Scary doesn’t have to mean expensive this Halloween. Just cast an evil eye on what you already own. You’ll likely be amazed by all the freaky stuff you have stashed away.

This is the time to celebrate that dusty cake plate you’ve never used to serve up a severed head, add some cobwebs to your candelabras, throw some broken dolls in the bushes and pull out the creepy lawn ornaments. Here are some more cheap decorating ideas to get you started:

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Jason Getz/AJC

Headstones are nice, cheap ways to spruce up the yard.

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Chris Hunt/AJC

Why not sprinkle some Halloween M&Ms on a platter for a cheaper, spooky look.

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Vino Wong/AJC

Painted pumpkins with cartoon characters from a patch but why not paint your own pumpkin black?

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IF IT’S BROKEN, IT’S PERFECT

You wondered what to do with those broken and discarded toys — well, here it is. If you have kids, this one should be easy. We stuffed the bottom half of a large plastic Power Ranger into the front shrub. Bury smaller action figures in leaves or dirt to create a scary effect.

Source: Your garage or basement

Cost: Free

BLACK IS THE NEW ORANGE

Create a more dramatic look by spray painting your pumpkin black before you carve it. Clean it out first, apply paint, then carve your design. We used Pumpkin Master’s Halloween Hardware Pumpkin Carving Kit, $3.99, to carve our design.

Sources: Meijer, Home Depot

Cost: $8.46

GHOULISH CAKE, ANYONE?

Get a lot of mileage out of a Halloween decoration by placing it on a doily inside that cake dome you never use. Don’t have any doilies? Borrow one from a friend or relative, or buy one for a few dollars at a local craft store. You can find cake platters and domes at local thrift shops. We used a weathered bird bath from the yard as our “cake table.”

Source: Walgreens, severed head

Cost: $2.99

SKULL CAKE AND M&Ms

We used a 99-cent plastic skull to scare up a $5.99 dome plate of M&Ms. We threw in a doily we had on hand to dress things up and displayed the plate on a piece of fabric atop an outdoor planter.

Source: Goodwill

Cost: $6.99

DIY HEADSTONE

Turn your lawn into a graveyard with a homemade headstone or two. We bought a 1/4-inch, 2-foot square piece of plywood, curved the edges with a scroll saw and sprayed it with a can of Rust-oleum American Accents Stone spray paint.

This fancy paint gives the board a nice “stone” finish, but it’s a bit pricey so plain gray paint will do the trick. When the paint dries, add an “R.I.P.” or some other epithet, with black paint.

We used fake spider webs and a gargoyle from the garden to spook things up.

Source: Home Depot

Cost: $12.91

ALIEN BRIDE

We paired a thrift store wedding dress ($10.59) with an alien face mask ($2.99), wig ($2.99) and broom ($2.99) to create this lovely Halloween bride. We used a dress form we had on hand to give our alien some shape. Another option is to put the dress on a hanger and stuff with newspapers, fasten the face mask and hang with sturdy fishing line from a planter hook on the front porch.

Source: Goodwill

Cost: $29.56

BAT MOBILE

Gather some twigs from the yard, tie them together and spray paint white (paint $3.97 at Home Depot). Cut some bats out of black construction paper and tie them to the tree with clear fishing wire. We also used a few rubber bats from a mixed decoration value pack ($3.79 at Meijer).

Sources: Home Depot, Meijer

Cost: $7.76

SHOP NOW FOR 2009

We picked up a dancing skeleton a few years ago at a holiday clearance sale for $20.

The pre-holiday, retail price was $100. Shopping after the holiday is a great way to pick up a big-ticket item for a fraction of the cost.

Source: Holiday clearance

Cost: $20

GET WEBBED

If you only buy one thing to decorate your home this Halloween season, this should be it. At $2.99 a bag, this stretchy fake spider webbing is great for transforming a front porch into a scary place in a matter of minutes. For best results, work with a buddy to stretch it out. We used push pins to secure it to the porch railing. Spread over bushes and shrubs and decorations to created an overall spooky effect.

Source: Party America

Cost: $2.99

TERRIFYING TIPS

Sure the economy is depressing, but that doesn’t mean you have to cut back on Halloween decorations. Here’s how to keep costs in check:

— Borrow stuff from friends. You never know who might have a few gargoyles laying around.

— If it doesn’t look creepy enough, try spray-painting it black.

— If it still doesn’t look creepy enough, wrap it with fake spider webs found at most stores stocking Halloween decorations.

— Get out Aunt Tilda’s doilies to help make things look spooky.

— Dead mums give off a dreary effect. Broken branches also can fill space.

— Try sticking carrots upside down in those candelabras.

— Find cheap props from your local thrift shop.

— Check out “Extreme Pumpkins II: Take Back Halloween and Freak Out a Few More Neighbors” by Tom Nardone. This book is perfect for the extreme pumpkin carver with a high tolerance for gross.

Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood is a reporter for The Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press