4. Paint the stone. For plywood, start with a base coat of grey or off-white. Next, apply a coat of stone texture spray paint to give it a weathered appearance. For styrofoam, you can just use the stone texture paint.

5. After the paint has dried, paint the epitaph and any other design elements (skull, scrollwork, etc) on to the stone with a small brush and black paint. For styrofoam stones, it helps to press the letters into the foam first before painting them.

6. The last step is to attach mounting stakes to the back and place the stone in your yard. Use whatever you have available to keep your tombstones in place. For styrofoam stones, plant stakes pushed into the bottom work well. For plywood stones, you can screw shelf brackets into the back then use tent stakes to secure them into the ground.

The Haunted Mansion at Disney World has always been one of my favorite attractions there. Its graveyard with the funny tombstones was the inspiration for making my own.

Be the first graveyard in town to have the authentic grave of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Prepare for next year by hitting the stores right after Halloween. Most retailers discount their Halloween merchandise by 30-75%.

Find ideas for your own tombstone designs from these pictures of real graveyards.

A sign welcoming your victims...er, guests, to your graveyard adds a nice touch. Purchase a pre-made sign or use it for ideas to make your own.




A pair of gruesome hands crawling out of the ground or from underneath a coffin will give anyone a fright.




Add these "Welcome" and "Beware" fence posts along your graveyard path.

Photos in the Choose A Material, Choose A Design and Epitaph and Build the Tombstone sections are copyright and used by permission of Mac33.

Disney's Haunted Graveyard Tombstones:
Brother Claude and Here Lyeth His Loving Wives used by permission of Miss Shari.
Good Old Fred used by permission of BoredTrini.
Sweet Leota used by permission of canno1979.
Master Gracey used under Creative Commons from devilelephant.
Brother Dave used under Creative Commons from The Consortium.

Real Tombstones & Graveyards:
Tombstone in Satnitz used by permission of iproduit.
Gravestones used by permission of Ben Adlin.
Tombstone used under Creative Commons from A.M. Kuchling.
Irish Castle Graveyard used under Creative Commons from Qole Pejorian.
Boot hill used under Creative Commons from danesparza.
Skull w/wings used under Creative Commons from mchphotography8.